2023 Mercedes-Benz EQA350 Electric Review

Like many other global manufacturers, German giant and automotive icon Mercedes-Benz is going through a massive transformation to electrify its product lineup and reduce its carbon emissions. Almost every letter of the Mercedes-Benz product alphabet now has an electric – or EQ, if we’re speaking the company’s language – variant, and by 2030, the whole lineup will be electric. With such a legendary reputation for engineering and luxury, will the brand’s least expensive electric car feel like a true Mercedes-Benz product? We tested the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQA350 to find out.

The EQA is an electric small SUV that’s based on the company’s small petrol SUV: the popular GLA. It competes in the ever-expanding electric small SUV segment and is offered in two forms – the EQA250 and the recently released EQA350, which adds a second electric motor for all-wheel drive. Aside from the drivetrain, the EQA’s changes over the GLA on which it’s based are limited to different front and rear styling for superior aerodynamics, as well as EQ-specific menus in the infotainment system.

Price & Equipment: 7/10

While there are two EQA models available in Australia, priced from $81,700 plus on-road costs, we tested the upper-spec EQA350, which is priced from $101,800 +ORC (around $112,000 drive away).

Standard equipment on the EQA350 includes 20-inch alloy wheels with run-flat tyres, adaptive dampers, automatic all-LED lighting, automatic wipers, a panoramic sunroof, roof rails, keyless entry and start with a hands-free electric tailgate, heated/auto-folding mirrors with puddle lamps, dual-zone climate control with rear air vents, a flat-bottomed Nappa leather steering wheel with paddle shifters for regenerative braking adjustment, heated front seats with electric lumbar adjustment, twin 10.25-inch screens (one for the digital instrument cluster and the other for the infotainment screen) with the company’s ‘MBUX’ operating system, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation with live traffic, digital radio, multi-colour LED interior ambient lighting, a wireless phone charger, a 10-speaker sound system, synthetic ‘Artico’ leather and suede upholstery, multiple drive modes and stainless steel pedals.

Safety equipment includes nine airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, rear auto braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assistance with lane trace assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, speed sign recognition with adaptive assistance, Matrix adaptive high beam functionality, driver attention monitoring, safe exit assist, front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree parking camera.

Despite being a top-spec model, there are a few options available for the EQA350. The limited $3,900 Edition 1 Package adds a number of special trim elements like rose gold wheels, gloss black exterior trim and grey leather upholstery with blue stitching and the $1,800 MBUX Innovation Package adds a heads-up display and extended voice control for the MBUX infotainment system. Separate options include $1,023 14-way electrically adjustable front seats with memory functionality, $600 black open-pore linden wood trim and an $1,100 extended alarm system is also available. Finally, a $1,700 (plus installation) type 2 AC wall box charger is also available.

Available colours for the EQA350 include the no cost ‘Solar White’ and ‘Night Black’, as well as for an extra $1,490, our test car’s ‘Digital White’, ‘Mountain Grey’, ‘Rose Gold’, ‘Iridium Silver’, ‘Denim Blue’ and ‘Cosmos Black’, while the special matte ‘Mountain Grey Matto’ is $3,300. Our test car featured a mix of synthetic leather and suede black upholstery, though black full leather is available for an extra $1,700.

The EQA350’s main rivals are the BMW iX1, which is due on sale in Australia within the next few months, and the Volvo XC40 Recharge. The BMW is priced from $82,900 plus on-road costs (around $90,000 drive away) and the Volvo is priced from $81,490 +ORC (around $88,500 drive away) – or a good $20,000+ less than the EQA350. Yet both the XC40 and iX1 have features like electric front seats and premium sound systems as standard equipment as well, making them both better value than the EQA.

Performance & Range: 8/10

Using the same platform as the GLA – not a dedicated electric vehicle platform – the EQA has underpinnings which are very much designed for internal combustion engines. Under the body of the EQA is a 66.5kWh lithium-ion battery that gives around 400km of range, according to the WLTP testing standard. In the EQA350, there’s one electric motor on each axle for all-wheel drive and a healthy combined output of 215kW of power and 520Nm of torque – well up on the lesser EQA250’s 140kW/375Nm outputs.

In the EQA350, you can sprint from 0 to 100km/h in just 6.0 seconds – 2.4 seconds faster than the EQA250 – and while it doesn’t feel that fast from a standstill, the grunt quickly builds and it feels generally quick, though not as quick as the rapid XC40 Recharge and its 300kW of silent grunt (and its 4.9 second 0-100km/h sprint time). But the EQA350 is more than quick enough for most buyers.

According to the brand, the EQA350’s energy consumption is 17.1kWh/100km and we achieved a close 17.6kWh/100km, which is pretty good for the performance on offer. The EQA350 can charge at up to 100kW using a DC charger (with a Type 2 CCS connector).

The EQA350’s peak 100kW charge speed is a lot slower than the up to 350kW charging speed available on cars like the Kia EV6 or even the 150kW speed of the XC40 Recharge, but it still enables a 0 to 80 per cent charge in just 30 minutes. AC charging is available at up to 11kW, which will enable a full charge in just over six hours.

Ride & Handling: 9/10

Using the same ‘MFA2’ platform as the rest of the small Mercedes-Benz range – like the A-Class, CLA-Class, GLA and GLB – the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQA350 drives quite well. Most impressive is its noise suppression, which is excellent – despite not having engine noise to mask sound intrusion. Even at highway speeds, the EQA350 remains quiet and utterly refined like a luxury car should.

