Review: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 250 - Tough Sell

I spend a week with the 2023 Mercedes EQB 250 to see what it's like to live with. In a vacuum, it's a nice driving vehicle that feels pretty luxurious if you get the right options on it, but it does have 2 big downfalls, charge speed and pricing. Once you begin cross-shopping, the EQB begins to fall short of basically all its competitors, and even Mercedes fans will have a better option within the Mercedes lineup. What do you think about the 2023 Mercedes EQB 250? Thanks to Mercedes for providing this vehicle.
Time stamps:
0:00 Exterior
1:50 Interior
2:51 Initial impressions
5:55 Acceleration
7:42 Handling and ride
10:08 Battery and charging info
12:02 Highway driving and safety tech
13:17 Efficiency
14:07 Pricing and competitor comparisons
21:12 Final thoughts
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @mattmaranmotoring
Don't miss an upload! Hit the bell and subscribe if you haven't already! Link: kzbin.info?sub_c...
Twitter @mattmaran
Instagram @mattmaranmotoring
Facebook: / mattmaranmotoring
Shirts and other merch: teespring.com/stores/matt-mar...
Camera gear used (commissions earned): www.amazon.com/shop/mattmaran...
Business inquires can be directed to mattmaranmotoring (at) gmail (dot) com
Matt Maran Motoring is a participant in the Amazon Influencer Program.

[@aidanlee2871]

Honestly, despite with those options, I've ordered an EQB250 myself last June and will pick it up in the next few days. A lot of you have mentioned how underwhelming it is, $56k for a base Merc with no distronic and heated seats, and with a deplorable 9 second 0-100km/h time. However, it seems like a lot of you don't realise it is the only electric seven-seater mid-size SUV in the market (except for the EV9 which is still not on sale yet). I believe it can be a decent choice if you are in dire need of seven seats and live in a country with high fuel prices. I live in Hong Kong, where petrol is more than US$10/gallon. Electric cars here also get tax concessions of up to around US$35k (consider we have to pay an additional 100% first registration tax on top of the car's price). For instance, a "base" EQB250 here cost about US$65k with concessions(comes standard with AMG line, comfort access, AMG wheels, Smartphone integration, Blind-spot monitoring etc.). Ironically, a poverty spec GLB250 only cost about US$2-3k less than an already loaded EQB. Consider how expensive owning a gas car is in HK (expensive gas prices and about US$1000 for annual road tax and around US$300/month for monthly parking), I dare to say the EQB is designed for cities like in Hong Kong, where each household only has one car to take their family of five with two grandparents for their weekend gatherings. It may not be the most luxurious, but it's the sole competitor on the market that is able to alleviate the pressure of filling up one of the expensive gases in the world in a daily basis. (Household electricity is less than US$0.30 per kilowatt) Edit: In HK, all model Ys here are Made in China, which do not offer seven seats.

[@MattMaranMotoring]

Thanks for sharing your perspective! I can see how it would make sense in your situation.

[@wspsunnywsp]

Hi Aidan, I also live in HK and am seriously considering this car given the price point for a 7 seater SUV. When did you order to get your delivery in June? For HK it looks really good especially since the 1-4-1 replacement ends March next year.

[@aidanlee2871]

@@wspsunnywsp I’ve order it on the 30th June, 2022, the delivery date got delayed twice by zung fu

[@SteveRunciman]

great review. would love to know what the Merc executives were thinking when they decided to produce/price this vehicle.

[@tonyn3227]

They hoped people would just fall name brand, they didn't care about specs.

[@viperhd70]

I got an EQB, largely because of its huge boot. It's a lot bigger than e.g. the XC40 Recharge. But also: while it's way overpriced, in lease it's much more competitive over here. I could get a better specced 350 (actually full-option) than an XC40 Recharge, for the same lease cost. It was even significantly cheaper in lease than a bare iX3 that costs €5000 less.

[@ascendantP]

Great honest review! Glad you're not bias by Mercedes lending you the car to review and calling it out as it is. Plenty of other options for an EV at this price point that makes this vehicle almost a non-consideration. it should let Mercedes know what the expectations are and not just rely on their brand name to sell any vehicle

[@tonyn3227]

Outdated the moment you buy it, if it had 280 mile range, at least,but not even that for $60k, no thanks ,I can do 0-60 in 8 seconds in my 1998 mini van.

[@ondriajeannettes2636]

I like the 7 seat option!!!

[@nberkel]

I don't think it looks too bad overall, but man does it not make sense to get this with so many better options out there! Props on recommending Tesla Y over this too. Surprised you didn't bring up Mach E.

[@MattMaranMotoring]

I decided not to mention the non-luxury competition because I figured it’s a bit unfair and because anyone open to a non-luxury brand should already know they’ll always be a better value than the luxury brands.

