Mercedes-Benz EQA vs Nissan LEAF

What's the difference?

The EQA is clearly a big step forward for Mercedes-Benz and the premium segment in general, with the EQA 250 offering compelling real-world range in an attractive package, although it is relatively expensive.

And for those buyers that like a little extra oomph, it will be worth waiting for the EQA 350, which will deliver much more spritely straight-line performance. Either way, the EQA should be taken seriously.

If you’ve never driven an electric car before, the Nissan Leaf e+ is the perfect starting point.

It looks and feels for the most part like a conventional car, and it doesn’t throw any of its tech in your face.

It might sound like a criticism, but the Leaf e+ is easy-to-use and unintimidating, which is refreshing in a world dominated by TikToks, smart watches and cryptocurrency.

With a boosted driving range and a bit better performance, the Nissan Leaf e+ certainly puts a strong case forward as your next – or first – EV.

Externally, it’s pretty easy to pick the EQA out from the GLA and the wider small-SUV crowd thanks to its unique front and rear fascias.

Up front, the EQA’s LED headlights are linked by a more expansive, albeit closed, grille as well as an LED light bar, to give off that seriously futuristic look.

But around the side, the EQA could be mistaken for another GLA variant, with only its unique alloy wheels, ‘EQA’ badge and some chrome trim helping to separate it from the pack.

That said, at the rear, there’s no confusing the EQA for anything else, as its bespoke LED tail-lights stretch from side to side to cut quite the striking impression, while the ‘Mercedes-Benz’ badge and number plate are repositioned.

Inside, though, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the EQA and GLA. Indeed, differentiation is only really achieved if you option the AMG Line package, which comes with unique backlit trim for the dashboard.

That said, the EQA is still a very nice place to be, with the premium feeling heightened by the soft-touch materials used on the dashboard and door shoulders, while the armrests are also comfortable.

Speaking of which, while Artico synthetic leather upholstery covers the armrests and seats to push the EQA’s sustainability story, Nappa leather (read: real cow hide) ironically trims the steering wheel. Make of that what you will.

The EQA makes a strong statement, though, with its conjoined 10.25-inch displays, with the central touchscreen and digital instrument cluster powered by Mercedes-Benz’s now-familiar MBUX multimedia system. Yep, it’s still arguably best in class.

If you were expecting all electric cars to look like something out of Star Wars or Blade Runner, you might want to lower your expectations a tiny bit with the Nissan Leaf.

From the outside, the Leaf looks just… fine?

You can tell it’s an electric car because there aren’t big gaps in the front grille to let in air, and the sharp, angular styling helps the Leaf better cut through the air to maximise its driving range.

Step to the side and you’ll see a silhouette of a small hatchback, but spruced up with ‘Zero emissions’ badges and 17-inch wheels with low-rolling-resistance tyres.

The blacked-out C-pillar is kind of cool, and pinches the rear end a bit for a more stylish and even coupe-like roofline.

That roof is finished off with a subtle spoiler that carries down into the half-blacked-out tailgate and sharp tail-lights. There’s also a little diffuser down there and, being an electric car, there are no exhaust outlets to ruin the plastic.

Inside, once again, the Leaf looks just fine.

The biggest thing that really stands the Leaf e+’s cabin apart from a conventional small hatchback is the shifter, which is now a small puck-like thing.

It still functions the same, you pull it towards you and down to chuck the Leaf in drive, it’s just not a gear stick, and is one of the only giveaways that the Leaf is an EV from the inside.

The 8.0-inch touchscreen dominates the centre stack, and it's great to see that, despite the Leaf’s futuristic feel, there are still buttons and switches for the climate controls, rather than being an all-touchscreen affair.

It might sound like I'm a fan of the way the Leaf e+ looks, but it doesn’t really break the mould in terms of styling.

Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is completely up to you, as some would rather a more traditional looking vehicle, but I’d prefer a bit more zing in the style department.

Measuring 4463mm long (with a 2729mm wheelbase), 1834mm wide and 1619mm tall, the EQA 250 is on the larger side for a small SUV, although its packaging is compromised by its battery.

For example, the EQA 250’s boot has a below-average cargo capacity of 340L, which is 105L less than that of the GLA. That said, it can be increased to a more respectable 1320L when the 40/20/40 split-fold rear bench is stowed.

Either way, there’s no load lip to contend with when loading bulkier items, with the boot floor staying flat, no matter the storage configuration. Better yet, two bag hooks, a strap and four tie-down points are on hand for securing loose cargo.