The EQA350’s driving dynamics are great as well. It’s no sports car at 2,091kg (tare weight) but manages to still be quite fun to drive, with a nimble and well-balanced feeling from behind the wheel. The steering is a highlight, with nice weighting and a good level of feel. The EQA350’s ride is also excellent thanks to its standard fit adaptive dampers. Despite having large 20-inch wheels, it rides nice and softly – though putting it in sport mode makes it firmer for sportier driving characteristics.

There are four levels of regenerative braking for the EQA350, including a clever automatic mode, which relies on information from the car’s radar to choose the appropriate level based on traffic around – there’s also a one-pedal driving mode as well. Its visibility is largely great thanks to thin pillars and big mirrors, though the rear 3/4 view can be a bit blocked by the car’s C- and D-pillars – thankfully the blind-spot monitoring helps.

The active safety systems on the EQA350 are excellent. They’re intuitive to use and quite effective in operation, again, as you’d expect for a Mercedes-Benz product. The lane keeping assistance is particularly well tuned, while the 360-degree parking camera is great – we particularly appreciate the small camera screen that pops up when something is detected in front of the car with the parking sensors. Our test car had the MBUX Innovations Package fitted, which adds a great heads-up display – definitely tick that box!

Interior & Practicality: 9/10

While the interior of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQA350 is near on identical to the GLA on which it’s based, that’s no bad thing, as it’s of great quality, filled with useable technology and at night, has amazing lighting that makes you feel special – again, as you’d expect from a Mercedes-Benz product.

The quality inside the EQA350 is generally quite good, with use of high quality materials like the soft touch plastics on the doors and dashboard, as well as the lovely Nappa leather steering wheel and the ‘Artico’ faux leather upholstery of our test car. The switchgear all feels nice and tight in hand, while the highly configurable ambient lighting adds a sense of drama at night too.

The EQA’s cabin is quite practical with big door bins, a big glove box, a big centre bin underneath the central arm rest and a storage tray underneath the dashboard with surprisingly shallow cup holders and a wireless phone charger. Thanks to the optional electric front seats – which shouldn’t be optional at this price – the EQA’s driving position is great with a good range of seat adjustment to get comfortable.

The EQA350 has two 10.25-inch screens covering both the infotainment and driver’s display and both use the company’s latest ‘MBUX’ operating system. The infotainment system has plethora of functionality, including wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation with live traffic and digital radio – as well as online apps like weather and the best voice assistant we’ve ever used. Saying ‘hey Mercedes’ wakes it up and enables you to control a wide range of features – even controlling the windows, for example.

MBUX can be controlled using either the touchpad on the centre console or by touching the screen itself, and initially its menus can be a touch overwhelming, but spending time with it not driving to help learn its various functions does wonders and afterwards, it’s quite easy to use. It’s quite a configurable system too, and the driver’s display is the same as well – high quality, intuitive and configurable.

The only issue we have with MBUX is that the smartphone mirroring screen appears quite small on the large screen itself – and that both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are wired and not wireless. The 10-speaker sound system is pretty reasonable too – though the Harman Kardon system in the XC40 Recharge is definitely punchier if that’s what you’re after.

The back seat of the EQA350 is reasonably spacious, with reasonable legroom but great headroom for even taller passengers. The rear cabin features door bins, map pockets, a central arm rest with cup holders, air vents and a single USB charging port – but no heated seats, separate climate zone or window shades. The rear seat is split 40:20:40, which allows you to put long items like skis through the middle.

The bootspace of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQA350 measures 340-litres with the seats up – 95L less than the GLA thanks to the battery mounted underneath the floor – and 1,320L with the seats folded flat. The boot is very well finished with features like hooks, side storage, a strap on the side to hold fragile items and some storage underneath the boot floor as well. There’s no spare wheel, like most other electric cars.

Service & Warranty: 9/10

Like the rest of the current Mercedes-Benz lineup, the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQA350 has a five-year/unlimited km warranty with five years of roadside assistance, as well as an eight-year/160,000km warranty for the battery. A five-year/125,000km service pack costs $2,650 ($530 per service), with service intervals falling either once yearly or every 25,000km, whichever comes first. Helping ownership costs further is a three-year subscription to Chargefox chargers included as standard with each EQA, allowing owners to plug in to the company’s 14,000 Australian charging ports for free.

Both Volvo and BMW also feature five-year/unlimited km warranties with the XC40 Recharge and iX1, both with eight years of battery warranty (the Volvo for unlimited km, BMW with 160,000km). A three-year service plan is included with each XC40 Recharge, while BMW is yet to announce service pricing for the iX1 – a larger and more expensive i4 can be had with a $1,765 six-year service plan, and we’d expect similar for the iX1. Neither BMW or Volvo gives you free charging with their products.

The 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQA350 DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.4/10

Our first taste of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQA350 has us quite impressed with the smallest member of the Mercedes-Benz EQ family. It offers quite a lot to electric car buyers, including a high quality interior with lots of intuitive technology, amazing ambient lighting, excellent driving dynamics, good performance and range, a lot of standard equipment and a mostly serene driving experience.

It’s not perfect, of course – it’s not hugely spacious inside, it’s not cheap to buy and while the performance is good, a Tesla Model Y Performance or Kia EV6 GT are much quicker for less money. But that’s beside the point – the EQA350 offers a well-rounded and luxurious driving experience for those who can afford it. The best part? It offers the electric Mercedes-Benz experience for a lot less money than some of the other products in the range and that alone makes it the bargain of the century.