[@nberkel]

Fair enough. In this case it still seems like the Mach E is a more premium offering. Crazy how things work sometimes...

[@colla555]

@@nberkel at least the Mach-E is more premium than a Tesla Model Y.

[@joey3184]

Will never buy a Tesla (any model) over the EQB or EQC. Tesla dont even have a dashboard, just an ipad screen in the middle, poor driving quality and just cheap interior BUT yes it has range

[@scottlenahan8228]

I just can’t get into this. Looks like a 2014 model. Good review though!

[@marc-henricerar4170]

Great review.

[@MattMaranMotoring]

Thanks!

[@eddieg6436]

I’d get the Genesis GV60 over the Merc 100%!!!!

[@colonelccccc]

Oh my god the noise in the cabin ! also, how can you say it is efficient at 2.8 Miles/Kwh and you are ALONE in it, what happens when you are a family in it with kids and all ?

[@kubectlgetpo]

What are all those pipes and stuff in frunk? How come no other needs all.that

[@Wonsdloc]

The strong re-gen is because they used the same system for the EQS but didn’t compensate for the difference in weight.

[@alantam4843]

Is the regen braking for the 2023 model different from the 2022 one? I just tested drive eqb250 in Australia and found the D+ mode did not offer coasting as smooth as the one I tried a few months ago in Hong Kong. I did feel a bit jerky when I lifted my leg off the paddle.

[@viperhd70]

@@alantam4843 Are you sure you were driving in D+ in Hong Kong ? Sounds like you were driving in D-AUTO which is the only way to get true coasting. Even in D+ you can see you are charging the battery when getting off the throttle, which means it's regen breaking. D-AUTO is so much more relaxed due to it allowing for true coasting combined with the intelligence of automatic regen breaking if you need to (i.e. slower/still vehicle in front of you, entering a speed limit zone, or entering a crossing/roundabout).

[@naveenthemachine]

Matt this is still way better than the rz450e so there’s that. Although that’s easy to beat So the EQB is a no brainer over the RZ

[@PK-bn2pg]

Both those suck, eqb is slightly better though as 196 range is a joke on the rz

[@naveenthemachine]

@@PK-bn2pg eqb is cooler and drives better and probably performs better too

[@carsaregood911]

@@naveenthemachine "EQB is cooler" lol

[@wocaomade]

@@naveenthemachine yes a box is cooler😂

[@naveenthemachine]

@@wocaomade a box thats more cargo practical and has more headroom

[@AdamJakowenko]

The internet doesn't agree on much but I think we found the one thing where everyone can come together....the EQB should not be anyone's first choice 😁. We did it! ☮️

[@naveenthemachine]

But it would be my first choice over the rz450e absolutely without question

[@MattMaranMotoring]

Haha you’re right Adam, finally the internet can agree on something! 😂

[@AndrewLumsden]

"Glass windows" Wow, that's amazing. What will they think of next? 🙄🤣

[@rajneeshch3014]

bought it ystd

[@wg5331]

What a boring looking car. Car destined by a computer for efficiently. I get it.. but still not a good looking car. From the outside, I don’t see luxury right away like I expect from a Mercedes. Edit: And $56K for starting? I’m sorry but that’s too expensive for a base trim that is missing options many other cars have for tens of thousands of dollars less.

[@naveenthemachine]

This is still way better than something like the Lexus rz450e.

[@no-yj2cf]

I agree about the look. I'm poor so it's not the car for me, but it just looks bland

[@wg5331]

@@naveenthemachine disagree. The Lexus looks more interesting, had more power, more standard features. I’ll take the slight range penalty of the Lexus anyday. I’m not a Lexus fan but it just looks more interesting with some edge. This Mercedes is a shining example of an NPC car. It doesn’t look good, it doesn’t drive good but it’ll get you to your destinations

[@kubectlgetpo]

6:01 that is some serious disappointment 😂

[@marcnobel3938]

That car was just made by Mercedes to get some of the Government Grands here in Europe as it was just available for cars up to a certain price. At that time the European market was empty and people bought what they could get their hands on in this price bracket. It is an ICE Car converted to a EV. Also good for the average Co2 Emissions they are allowed to reach here. A real EV in that size by Mercedes (like EQE and EQS) will be not available until they replace that platform they are using now. Until that it just fills the gap and will be mainly a product that sells in low numbers in Europe. Maybe there will not even be a 1 to 1 replacement for the A and B Class segment. As Mercedes earns almost no money on those cars anyway and don`t need small cars now anymore (because of more EVs) to keep their Emission targets in the EU.

