Anyone with a big family to transport and a will to do that in an electric car has faced quite a stark choice thus far when it comes to zero-emission seven-seaters. There is the Tesla Model X with either six or seven seats. Peugeot, Citroën and Vauxhall, meanwhile, each added an extended-wheelbase version of their electrically powered, passenger-market-intended Partner, Berlingo and Combo models in 2021. The first option is a luxury SUV priced from £90,000. The other is a van-derived MPV.
Nothing in the market for electric vehicles stays the same for long at the moment, though, and so now there’s a third seven-seater way, which we’re testing this week. The Mercedes EQB is the all-electric version of the conventionally powered Mercedes GLB, and only the second compact electric model that the German car maker has so far introduced under its growing EQ sub-brand.
Like the Mercedes EQA, it is built on an adapted version of the firm’s existing compact car model architecture and not a dedicated electric-only platform – but that hasn’t prevented Mercedes from squeezing seven seats into a package that’s less than 50mm longer than a five-seat Skoda Enyaq iV.
