Mercedes EQA Review

Practicality and boot space

Based on the GLA crossover rather than A-Class hatchback, the EQA does have a decent dose of practicality. The high floor in the back seats will make taller passengers feel like they've got their knees bent upwards in a fairly uncomfortable fashion, but it’s otherwise a decent place to be and will be practical for a small family. ​The 340-litre boot space will be okay if you've only got a lightweight buggy or a medium-sized dog to deal with, but if you've got a double buggy or carry lots of chunky items regularly then you may be better off looking at alternatives like the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Skoda Enyaq - which aren't nearly as premium-feeling but are much roomier inside and have vastly bigger boots. 

​The space up front is good, with plenty of seat adjustment for the driver. There's a centre cubby that's big enough to keep your lunch in, while the door bins and two cup holders will keep your drinks and bottles out of the way. There's a cubby for your phone, too. ​

If you do want more space and utility for not that much more money, there's always the seven-seat Mercedes EQB that shares much of the EQA's parts and panache. 

Interior and design

The finish in the Mercedes EQA is really good, and the liberal amounts of gloss plastics, tactile materials and metal inserts does make this feel much more premium than most rivals including the Audi Q4 e-tron, although BMW iX1 and Volvo XC40 come close to the Mercedes' level of interior plushness. It's a really smart place to be, and you also get 64-way ambient lighting as standard, which is rather fancy. Visibility is decent, although the standard reversing camera and blind-spot warning can still come in very handy. 

Dashboard

It's a very classy and fairly user-friendly dash, in the EQA. The touchscreen is going to be your focal point to almost all of the car's functions, of course, but the configurable digital dials are very clear and easy to see even in bright sunlight, and you can add a head-up display if you wish, too. The row of physical buttons, which include temperature control for the two-zone climate control, are really useful, too. 

Technology

There are screens galore inside the EQA and just about all functions are controlled via MBUX – the choice of voice, gesture or touchpad commands to do everything from switching radio station to adjusting the temperature of the climate control up or down. It’s activated with the phrase ‘Hey Mercedes,’ (or you can just wake it up by pressing button on the steering wheel, which we find a lot less annoying) and works even with natural phrases like ‘I’m a bit hot’ to crank up the air-con. Just expect a few teething problems getting it to understand you if you’ve a regional twang or dialect, as many people in the UK surely do.

However, in-built artificial intelligence is designed to learn your habits and so should make controlling things much easier after a few months of ownership, when the car’s brain has – somewhat spookily – learned how warm you typically like the cabin and what you listen to most. Hopefully it doesn’t judge your musical tastes too harshly. 

More importantly, the 10.25-inch touchscreen that has been standard on every EQA since the 2024 update is a really good system. It's complex enough that you'll want to take some time to figure out where everything is and how it works when you first get in, but the same can be said of any modern in-car touchscreen. In the scheme of things, we find the Mercedes' system a bit more intuitive than that in most rivals, although the Tesla Model Y's is a touch quicker to respond and more straightforward. Naturally, there's sat-nav with a charger search function that will also show you how many chargers are free at any given location, as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

Safety

The Mercedes-Benz EQA gets the full five stars from Euro NCAP, and comes tantalisingly close to a perfect score for adult occupant protection, at 97 per cent. It also gets blind-spot warning, lane-keep assist, autonomous emergency braking and a full bevy of air bags including a driver's knee air bag as standard, although you have to pay extra for the adaptive cruise control and semi-autonomous drive mode that lots of rivals, including the Kia EV6, get as standard.