[@MattMaranMotoring]

Thanks for the insight Marc, it makes me wonder why they even offer it here in the U.S.

[@marcnobel3938]

@@MattMaranMotoring Maybe for the statistics. I don't think they really expected this over-priced offer to sell for real. Or someone made a really bad decision at the company. Makes no sense for me otherwise.

[@ulamss5]

the occasional road bumps/noise coming through as bass pops is kind of annoying, i thought my headphones were dying.

[@MattMaranMotoring]

Sorry about that. Sometimes my mic placement isn't ideal and the back of the mic hits the windshield on bumps, causing the sound. I noticed it while editing, but it's hard to edit out without having the audio dip unnaturally. I need to come up with a way to pad the back of the mic so I prevent this in the future.

[@aersiul]

Man, can't get past all of those letters and numbers. Ridiculous. lol

[@scottbrawley407]

2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB250 + Plus FWD Electric!

[@bradenmchenry995]

4,700 pounds 😭

[@TheCarCrazyGuy]

This car is a huge downgrade compared to my Genesis GV60 Performance.

[@naveenthemachine]

But this is still way better than the rz450e but the gv60 beats both

[@user-mj1pi4hy4u]

How list one reason

[@johnnyh8731]

Breaks are BAD!!! 😡

[@im_an_alvani]

Unless you want that badge on the front and an EV this seems like a hard pass.

[@naveenthemachine]

But this is better than the rz450e

[@whiteandnerdytuba]

Seeing all the things car makers are doing to desperately get more electric range really pisses me off, we could have been paying less for fuel this whole time

[@MattMaranMotoring]

Well with gas engines you needed more cooling. Not having to worry about cooling as much is what opens up the design possibilities to be more extreme with aero.

[@whiteandnerdytuba]

@@MattMaranMotoring aerodynamic design isn't dependant solely on whether or not the grill has a hole in it. Smaller designs, with more curves and aero wheels have always been an option

[@leonchen89]

This suv looks outdated already.

[@naveenthemachine]

But this is still better than the rz450e

[@seanbrewer1232]

Anything Mercedes I w would be interested in owning is either: A) 20-30 years old and cheap, but I missed my opportunity to pick them up when they had low mileage and were being sold by elderly owners, and now they've been beaten on and poorly maintained by their grandkids and/or low-level drug dealers; or B) Super expensive with horrifying maintenance schedules/costs, that I could only afford by winning the lottery or becoming a high level drug dealer

[@MattMaranMotoring]

Haha just gotta find the next future classic Mercedes before anyone else!

[@lazysundayz]

So what does a mid level drug dealer drive

[@seanbrewer1232]

@@lazysundayz Lexus ls400-460

[@qdood]

Just Say No

[@kubectlgetpo]

No frunk?! Gotta be kidding me. You can so tell that a traditional car manufacturer slapped a battery and called it EV.. no innovation

[@schauntevaughner9105]

How IS YOUR BOTHER DOING HE WORKING AT THE HE WORKING ON THE VAN HOW IS YOUR DOG AND CAT HOW YOUR MOTHER DOIÑG HOW YOUR FATHER DOING HOW IS YOUR WIFE DOING TODAY HAVE A NICE DAY DO NOT TALL HIM MY XBOX FRIEND ASK ME PLEASE AND THANK YOU YOUR MY BUSTFRIEND TALL YOUR FAMILY SAY HI FOR ME PLEASE AND THANK YOU OK LOL

[@beesechurgerwithomion]

Looks like it’s already 10 years old. Everything Electric is junk

[@leonchen89]

Yep it looks like a rip off Acura RDX

[@eddieg6436]

….My BMW i8 roadster isn’t junk! 😎

[@beesechurgerwithomion]

@@eddieg6436 yes it is

[@eddieg6436]

@@beesechurgerwithomion …..as if you’ll EVER even see one, let alone ride in one, or own one!!! 😂😂😂. #brokendownfordfocus 😂

[@beesechurgerwithomion]

@@eddieg6436 easy there, no need to get so triggered. I’d never want to own that POS, I have too much self respect. I’d buy a Ford festiva before I buy anything electric

[@KameronKDH]

Ugly as hell, interior is great tho

[@Kdubzlovescars]

So beyond lame

[@01chch1]

This is a luxury car? Mercedes? Kia is making nicer EV's

[@bikes7777]

I hate EVs.

[@eddieg6436]

….life must be rough living in a Flyover state!! 😂

[@bikes7777]

@@eddieg6436 I'd pick God's country any day over NY or CA or whatever liberal overcrowded city you exist in.

[@Dark_Vader888]

So ugly. They copied the styling from my equally ugly 2016 Tiguan;

[@dyingangelo]

modern electric merdes out here trying to look generic