Mercedes EQB SUV - Reliability & safety

Mercedes has a long-standing image for quality but it seems owners have been disappointed in recent years. However, the German brand’s performance in our most recent annual Driver Power survey was an improvement on prior years, suggesting the company has made inroads when it comes to meeting customers' expectations.

While the EQB is too new to conclude much about its reliability, the electric powertrain features far less moving parts than a conventional petrol or diesel model, so it should be robust, while the innovative safety features should help make the EQB one of the safest cars on the road.

Mercedes EQB reliability

None of Mercedes’ electric cars were ranked in our 2021 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, so any concrete reliability data is hard to come by. The brand finished 13th out of 29 car makers in our survey, ahead of BMW, Audi, Land Rover and Volkswagen. Interior quality was rated as a highlight, as was comfort, infotainment and practicality. But reliability seems not to be so good, with nearly 19% of all the Mercedes owners surveyed reporting a fault with their cars in the first year of ownership.

Safety

Safety is no concern, though. The Mercedes EQA, GLA and GLB all scored five-star ratings, so we’d expect the EQB to follow suit if it’s tested by Euro NCAP. The EQA impressed with scores of 97% and 90% for adult and child protection respectively. Standard safety equipment includes autonomous emergency braking and lane-keeping assist, and higher trim levels get additional driver aids.