Mercedes-Benz EQ-Class vs Volvo EX30

What's the difference?

I really liked the combustion version of this car, the GLB, for its funky style and flexibility and I was pleased to find how easily Mercedes has made the conversion to a fully-electric layout for the EQB.

Despite a tall price, the EQB 350 is a compelling option for those seeking something a bit more luxurious than the Tesla Model Y, something a bit larger than the Volvo XC40 Recharge, and something a bit smaller than the Audi e-tron or the EQC.

The main trade-off for this 350 variant is the loss of the seven-seat layout in favour of more performance. Instead it offers a huge boot, has a sufficient range for city-based buyers, and offers surprising levels of fun, too. 

Just make sure you’ve considered its rivals which may potentially offer more range or features for the same money.

Volvo has taken a bit of a risk because I'm not convinced that the EX30 knows who its audience is. However, our Twin Motor Performance Ultra test model is well-specified and the overall owner experience (from driving, usability and ongoing ownership costs) is great. This is a fun car and it looks super cute.

The EQB has a very predictable design in that it doesn't stray from the combustion car’s formula. At all.

The only evidence from the outside this is the electric version is the blanked out grille, and closer observers might notice the rear light bar which cuts across the boot lid is different from the split tail-light design which appears on the combustion car.

Still, to my eyes, the GLB is a cool design with its upright boxy look bucking the curvaceous trend of most EVs, and, indeed, the rest of the Mercedes line-up. 

Its rebellious streak makes it one of the most appealing SUVs in Mercedes’ current range, and it comes with a bit of toughness which is missing from the EQA. 

If nothing else, it’s a completely different look from Tesla’s amorphous Model Y, and this may be enough to appeal to some.

Inside is identical to other Mercedes models which sit on the MFA2 small car platform, immediately setting itself apart with the big high-resolution screens, glitzy ambient lighting, as well as an abundance of chrome and gloss black.

It’s designed to impress from the first time you hop in, and there’s no doubt it does, but it may be a bit over-the-top for some, particularly fans of the more conservative Mercedes designs of eras past.

The chrome in particular becomes a bit of a problem, as it has an annoying habit of catching the reflection of the sun and sending it directly into the driver’s eyes.

It all feels as plush as a circa-$100,000 luxury car should though, with the ‘Artico’ seat trim being one of the better synthetic options on the market, and soft-touch surfaces throughout the cabin selling the Mercedes promise. 

The GLB toughness is even reflected in the chiselled out finishes in the door, dash, and centre console, helping to set it apart from the tamer EQA.

The software is also fast, high resolution, and well presented, which bodes well given the amount of screen real-estate, and the amount of customization is impressive, too.

Again, there are many who will prefer its look and feel to the Apple-store chic of the Tesla Model Y, or the pared back Scandinavian approach of the XC40 Recharge, but also those who won’t. Like many new Mercedes products, it continues to polarise buyers.

The EX30 is gorgeous. It has an interesting shape that makes it look larger than it is and it's unique enough to attract users who might not love the Volvo aesthetic.

You can still see that it's part of the Volvo family with its crisp pleating in the panelling and 'Hammer of Thor' LED headlights, but its look is new and fun.

Large Volvo badging is framed by rectangular LED lighting at the rear and our test model's Cloud Blue paintwork is offset by a sporty black roof and frameless side mirrors.

The interior aesthetic is very pared back - think simple and classic lines, no buttons or dials and large air-vents.

The dashboard is headlined by a 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system, which also houses all of the info you'd expect to see on a digital instrument cluster because there's no head-up display or cluster in this model and it does take a while to get used to.

At first the simplicity is a bit too much to wrap the head around but once you do, the interior is incredibly intuitive to use and as a driver, it felt a little Zen-like.

There are four interior design choices Breeze, Mist, Pine and our test model's Indigo which couples 50 per cent recycled denim jeans for its accents, a grey and blue Nordico (synthetic fabric) upholstery and lots of recycled soft/hard plastics in various tones of blue and greys.

To be honest, the materials didn't always work for me but the cabin is still pleasant to look at.

This should be the GLB’s calling card. It’s a car with an ideal footprint, not as wide or as long as most mid-size SUVs, whilst also offering a larger cabin and boot.

The big drawback for this variant in particular is the lack of a seven-seat option, as the all-wheel drive requires the under-floor space which is required to give rear occupants legroom. 

