Mercedes-Benz’s GLB is electrified into the EQB, but you’ll really want to want electric fun to bat for one in Singapore

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SINGAPORE –
2022 is the year of Mercedes-Benz’s major electric wave in Singapore. While it’s spearheaded by the EQS, the electric luxury limo, arguably it’s best exemplified by this – the first electric seven-seat SUV, the EQB.

What is it? The GLA SUV electrified = EQA. GLC SUV electrified = EQC. GLB electrified = you get the idea.* The GLB is ubiquitous in Singapore now, you can hardly turn a corner without seeing one. The small/midsized SUV was a hit here thanks to keen pricing and the fact that it’s the only lux SUV of its class to pack seven seats.

*Nevermind that the electric version of the E-Class sedan, not the GLE SUV, is the EQE.

As always, CarBuyer has a full explanation with our EQB launch story here in Singapore, and if you read that story, you’d know this car here is the EQB 350, currently the most powerful of the EQB models on sale here. It has twin motors for electric all-wheel drive and a total of 288hp, so it’s also the most expensive of the lot, with a price tag that matches the number in its name.

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Design and appearance

While the EQB 350 is available here only as an AMG Line version, it’s not actually an AMG car the way the semi-hot Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 is, for example, or the AMG EQS 53. It’s a slightly sportier version of what is still a regular Mercedes-Benz (sorry, Mercedes-EQ).

The AMG Line face is familiar to us now, from the AMG 35, and the EQB 350 also wears it, though the EQ-ness wins out here with that characteristic blacked-out, no-grille front end. There’s of course the front and rear lightbars, both Mercedes-EQ signatures too. 

You can option the AMG Line kit on the lesser EQB 250 (for the EQB 250 Progressive that’s a S$14,400 option), and that means you get the AMG styling, the sport seats, the sporty steering wheel, and all-important AMG floormats. What you don’t get are the larger 20-inch AMG design wheels (the upgraded 250 makes do with 18-inch AMG wheels) and adaptive sport suspension. 

Interior and equipment

Stepping into the EQB’s cockpit offers little difference from the GLB. The digital domination of the front seats is obvious from the dual screens – both 10.25-inches, one a touchscreen.

We’ve said much about the Mercedes human-machine interface in all our reviews – like the GLA and GLB, A-Class hatchback and saloon – but in short it’s pretty to look at, has all the features you could want and then some, though it’s sometimes confusing and throws up lots of reflections. 

Like the EQA, the EQB has a unique lighting panel on the passenger’s side of the dashboard, and that only serves to bolster the uniquely dramatic mood lighting of the car. If you like your gaming RGB, you’ll be right at home here.

Both cars’ boxy, tall stature, large windows, and high seating position translate into a proper SUV experience where you feel elevated, in command, and have an easier time of driving.

Page 2: But can the EQB really fit seven adults still, and what’s lost in the EV-ification process?

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