MERCEDES EQB 300 RANGE TEST AND FAST CHARGE TEST

I will first test the range at higher average speeds on the highway. I wanted to know what the minimum range of this car might be.

At the beginning of this part of the test, the battery is fully charged to 100%. I’m going to base my estimated range on average consumption and net battery capacity.

I did the test in August and it was between 22.5 and 26.5 degrees.

I drove from Brussels towards the Ardennes for a ride totaling 111 km. I tried to drive at a constant speed of 120 km/h, but on some parts of the ride the speed limit was 90 km/h or there was busier traffic, so it was not always possible to keep the speed constant at 120 km/h.

After 111 km, the battery was down to 66% and the average consumption was 19.9 kWh, resulting in an estimated range of 334 km.

Then I left the highway for some sporty driving on country roads.

After about 30 km of sporty riding, I was ready to drive home via the highway. At that time, the battery was at 56%, consumption was 20.2 kWh and the estimated range was 329 km.

Let us now drive back from the Ardennes to Brussels via the freeway.

Let’s take a look at my results.

I drained the battery to 16% and the consumption dropped slightly while driving back. Range on the highway came out to 339 km km based on an average consumption of 19.6 kWh.

The Mercedes EQB is equipped with CCS (combined charging system). With this system, the EQB can be charged with either AC or DC.

For this test, I am charging the car at a DC Fast Charger.

The Mercedes EQB can fast charge at up to 100 kW. Mercedes says it takes 32 minutes to charge from 10% to 80% at 100 kW.

I did the test immediately after my test on the highway.

At the beginning of the test, the battery is only at 16% and the range indicator shows a range of 57 km. Outside, it is 26.5 degrees.

The car indicated that it would take about 50 minutes to fully charge the battery. I am going to do a 30-minute load test.

At first, the car charged at around 100 kw. The car reached this peak charging speed within the first minute of starting the charging session.

After 10 minutes, I was charging at a rate of 99 kW. The battery increased to 39% and we gained about 83 km on the range indicator.

After 20 minutes, I noticed that we were charging at 94 kw. I gained another 84 km of range and the battery is now at 62%.

After 30 minutes, the battery is at 83%. The charging speed dropped to 76 kw. The range stands at 298 km, so in total we gained 241 km.

I haven’t done an AC charging test with this car, but let’s look at some theoretical information. The charging speed of the built-in charger is 11 kw. The AC charging time from 10% to 100% is 5.57 hours at 11 kW.

Now let’s test the range at lower speeds. I wanted to know what the maximum range of this car could be.

At the beginning of this part of the test, the battery is at 82%. The temperature was between 25 and 27.5 degrees.

I did this part of the test after the charging test.

The first part was driving on small town roads. It was in an urban area, sometimes a little more rural, but with plenty of opportunities for smooth driving, usually between 50-70 mph.

The rest of the drive I drove in Brussels. More in an urban area but with lots of stop-and-go driving.

Let’s take a look at my results.

I ran the battery down to 64% over a total 81 km ride. During the drive, consumption increased from 14.2 to 14.8 kWh. The city range is thus 449 km, which is even higher than the WLTP range.

In conclusion, the range of the Mercedes EQB is somewhere between 339 km and 449 km, based on similar driving conditions and measured at higher temperatures between 22.5 and 27.5 degrees. My guess is that in much colder temperatures, you will probably get less range.

If you are interested in the EQB but want even more driving range, there are also front-wheel-drive versions of the EQB, which have less power but offer more range. On the order of 468 km WLTP range for an EQB 250.

What I liked about driving this car was that it is quite spacious inside and very practical as a family car. The EQB offers a Mercedes-like luxury experience, with beautiful materials and finishes. Obviously less than in top-of-the-line models, such as the EQS, but more refined than in a Tesla Model Y. It also has a more refined night driving experience with its colorful ambient lighting.

On the other hand, it has no groundbreaking range, charging speed or sporty acceleration.