First a beginners course in letter codes, otherwise we will never get out of the name labyrinth. One of Mercedes’ smaller SUVs was called GLB when all SUV names at the company started with a G. An electric version of that GLB was subsequently released under the name EQB. That was at the time when Mercedes started the type names of its EVs with EQ. In this way, it wanted to show that it took the energy transition seriously: new spring, new sound.
But the new EQB is simply called GLB and it can now be purchased on petrol and on electricity, with the same letters for every taste. The letters EQ have been added to the model code for the electric variants, but that’s history. The electric apartheid strategy rubbed the customer base the wrong way. You looked like you were in one of those separately labeled ecodings with a strange black face mask where there used to be a grille. The Mercedes driver wants one normal Mercedes with one normal name and a normal nose. This is now completely fine again, just like with the electric CLA and GLC.
More importantly, at least for the electric GLB, the change is real progress. Although the EQB was the least unattractive SUV in the Mercedes range at the time, it did not achieve any great feats. It was a pleasant, but as an EV no more than reasonable car, and a deadlier verdict can be a top brand with its house slogan That’s the best of all don’t meet. He was not very frugal. With a not very large battery he did not get very far. And with a disappointing fast charging capacity of 100 kW, it was the wallflower of the Fastned pavilions. I recorded a consumption of usually 22 kWh per 100 kilometers and a range of 350 kilometers.
Struggle for survival
The irony is that it didn’t have to be a problem. I drove to Denmark with an even smaller plug-in Mercedes from the offending EQ family, the EQA. I am not sad on behalf of myself but on behalf of the Mercedes people. He wants to be the leader in all disciplines. For the same money as the bare-bones EQB, he saw a Kia with more range and a battery pack that hardly degenerated at a dealer further down the road. And then the latest crop from China still had to arrive here, cars with charging speeds of up to 480 kW and a level of finish that a German manufacturer should not have been ashamed of. They came like bolts from the blue.
Mercedes now knows how dramatically and how quickly the automotive world has changed. Where it used to think it could live safely on its status, it is now the underdog in a battle for survival against the scale and innovative power of the Chinese car industry. The once untouchable German auto industry learned three hard lessons. One: we have lost our technical lead. Two, our brand prestige has evaporated. Three: Germany is a village, China the world. More people, more intellect, more market, more decisiveness, more heroism and less sentiment, cold-blooded efficiency. Europe wanted to be connected and decent, this is the price: losing more power and capital.
It suits Mercedes not to go too far. Take it easy and the line won’t break
But Germany is now taking a remarkably assertive stance. The GLB 250+ counterattacks with renewed energy and hard numbers. With 272 hp it is motorized with restraint, which in my opinion is only right because it is sufficient, but it goes 200 kilometers further than my last test EQB and charges three times as fast with 320 kW. That is less smooth than the 400 kW of new BMWs, but it suits Mercedes not to go too far. Take it easy and the line won’t break. And the engineers can be proud. The GLB is an excellent car. It sits well, drives comfortably, it is whisper quiet, the dashboard-wide screens are excellently integrated into the exemplary functional dashboard. It is also spacious, and with a reasonable test consumption of 16.8 kWh per 100 kilometers, this is not a cheap but very competitive car.
Clear dashboard in the style of previous models. The number 481 on the display refers to the range, but in practice there is more to it – at least for those who drive normally.
New corporate identity: window switches in the shape of a whale’s tail. The muscular arm is for the electric seat adjustment.
Everything is a light show on the GLB, down to the ventilation grilles.
A chair in which the backrest and headrest form one whole was once called an airplane seat. Fits well, but Mercedes could sometimes be a little more colorful. Everything is black.
Photos Merlijn Doomernik
He only got a flat tire. I also experience that, no software can cope with fate. But behind a flap above the interior mirror there is a red emergency button. Press it and someone in Maastricht will answer the phone to arrange roadside assistance for you on King’s Day, who will help you get back on the road within an hour and a half with an emergency repair. I doubt whether the Chinese will roll out the red carpet for you like that.