It’s a shame, too, because I found the two rear seats in this car’s GLB combustion equivalent to be surprisingly accommodating for even adults.

As a result of these missing seats, though, the full volume can be exploited in the boot, which comes in at a whopping 495 litres.

It’s rivalled by the Model Y, which also has a cavernous boot, although it has a much larger storage area than the Volvo XC40. 

As an added bonus, there is a decent under-floor storage area which has enough space for all your charging cables, although there is no so-called ‘frunk’ with what is normally the engine bay taken up by cooling and auxiliary hardware. 

At first glance there’s so much going on under there, you’d be forgiven for thinking the EQB has an actual engine!

The cabin is also enormous as well as configurable. The EQB has massive rear doors (as it’s designed to be a seven-seater) to make it easy to get in and out of, and once you’re settled in, the amount of space for me (at 182cm) behind my own driving position is very impressive, with ample leg, arm, and headroom.

Rear passengers score the same nice synthetic leather seat and door trim as the front passengers, a bottle holder in each door, as well as two in a flip-out caddy on the drop-down armrest, two nets on the backs of the front seats, dual adjustable air vents, and power outlets on the back of the console. There is also a separate section of the split sunroof to benefit those in the back seat.

Up front the cabin is equally flexible, although it immediately seems odd that the front seats are manually adjustable. Almost unforgivable in a $100,000 car. 

At least the trim is comfortable, and again, the space is configurable for people of all shapes and sizes. 

Storage options include large bins in each door, a split-opening armrest console with USB-C outlets inside, a slide-open area underneath the climate unit, which houses a wireless phone charger and additional power outlets, as well as the usual glove box arrangement. 

Soft trims continue into the doors, although one small annoyance is the excess of chrome trim which has the unfortunate habit of reflecting harsh Australian sun into your eyes if it hits at the wrong angle.

The software is nice and quick, but can be cumbersome and over-complicated to operate at times, particularly when using the centre touchpad, or adjusting the dash with the small touch elements on the wheel. 

It is also notable the Apple CarPlay as-tested only took up a centre portion of the screen, and is not set-up for widescreen mode to take full advantage of the hardware.

Minor complaints aside, though, the EQB follows its combustion GLB twin in having by far one of the most flexible and configurable cabins in its class.

The cabin up front features plenty of leg- and headroom as well as cleverly designed storage options.

The rear row is surprisingly comfortable for space behind my driving position but I'm only 168cm tall and it might get squishy if you're behind taller front occupants. It's best to think of this car as a four-seater for adults though, the middle seat is an emergency seat.

The seats themselves are very comfortable for long trips, and both are powered and feature heat functions. My favourite feature inside are the door handles - easy to use and they look great too.

Like I mentioned earlier, the design is rather intuitive to use for every day. The only controls in the cabin are the window buttons and they're discreetly placed on either end of the middle console. The front only feature two buttons but you can switch them over for the rear window use via a little touchpad.

Individual storage is great for the class, with a large open centre console that features a dual opening lid with a shallow cubby, which is perfect to hide away any charging cables for the two USB-C ports.

There is a dedicated phone storage space in the form of a 'lean-to' scenario which also features the wireless charging pad and it's large enough to accommodate bigger devices like an iPad.

There is a sneaky glove box which is located underneath the multimedia screen but it irks me that you can only open it via the screen. It's large enough to hold a manual.

The other sneaky but super handy element is the retractable cupholder shelf that slides away into the middle console. You can also position it so only one cupholder is available or slide the cupholder insert backwards for a large cubby.

The rear gets large storage bins in each door, a drawer from the centre console but it's disappointing that the rear row misses out on cupholders or an armrest for added comfort. It does get two USB-C ports.

There is a 7L frunk storage plus the boot is adequate for overnight luggage or a grocery run with its 318L of capacity but that can jump up to 904L if you fold the rear row.

The multimedia system is fairly easy to use but you have to get used to it as it's a bit different from other Volvo systems I've sampled in the past. You also have to get used to accessing everything for the car, even for turning the car off, via the screen. I do like having buttons/dials but not having them in the EX30 mostly works.

There are three grades for the EX30 and our model on test is the Twin Motor Performance Ultra, which is the top-spec version. It is priced from $71,290 before on-road costs and that positions it as the most expensive compared to its nearest rivals.

