Is driving a Mercedes-Benz EV really any different from a petrol car?
First things first, when we attended the launch event of the Mercedes-Benz EQS 500 4Matic, we were given the chance to drive over to the production plant in a few Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles (EVs), namely the EQA 250, EQB 350 4matic, EQC 400 4Matic, EQE 350+ and of course, the EQS 500 4Matic.
Moreover, while I did not drive each and every single one of these Mercedes-Benz EVs, I did get a chance to speak with a few other fellow media personnel and hear their thoughts on the models I did not get to drive, the consensus was that the differences in how these vehicles drive is negligible but they share similar qualities.
What qualities specifically? Well, each of the Mercedes-Benz EVs rides smoothly over bumps and they all remain stable and planted even at higher speeds. The safety systems all work as intended and the electric range is very good in all models as we managed to drive from Puchong to Pekan and only recharged for 15 minutes one time.
Now let’s look at the Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 4Matic. This car was perhaps my favourite to drive as I feel it was the “jack of all trades” model in the EQ lineup. Sure it’s range was weak compared to the EQS and sure it was not as agile as the smaller EQA but it did everything extremely well.
On top of that, the official numbers for the Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 4Matic say that the car has a cruising range of 423km and makes 292hp as well as 520Nm of torque, well I can agree with the power output although I feel Mercedes-Benz low balled that figure since the electric motors kicked down so quickly.
We also did not manage the whole 423km but we sure did come close, even though, my driving partner and I were pushing the car on the straights, we managed almost 300km and still had 20 percent charge left before recharging which, according to the Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 4Matic’s systems, was just under 100km.
Going into the drive, I expected the Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 4Matic would kick down much faster than a petrol car but I was genuinely frightened by how hard the regenerative braking pulled the car back when I only slightly lifted my foot off the throttle (never mind the fact that I didn’t even touch the brakes), but I got used to it pretty quickly.
In fact, this is something that you can customize within the car so we can conclude that the regenerative braking on the Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 4Matic is a bit jarring by default and definitely a bit stronger than on the Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4Matic but this can be adjusted. Other than that the car drives just like a petrol car would.
There you have it, even as someone who was always skeptical of EVs and preferred hybrids, I can now say, maybe my “range anxiety” was slightly misplaced and if anyone can get EVs right, it would be Mercedes-Benz.
