Mercedes-Benz has plugged the gap between its EQA and EQC battery electric vehicles with the new EBQ - which also happens to be the only one of the trio of EQ-SUVs that offers seating for seven.
With a price range of $99,990-$109,900, the EQB sits just above the $91,800 EQA (and shares much of its platform architecture), with a big jump up to the $154,900 EQC in Mercedes-Benz's BEV lineup.
Like its EQ-SUV siblings, the EQB is essentially an electrified version of an existing combustion-engine model, the GLB, rather than a bespoke BEV like the new EQS. There's a substantial premium for the EQB over its GLB sister model, which ranges from $83,800-$98,800 in Mercedes-Benz guise, although it does cross over into the electric model's pricing territory in Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 form: $117,100. There's also 60 litres less bootspace in the electric version - but it's a still-generous 1700 litres with the second and third rows folded.
The new EQB 200 features a 66.5kWh battery and single (FWD) electric motor that's good for 371km range and 140kW/385Nm. It's a five-seater as standard. with the option of a third row for $2900 (total price $102,800). That's $1450 per chair, but what price family fun?
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The EQB 350 adds a second electric motor to make it AWD, with range of 360km and combined outputs of 215kW/520Nm.
But with the extra power and traction, buyers must give up the seven-seat option - the 350 is a five-seater only, thanks to the space required by the extra motor for the rear axle.
Both models have a full Mercedes-Benz safety and technology package, although the EQB 350 brings extra garnish such as sports seats/steering wheel, red interior stitching, AMG-themed exterior addenda and 20-inch alloy wheels.
An Edition 1 package is also available for the EQB for "a limited time" says Mercedes-Benz. It adds $9100 to the 250 or $3900 for the 350 and brings extra exterior elements, with EQ-specific features on the inside including backlit trim and blue stitching on the seats and doors.
There is of course a bigger, bolder bespoke-BEV Mercedes-Benz seven on the way to NZ for 2023: the EQS.