The popular Tesla Model Y Long Range all-wheel drive is $69,900 MSRP, the Cupra Born (5 Seat) is one of the most affordable at $59,990 MSRP, and the Hyundai Kona Electric Premium N Line at $71,000 MSRP is the closest rival for price.

The EX30's price point and cute size means it's carved out a little niche for itself - little being the operative word as the rivals above are not apples for apples comparisons. The EX30 could be at risk of not knowing what its audience is - the design is fun, which signals a younger crowd, but the price point might rule them out.

Having said that, the EX30 wants for nothing really and manages to be very well-specified.

Standard items include, a 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Google Services (Assistant/ Maps/ Play), Spotify/YouTube apps, 5G Module, over-the-air updates, satellite navigation, dual-zone climate control, four USB-C ports, wireless charging pad, Bluetooth, and DAB+ Digital Radio and a Digital Key.

Luxury and practical items include heated and powered front seats, powered tailgate, heated steering wheel, a premium nine-speaker Harman Kardon sound system which features a long soundbar and a huge panoramic sunroof.

Annoyingly though the keyless entry is truly keyless ... there are no buttons on the key and it sometimes glitches when you try to open the door despite the key being in your hand!

While the EQB 350 loses its valuable third-row seats, it gains a much more impressive drivetrain than the lesser EQB 250 variant. 

While that car has a so-so front-motor set-up producing 140kW/385Nm, the top-spec 350 sports a much more capable 215kW/520Nm dual-motor system.

This allows a 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.2 seconds, and while it’s not as fast as the entry-level Tesla Model 3, it’s still impressive for a 2153kg SUV.

The all-wheel drive capability also adds a level of confidence which can’t be matched by a front-drive, more on this in the driving section of this review.

The Twin Motor Performance Ultra grade is an AWD with twin electric motors which combine to produce 315kW of power and 543Nm of torque (115kW front/200kW rear) + (200Nm front/323Nm rear).

The EX30 has a single-speed auto transmission and can go from 0 -100km/h in just 3.6-seconds - making it the fastest Volvo.

Regardless of which version of the EQB is chosen, the SUV has a 66.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack, and in the case of our all-wheel drive 350, this grants it a 360km WLTP-rated driving range between charges.

My car was reporting around 350km of range at or near a full charge, while my week of testing produced a dash-reported consumption figure of just 18.2kWh/100km.

This is surprising for two reasons. Firstly, I subjected the EQB 350 to a significant amount of freeway testing during my time with it, which usually produces worse consumption numbers for EVs, but it actually bested its official 21.0kWh/100km official figure by a decent margin.

Secondly, I’m puzzled to find this car outperformed the smaller and lighter EQA 250 I had on test in 2021 in terms of overall consumption, and by a significant margin. Very odd.

When it comes to charging up, the EQB can be charged at a rate of 100kW on a fast DC charger, for a 10-80 per cent charge time in a claimed 30 minutes. 

On the slower but cheaper-to-install AC standard, the EQB has an 11kW inverter, allowing a convenient ‘slow’ charge time of 4.1 hours. Expect between 25 and 30 hours on a standard wall socket.

The EX30 Twin Motor Performance Ultra has up to 445km (WLTP) driving range, which felt pretty accurate this week despite throwing some heavy open-road trips into the mix.

This variant has a 69kWh nickel manganese cobalt battery and an official energy consumption figure of 18.0kWh/100km (WLTP). After doing some urban and longer trips I saw my trip computer flitting between 19.0kWh and 22.0kWh/100km.

The EX30 has a Type 2 CCS charging port, which means you can hook it up to a DC charger and it will accept up to 175kW on a DC charging system.

On an AC 2.4kW standard domestic plug port, expect a long charging time of around 38 hours to get up to 80 per cent.

On an AC 11kW system, you can go from 0-100 per cent in eight hours (again, a little slow but reasonable enough for overnight charging).

On a DC 175kW system, you can go from 10-80 per cent in around 28 minutes.

This is where the 350 version of the EQB shines. This car is a beast to drive with plenty of power available at your right foot, and incredible amounts of traction to match from its torque-vectored all-wheel drive system. 

This lets it be rapid, but not scary, and despite its square and upright body, might surprise you when it comes to carving a few corners.

Like many EVs, the EQB’s weight feels low and centred, but it appears the suspension has been adjusted to remove any bouncy quality, which might come with the additional weight added over the combustion variants, with nearly 500kg of lithium batteries under the floor.

