Reviewed: The EQA Premium from Mercedes-EQ

Forever in electric dreams? Quit dreaming and check out Muddy Stilettos’ latest review of Mercedes-EQ’s best-selling SUV the EQA.

THE LOWDOWN

Ooh, a chance to ride around in a gorgeous electric EQA for a few days? Don’t mind if I do. I’m road-testing Mercedes-Benz South West‘s bestselling all-electric car: the EQA, a family-friendly automatic SUV which comes with a huge sunroof, easy-peasy keyless entry/exit and more intelligent gizmos than Einstein.

Fully electric, it has zero Co2 emissions, so far more environmentally-friendly than a traditional combustion gas-guzzler. And as I’m sure you know, the clock’s ticking. In 2030 production on new cars and vans wholly powered by petrol and diesel will grind to a halt, with many hybrids swiftly bringing up the rear year in 2035. Time to get up to speed.

The EQA is available in three models: Sport, AMG Line, and AMG Line Premium. I’m putting the latter through its paces. Hop on board!

THE CAR

Having never driven an electric car, my range anxiety is ridiculously sky-high by the time I pick up the car from Mercedes-Benz South West Exeter showroom. I mean, it does take some getting your head round you won’t just be able to pull into a garage and fill up. So, my first question to Sam, their Sales Executive, is: “How do I charge it?” Apparently, it’s everyone’s first question. Just think of it as driving a normal car, he says. When the range drops down to under 50, it’s time to start thinking about refuelling.

Sam shows me how to charge up. Just take the charging cable from a hidden compartment from the boot, pop open the fuel thingammijig (as it’s technically called) and plug in. It takes about half an hour to get the official 263-mile range costing around 2.5 pence a mile, but as most people buy a home charger ), you’d only be charging like this on long journeys.

Thankfully, the car has a built-in ‘Sam’: the car’s Infotainment System shows you where the nearest charging stations are. Alternatively, you can download the Mercedes Me App or check for free on ZapMap which has some 36752 locations mapped across 21906 charging locations (as of Nov 22) 6.9% of those in the South West, although you’ll need to check it’s compatible with your type vehicle.

THE LOOKS

A sporty SUV, very like the equivalent non-electric Mercedes-Benz GLA, with a lotta shiny chrome, super-aerodynamic wheels to increase fuel efficiency and a rear LED light bar spanning the boot which looks really cool, especially at night.

The only clue its electric is the blue stripe above the headlights and the blue EQA lettering on the side. There’s no mistaking it’s a prestige car as Mercedes-Benz upped the size of the badge about five years ago. Although when you look closely you realise the grill behind it is blocked-out. There’s no need for a grill as there’s no engine to cool down. It feels lovely inside, very luxe, all black manmade leather (vegan options available) with racy-red stitching, and a super-sleek and shiny dash.

As with all Mercedes-Benz newer cars, where you’d expect the gears to be is a central console, with a hand-rest for scrolling through the Infotainment Centre. Good for those who hate smears, although you can also do it via touch screen or scrolling dials on the steering wheel.

Love this! Quite the surprise when you first open the front doors in the dark. Do you need a Mercedes logo beamed onto your drive? Not unless you’ve zero lighting. But is it fabulous? Yes!!

THE DRIVE

Smooth, fast and sooo quiet. It’s a high, comfortable ride, and very responsive with none of the usual gear-change you usually get in an automatic, and great acceleration up our Devon hills. Visibility is amazing when reversing, although with the reverse camera you barely need look round. You feel quite cocooned due to heated seats, a leather steering wheel, and the very quiet drive. Back-seat drivers have loads of head-room and leg-room. This is due to the seats being quite low to the chassis which might make the long-legged feel a bit bucketed up on long journeys. Teens will rejoice as there are three USBC charging points and an easy-peasy wireless charging point where you can just chuck your phone without plugging in.

I did the twisty lane test, up to the moors and it held the road well, and the reverse camera came in handy. Two trips to Exeter, one to Haldon Moor and two to Exeter left me with an 82-mile range from a start of 220.The braking took getting used to as it’s so responsive, but you get used to it quickly and adjust. Plenty of the room in the 40-litre boot for Muddy’s weekly shop (or for locking away Mr Muddy when he complains about my braking).

THE TECHY BITS

Here comes the science, no snoozing at the back! This car works on a powerful electric motor and high-voltage 66kw/hour lithium-ion battery producing 190 hp and 0-60 in 8.9 seconds.

The Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX), a multi-media system manages your calls, sounds, satnav and car settings. MBUX has a new EQ menu to control electric, including searching for charging stations and programming satnav with charging stops built in.

For the parking-averse, with the press of a button you can get the car to assess the size of the space and reverse park for you. It’s scary to relinquish control of the wheel the first time you do it, but WOW!

The intelligent satnav couldn’t be clearer, especially if you’re not good at map-reading (who moi?) thanks to augmented reality pics of the road.

I especially love how I can tell it what to do (husband and children take note). Say Hey Mercedes, and tell the helpful lady newsreader your bidding, such as finding out the time, turning up/down the heating, ask how long till you arrive at your destination or to phone a contact. Vague commands like “I’m cold’ will get the heating turned up. Even trying to trick it with “How long till I need to get fuel?’ – didn’t phase it. I’m yet to find a car where this function always works but the EQA was the best yet. Top marks.

If you share the car with the other half you’ll never argue again (at least over the car) as you can create different driver profiles with preferred settings, including the disco-party ambient lighting (a whopping 64 colours to choose from). I didn’t get to try it but I love the sound of the Mercedes MeApp which allows you turn on the heating remotely. Heaven on these freezy mornings.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

It’s the future, baby! If you’re looking for a safe, solid super-comfortable family electric vehicle which oozes quality, reliability and modernity, the EQA is for you. What clinches it for me is Mercedes-Benz have addressed the lithium elephant in the room by going carbon-neutral with their factories in 2022 and sustainable sourcing of lithium for batteries. While the initial outlay is more expensive (around £15k more than the GLA), servicing and maintenance, tax and the cost to run work out cheaper in the long run.

Good for: excellent range before you need to charge; family holidays and child ferrying; prestige business use. It has strong male, female and teen cred – my kids begged me to buy it and I’d love to! Fans of latest car tech and oodles of luxury; GLA owners – making the swap from fossil fuel to an electric has been made easy as controls are very alike.

Not for: if you routinely do 200+ mile journeys; zero off-road parking for the wall charging box; If you’re a technophobe the amount of gadgetry may fry your brain; the time poor who’d prefer to leave facing up to what’s coming to mañana.

The damage: Their Approved Used EQA stock starts at £47,000 depending on spec and which package you choose to go for. All Approved Used vehicles with Mercedes-Benz South West come with 1 year warranty, free roadside assistance and a 14 day money back guarantee.

Fancy test-driving the EQA? See if you agree with my verdict and give the lovely people at Mercedes-Benz South West a call. They have showrooms in Exeter, Plymouth, Taunton and Truro. Contact us here.