Mercedes is taking electrification very seriously. We already know their hybrids and plug-in hybrids, and two years ago they released the EQC.
A fully electric car. Now, they've added a second fully electric car. The EQA.
Later this year, an EQB will be released as well, and the three of them are all based on 'regular' petrol or hybrid cars.
I'm talking about the appropriately named GLA, GLB and GLC. Cars that stand pretty tall on their wheels,
which leaves room for a battery pack. However, Mercedes isn't only focusing on crossovers. In the near future, they will present...
a dedicated electric platform, which will debut on the EQS. A big electric car in the same segment as the S-Class. However, it will be...
built on its own platform. In turn, that platform will be used for a smaller electric vehicle in the same segment as the E-Class.
If we look even further, to 2024, Mercedes will introduce an electric platform for their more compact models.
Anyway, that's a long time away. First we'll have the EQA, and except for the nose and rear end, it looks exactly like a GLA.
Just like the exterior, the interior is clearly inspired by the GLA. The biggest differences are in the details. Colors, stitching,
and there are lots of colors available. Also, because it's based on the GLA, you've got the MBUX-system aboard.
In front of me, there's a clear digital instrument cluster, with the infotainment system next to it. You can operate that in...
four different ways. Through a touchpad on the middle tunnel, you can swipe it, you can use voice control and you can use...
steering wheel. Remarkably however, this EQA still has the old steering wheel. In the new S-Class and E-Class, you now have a new steering wheel with...
touchpads on it. This still has physical buttons. And to be fair, I prefer this much more.
What I prefer as well is the set of separate buttons to operate the airconditioning. You can use the touchscreen, but this is easier.
Everything you see and touch is very premium. The used materials are of very high quality. Is the Volkswagen ID.3 taking notes?
In the front, there's more than enough room for me. The seats are very comfortable as well, very supportive.
This particular EQA has been equipped with the optional longitudinally adjustable seats, which can extend. A really good option.
There's enough space in the back as well, but the seating position is a bit weird. That's because the seat seems to be very low.
Or rather, the floor has been raised by ten centimetres to fit a battery pack underneath it. You won't last very long back there if you're tall.
If we move even further back, we'll arrive at the boot. It can hold up to 340 litres of luggage. It's not groundbreaking and it's 95 litres less...
than in the GLA. Anyhoo, if you need to move a lot of stuff, you can just hitch a trailer behind it.
This car is allowed to tow 750 kg, which isn't bad at all for an electric car.
The chassis is basically the same as in the GLA. That means you've got MacPherson-struts at the front and Multilink-suspension at the back.
The way the springs and dampers are tuned however, are set to handle the additional weight of the electric drivetrain.
Mercedes did find a very nice balance in that.
This car is fitted with adjustable dampers, so you're able to make it even more comfortable or make it a tad sportier.
However, when I say sportier, I still mean very comfortable. I mean, it's not a Tesla. However, with the battery pack being...
at the right side of the center of gravity, it's a nice and stable total package. The steering feels nice and sturdy, which fits really...
well with the rest of this car.
Right now, I'm driving the EQA 250 which has an electric motor that drives the front wheels. It produces 190 horsepower and 375 Nm of torque.
With that, the car is pretty rapid. It easily goes with the traffic flow.
The car has been fitted with a 66,5 kWh-battery pack, which is supposed to take the car 425 kilometres on a single charge according to WLTP.
In reality, it usually is a tad less, and this is no exception. We picked up this car with a full charge, and the range was only 365 kilometres, which...
seems to be pretty realistic. The range decreases proportionally compared to the amount of kilometres driven, so that's decent.
The EQA is eligible for quickcharging, up to 100 kW DC. If you visit a regular charging station, you can three-phase charge it up to 11 kW.
I've asked them if there was going to be a 22 kW-version, but they neither confirmed that or denied it. Almost like a confirming silence really.
What we do know is that there's going to be a version with a bigger range. Because of improved cell-technology,
the WLTP-range will extend to 500 kilometres. And if that wasn't enough, Mercedes is planning on introducing a more powerful version as well.
That's going to be a four-wheel drive version, with an additional electric motor on the rear axle. That will produce a total of 270 horsepower.
Anyway, you'll have to be patient for that.
The car is available with all of the driving assists and safety features that are available for the GLA.
And that's quite an comprehensive package. What is different however, is the satnav. That now keeps track of your current battery charge.
Also, it monitors the speed of certain charging stations you may encounter.
That means it won't select a shorter route, but instead chooses a faster route, because it knows there's a quickcharger on the way.
So you might have to take a small detour, but you'll be on your destination even sooner. That's a pretty clever feature.
Keeping in mind that the EQA is still based on a regular car, it's still a pretty grown-up car. Much less of a compromise than the EQC.
Mission accomplished you'd say, but I haven't mentioned the price yet. It's a Mercedes, it's electrical, which usually means very expensive.
However, prices for this car start at €49.995, which makes it €100 cheaper than the regular GLA 250 with plug-in technology,
and it's even €3.000 cheaper than a regular GLA 250. That's how quickly things move nowadays.