In fact, the ride is also one of the things which impressed me most about the EQB. It even has huge 20-inch AMG wheels, yet it dealt with bumps of all shapes and sizes in an impressive manner, keeping the body under control, and communicating remarkably little in terms of vibration or unpleasantness into the cabin.

The steering offes a nice balance of feel and electrical assistance, a trait which combines with the EQB’s convenient size to make for an easy SUV to park and manoeuvre.

When it comes to the EQB’s traits as an electric car, there are several modes available to alter the experience. 

Using the paddle shifters, there are several regenerative braking settings to choose from. While none of them are a ‘single pedal’ mode, the D- mode is pretty strong, and clearly contributed to the EQB’s surprisingly good energy consumption in my time with the car.

Activating D+ mode, which can be combined with a sporty driving setting, tones down the regenerative setting almost completely and feels as though it unleashes more potential from the potent electric motors. 

While the sportier settings made the 2WD EQA I tested last year feel a little twitchy and prone to wheelspin, the all-wheel drive system keeps this well under control in the larger EQB for impressive acceleration characteristics.

The breadth of this SUV’s ability is perhaps its most impressive attribute. It can feel comfortable and tame around town, with alarming speed and tenacity when attacking the open road should you so desire. 

Sure, it’s not as whiplash-inducing as some of its rivals, particularly the Volvo XC40 Recharge or Tesla Model Y, but for a luxury SUV like this it’s more than what you could ask for. 

Driving the EX30 Ultra is a mostly fun and lighthearted experience but it's not cutesy, no matter how adorable the external design is.

The twin motors deliver serious power and you can fully expect 'tummy-sucking' moments of pure enjoyment whenever you put your foot down.

Coupled with a graceful on-road presence which assures you that the car will stick to the road like glue, and you have the fun-factor.

The lightheartedness comes from how nimble and easy the EX30 is to manoeuvre. The steering firmness can be customised and its compact dimensions makes it your best friend in tight city lanes.

You can't customise the regenerative braking, or at least, I couldn't figure out an easy way to do so outside of selecting the one-pedal drive option.

The cabin is mostly quiet and there's a refinement to longer journeys because of it. You get occasional wind noise at higher speeds and a little bit of road feedback too but longer journeys are lovely.

My only real nag is that there is no head-up display or instrument panel for your speedometre and I found my eyes directed away from the road because of it. You can find your speed info on the central multimedia system but I prefer something in front of me.

Parking my little blue cloud this week has been easy as pie because the 360-degree camera system is clear and the large windows provide excellent visibility.

At the time of this review, the EX30 has not been tested by ANCAP and is unrated but it has all of the safety equipment you'd expect of a Volvo.

Standard equipment includes, blind spot monitoring, driver attention alert, safe exit warning, rear occupant alert, tyre pressure monitoring, tyre mobility kit, rear collision warning, forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, hill start assist, traffic sign recognition, intelligent seatbelt warning, adaptive cruise control, parking assist, a 360-degree view camera system as well as front and rear parking sensors.

The EX30 is also fitted with seven airbags and the Volvo-designed whiplash injury protection system (WHIPS) which helps to reduce the risk of whiplash injury if your car is hit from behind. On impact, the entire front backrest and head restraint moves with the occupant to support the neck.

Like other Volvos, the EX30 also has side impact protection (SIPS), which helps protect you and your passengers in a side collision. The body's steel framework displaces the impact of a side-collision away from the occupants to other parts of the car body.

The EX30 has ISOFIX child seat mounts on the rear outboard seats plus three top tethers but only two child seats will fit. If you have an extra-large booster seat, like me, then expect some of the back window visibility to be compromised when it is installed.

Mercedes offers a five year and unlimited kilometre warranty, with five years of roadside assist. The high-voltage battery components are also covered by a separate and industry-standard eight-year and 160,000km warranty.

Service intervals are once every 12 months or 25,000km and the service plan costs an average of $440 a year for the life of the warranty which is expensive for an EV, especially considering Polestar offers free servicing for the first five years, and Volvo’s electric offerings are around half the cost over the same period.

The EX30 is covered by Volvos five-year/unlimited km warranty and the electric battery is covered by an eight-year term - both are normal terms for the class.

What endears the EX30 to me is that servicing is included, which is very rare for a luxury brand to offer. Servicing intervals are reasonable at every two years or 30,000km, which ever occurs first.