And yes, while the EQA 250 is an all-electric vehicle, it doesn’t have a froot or frunk. Instead, its drivetrain components completely occupy the space under the bonnet, alongside some other key mechanical bits and pieces.

In the second row, the EQA 250’s compromises once again come to the fore, with the raised positioning of the floor leading to occupants more or less squatting when seated on the bench.

While under-thigh support is sorely lacking, nearly 6.0cm of legroom is available behind my 184cm driving position, while a couple of centimetres of headroom is on offer with the optional panoramic sunroof fitted.

The small central tunnel also means passengers won’t really be fighting over precious footwell space. Yep, the rear bench is wide enough that three adults will be able to sit abreast on a shorter journey.

And when it comes to young kids, three top-tether and two ISOFIX anchorage points are on hand for fitting child seats, so the EQA 250 can very much cater for the whole family (depending on its size).

Amenities-wise, the second row has a fold-down armrest with two pop-out cupholders, while its door bins can take another bottle each. Then there’s storage nets on the front seat backrests, and air vents, a USB-C port and a small cubby at the rear of the centre console.

In the first row, things are even better, with the centre console featuring a pair of cupholders, ahead of which are a wireless smartphone charger, a USB-C port and a 12V power outlet. And then the large central bin contains an extra two USB-C ports.

Other storage options include the decently sized glove box, while a staggered three bottles can fit in each of the front door bins. Yep, you’re unlikely to die of thirst in the EQA 250.

Measuring 4490mm long, 1788mm wide, 1540mm tall and with a 2700mm wheelbase, the Nissan Leaf e+ sizes up nicely against small hatchbacks like the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai i30.

Up front, there’s no denying the Leaf’s practicality, and the cabin feels light and airy thanks to big and generous windows, even if the A-pillars are a little on the thick side.

However, the seats are positioned a little too high – at least for our tastes – and without a telescoping function on the steering wheel, it can take a bit of time before you find the most comfortable driving position.

Storage options in the front seats include door pockets that will take a big water bottle, two cupholders between the seats, a deep storage cubby under the armrest and a tiny little recess that will fit your wallet and smaller phones.

In the rear seats, space does get a bit tighter, at least for my six-foot-tall frame, but there is still sufficient head and leg-room in the two outboard seats.

The middle position is pretty compromised, however, because of the lithium-ion battery underneath and all the components needed to get juice up to the front wheels, which eats away significantly at the footwell.

In the back, storage options extend to a bottle holder in the doors and map pockets behind the two front seats.

Opening the boot reveals a cavity that will accommodate 405 litres officially, but you might want to be careful not to load the Leaf to the brim.

There’s a Bose sound system device positioned right behind the back seats, which emits a beeping sound when reversing to warn pedestrians you are there, so you’ll have to be careful not to damage it with anything big and heavy.

It’s a bit disappointing to see there are no bag hooks or luggage tie-down points in there, but at least there are storage nets where you can put your charging cables.

Fold the rear-seats down and available volume swells to 1176L, but the seats do not fold flat, making it trickier to transport longer items.

New tech is always going to cost a premium, just look at how the latest flagship smartphones have crept well over $1000!

So, if you’re expecting to pay a little more for an electric car than a petrol or diesel-powered model, you’d be right on the money.

You can get into a base Nissan Leaf for $49,990 before on-road costs, but the new 2021 e+ raises the bar to $60,490. Ouch.

There is quite a long list of equipment to justify the price though, but both Leaf and Leaf e+ actually mirror each other in spec, meaning the $10,500 difference in price is due to the latter’s improved driving range, performance and charging – but more on those in a bit.

As standard, the Leaf and Leaf e+ comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, rear privacy glass, heated front and rear outboard seats, heated steering wheel, and a leather and suede interior trim.

Drivers are also treated to a 7.0-inch multifunction display, which can be customised to show driving range, energy consumption and more.

Handling multimedia duties is an 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, seven-speaker Bose sound system, digital radio and satellite navigation.

There are some noticeable omissions on the spec list, however, which are especially jarring given the Leaf e+’s forward-facing powertrain.

There’s no wireless smartphone charger and there’s no head-up display, plus the park-brake is foot-operated, which is a big disappointment in a new car in 2021.

The EQA 250 comes with a front-mounted electric motor, which produces 140kW of power and 375Nm of torque. With a kerb weight of 2040kg to deal with, it sprints from a standstill to 100km/h in a respectable 8.9 seconds.

