Mercedes-Benz EQA: 1 Month, 1000km Review

The baby in the EQ range blends some sense with style and sensibilities

It’s been a month since the Mercedes-Benz EQA made an entry to the CarDekho garage. In that time, it has racked up over a 1000 kilometres and left us with some stronger opinions than when we first drove it last year. 

Hey Mercedes! 

Absolutely no one calls this car the ‘EQA’. Almost always it has been referred to as ‘the Mercedes’. Whether it’s my 70-year old mother, my 3-year old niece, the security staff or the car wash fella. And I’ve got to admit, there’s some feel good attached to it right there. The brand has enormous pull, it’s the default ‘I’ve made it in life’ brand and the EQA lets you have a big slice of that vibe from the word go. I want to say people treat you a little better if you step down from a Mercedes than they would otherwise.

It's seemingly turning a few heads too. Whether it’s the deep blue shade, the connected lighting or the green number plate, I’m not quite sure. But attention’s almost a given, whether you like it or not. 

Calm, Not Hyper

Mercedes sells the EQA in the ‘250+’ spec which means there’s a 70.5kWh battery paired with a 190PS motor that drives the front wheels. It almost seems deliberate that the vehicle is tuned to ‘waft’ to a high speed and not frantically scramble its way there. It’s easy to get used to the throttle response of the EQA making it feel friendly to those new to premium cars, whether electric or not. 

It’s also very easy to trust the EQA’s range abilities. While the claimed range stands at 560km, our runs saw it average between 460-490km on a full charge. We weren’t even trying to drive it super efficiently. The EQA was left in Comfort mode, with the regeneration set to ‘Auto’. Using the ‘maximise range’ function (which cuts off everything other than the drivetrain) and some careful driving will have it nudge past the 500km mark in real world conditions quite easily. 

Hidden Hero

After having fiddled with the available brake energy regeneration modes on the first drive back home; I decided to switch it to ‘Auto’. Called ‘Intelligent Recuperation’ on the brochure, this feature is possibly the highlight of the driving experience. Based on input from the ADAS system, the EQA figures out the amount of braking power you need the moment you ease off the accelerator. It is so intuitive that you can practically drive the EQA using just the accelerator pedal. Unless and until you need to come to a dead stop, you do not need to use the brake pedal. Brilliance. 

Now on to little things we’ve grown to appreciate about the EQA:

• The adjustable underthigh support for the front seats is so good to have. Especially over longer drives. 

• You can have the 360° camera start up at specific locations, saved in the system using GPS. It could be a tight lane you have to squeeze through or maybe just your parking spot.

• Proper physical switches for the air-con and the infotainment. That they feel premium to touch and have satisfying feedback is a bonus!

• AMG-style sport steering wheel gets perforated leather — feels just right to hold. 

• The touchscreen can be switched off entirely; came in very handy on the odd late express highway drive where I wanted the music, but not another source of light at my face. 

Of course, there have been some annoyances too: 

• Since day one, an annoying thudding sound is audible from the rear suspension. 

• The rubber beading of the boot makes a weird creaking sound over bad surfaces. 

• Rear seat is placed too close to the floor, occupants end up seating knees up. 

• The parking sensors are too sensitive for Indian traffic — it cries for help every now and then. I fear for the rear camera mechanism that pops up every time a vehicle comes in closer than it is supposed to. 

• I miss seat ventilation! 

Sure, the EQA isn’t what you would typically call value for money. But it’s a ticket into the luxury world and it’s a damn good one at that. You can’t really put a price on good old aspirations, but Mercedes has. Rs 66 lakh, ex-showroom.