But if you’re after higher performance, the EQA 350 will add a rear-mounted electric motor for combined outputs of 215kW and 520Nm. It will be able to shift its 2105kg frame to triple digits in a hot-hatch-like six seconds flat.

Under the bonnet of the 2021 Nissan Leaf e+, you will find the electric motor and inverter, which drives the front wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.

The Leaf e+’s electric motor produces 160kW of power and 340Nm of torque, which is a noticeable step up over the standard Leaf’s 110kW/320Nm output.

As a result, the Leaf e+ is quicker in the 0-100km/h sprint, needing just 6.9 seconds, compared to the Leaf’s 7.9s time.

The EQA 250 is fitted with a 66.5kWh battery, which delivers a solid 426km of WLTP-certified range. Its energy consumption is 17.7kWh/100km.

On the other hand, the EQA 350 will use the same battery but will last 6km longer in between charges while requiring 0.2kWh/100km less juice along the way.

In my real-world testing with the EQA 250, I averaged 19.8kWh/100km over 176km of driving, which primarily took place on country roads, although time was spent in the urban jungle.

As such, I would’ve been able to get 336km of range out of a single charge, which is a solid return for a city-focused vehicle. And keep in mind, you’d be able to get an even better result without my heavy right foot.

When it does come to charging, though, there’s no difference between the EQA 250 and EQA 350, with their shared battery able to increase its capacity from 10 to 80 per cent in a commendable half an hour when using a 100kW DC fast charger with a CCS port.

Alternatively, the onboard 11kW AC charger with a Type 2 port will do the job in 4.1 hours, which means charging at home or the office will be a breeze no matter the time of day.

Conveniently, the EQA comes with a three-year subscription to Chargefox’s public EV charging network, which is the largest in Australia.

Officially, the Nissan Leaf e+ consumes 18kWh per 100km … which we’re betting means absolutely nothing to you.

Translating this into real-world terms, the Leaf e+ will travel about 385km with a full charge.

This is much higher than the 270km afforded in the standard Leaf because the e+ has a much larger 62kWh battery, which is part of the reason it costs so much more.

However, with things like regenerative braking and careful use of the air-conditioning, your mileage can greatly vary.

In our week with the car, I actually managed an average consumption rating of 17.3kWh/100km, bettering the official figure.

Regardless, using a standard household socket will get the Leaf e+ from 30 per cent battery to full in about 11.5 hours, and using a DC fast-charger will cut the 20-80 per cent charge to just 45 minutes.

Do note that the Leaf e+ features the CHAdeMO DC fast-charging ports, which are a little harder to find than the CCS varieties.

The Leaf e+, as well as the Leaf, also now support bi-directional charging, so you can use your car to power your home to charge things like your phone and Nintendo.

The EQA 250 is genuinely relaxing to drive. Of course, a lot of the credit for this must go to the powertrain, which excels within the city limits.

The front-mounted electric motor’s 375Nm of torque is nothing to be sneezed at, with its instantaneous delivery helping the EQA 250 get up to 60km/h quicker than most internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, some sports cars included.

That said, the EQA 250’s smooth acceleration does become more leisurely as you approach and exceed highway speeds. It performs well enough, but if you want something that has more bandwidth, consider waiting for the more potent EQA 350.

Either way, the EQA 250 does an excellent job of regenerative braking, with Mercedes-Benz offering owners the power of choice. Simply put, if you want to drive it like ‘a normal car’, you can, and if you want to fully embrace zero-emissions driving, you can, too.

There are five modes to choose from, with D Auto using road data to work out the best approach, while the other four (D+, D, D- and D--) can be selected by the steering wheel’s paddle-shifters.

D offers the natural approach, with a slight amount of regenerative braking occurring when lifting off the accelerator, while D-- (my favourite) turns up the aggressiveness to (almost) enable one-pedal driving.

Yep, the EQA 250 can unfortunately only slow things down to a crawling pace and not a complete stop due to its annoying lack of auto-hold functionality for the electric park brake.

When you do need to use the friction brakes, like other all-electric vehicles, the transition to them isn’t the smoothest. In fact, they’re quite grabby initially.

Most drivers can probably fine-tune their inputs over time to counteract this, but it’s still a thing, nonetheless.

Handling-wise, the EQA 250 doesn’t exhibit that much body roll, considering it’s an SUV, although the underfloor positioning of its battery helps to lower its centre of gravity.

Speaking of which, the EQA 250’s two-tonne-plus kerb weight is undeniable when pushing hard through the bends, often causing understeer and therefore working against the driver.

Another factor to consider is grip, the EQA 250’s front tyres can be overwhelmed when encountering a heavy right foot off the line or out of a bend. The upcoming AWD EQA 350 is unlikely to suffer from the same problem.

What feels much sportier, though, is the EQA 250’s electric power steering, which is surprisingly direct when attacking the twist stuffy. It’s also appreciably light in hand, unless the Sport drive mode is called upon, in which case a decent amount of heft is added.

Despite stiffer springs dealing with battery’s extra weight, the EQA 250’s ride is also pretty comfortable, although our test vehicle had the AMG Line package fitted, with its 20-inch alloy wheels managing to catch road imperfections a little too easily.

Of course, the suspension set-up (independent MacPherson-strut front and multi-link rear axles) does come with adaptive dampers, but they’re best left in their Comfort setting, as the Sport mode reduces the ride quality while not meaningfully improving handling.

And as far as noise levels are concerned, without an engine labouring away, wind and tyre noise have become quite prominent in the EQA 250, although turning up the sound system does help to drown them out. Either way, more sound deadening would have been nice.

If you’ve never driven an electric car before, there is a bit of a learning curve. For starters, the torque is available instantaneously, and there isn’t any exhaust or engine noise to contend with.

But don’t worry, because Nissan has made it really easy to just get into the Leaf e+ and go.

Firstly, there is nothing intimidating about the cabin. The layout for all the controls and switches is well thought out, and everything is just where it should be and does what it's meant to do.

This means that, despite having an electric drivetrain, the Leaf e+ feels familiar – and that’s important to some.

Turn the car on, put it in Drive and – just like a regular car – push on the throttle to move. But even though torque is available right away, the Leaf e+ never shoots forward at a mind-blending or uncontrollable pace.

Can you tell the Leaf e+ has a peppier engine than the base offering? It’s hard to say without driving the Leaf and Leaf e+ back-to-back, but Nissan’s new electric hatchback offers spritely enough performance.

What is noticeable is the boost to driving range.

While an extra 110 or so kilometres might not seem like that much in the grand scheme of things, it means you don’t have to worry about plugging in and recharging as often, and it's always nice to look down at the range-remaining display and see a three-digit figure.

In our week with the car, we only charged up once, and there was never a moment where we stressed about running out of juice before getting the car back to base.

And if you really are worried about your range, or are into hypermiling, there is always the Eco mode, or Nissan’s e-Pedal, to play around with.

The former will just dial back performance to add about 15km to the overall range, while the latter allows the Leaf e+ to be operated with just the throttle pedal.

Lift off the right foot, and the Leaf e+’s aggressive regenerative braking will kick in to recoup energy and slow down the car, forcing you to think about and be careful with your inputs.

It might sound like a marketing gimmick, but it really is the best way to drive the Leaf e+ if range is a concern.

The Nissan Leaf e+ isn’t the last word on dynamics by any stretch, turn the wheel and the car will travel where you direct it, but it does so without any great flair or panache.

No, the 2021 Nissan Leaf e+ is a not dynamic wunderkind, but it absolutely nails being a comfortable, familiar and unintimidating step into the world of electric cars.

The Nissan Leaf e+ wears a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from the testing of the regular Leaf in 2018.

The Leaf scored notably high on the adult and child occupant protection tests, with six airbags as standard.

Advanced safety technology also extends to autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, traffic-sign recognition, high-beam assist, driver-attention alert, tyre pressure monitoring, front- and rear-parking sensors, and rear cross traffic alert.

Our favourite feature, though, is the surround-view monitor, which helps you nail that parallel park without curbing the wheels.

As with all Mercedes-Benz models, the EQA 250 comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and five years of roadside assistance, which currently sets the standard for the premium segment.

That said, the battery is covered by a separate eight-year/160,000km warranty for that extra peace of mind.

Better yet, the EQA 250’s service intervals are relatively long, at every year or 25,000km – whichever comes first.

A five-year/125,000km capped-price servicing plan is available, costing $2200 in total, or an average of $440 per visit, which is fairly reasonable, all things considered.

Like all new Nissan models sold in Australia in 2021, the Leaf e+ comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, along with five years of roadside assist.

The battery is covered by an eight-year/160,000km assurance period, which ensures three quarters of capacity after that time.

Scheduled service intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever occurs first, matching the industry standard.

With Nissan’s capped-price-servicing schedule, the Leaf e+ will cost around $1742 to maintain over five years, averaging out to be about $290 per year.

Without the need to change things like oil and sparkplugs, the all-electric Leaf e+ is much cheaper to keep on the road than petrol-powered competitors.