Mercedes-Benz EQV Review & Prices

The Mercedes EQV is a big, luxurious, electrically-powered form of transport that feels plush inside, but just happens to be based on a hard-working van. It’s like putting on a builder’s reflective jacket and finding that it’s lined with silk and beautifully stitched. It’s the battery-powered version of the V-Class MPV, and therefore closely related to the Vito van, and it competes with other electric seven-seaters such as the Volkswagen ID Buzz, the Peugeot e-Traveller, Citroen e-Spacetourer and Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric, the Ford e-Tourneo Custom, and, when it eventually arrives, the electric version of the Volkswagen Caravelle. Mind you, all of those are a good bit cheaper.

From the outside, the only visual difference between the EQV — besides the badge and lack of an exhaust pipe — is the grille, which like those of the smaller EQA and EQB is blanked-off, and features slim chrome bars instead of the toothier look of the V-Class. You’d have to be a colossal Mercedes nerd to tell the two apart. You might spot the more aerodynamically-optimised alloy wheels, though. While it’s very much a van, the small styling tweaks and the Mercedes badge definitely add an air of class.

Inside, the latest update to the EQV (and the rest of the V-Class lineup) has brought with it a distinct improvement in the cabin. Whereas before, the cabin of the EQV seemed pretty dated and old-hat for those sitting up front, now it looks far more modern, with conjoined instrument and infotainment screens sitting atop the dash, and there are gorgeous optional wood finishes too. Odd, though, that the EQV is one of the last Mercedes models to persevere with the odd, and occasionally annoying, laptop trackpad-style controller for the infotainment system. It’s much easier and quicker, in this case, to just tap the screen. Thankfully, Mercedes has kept the nice, clicky, physical buttons for the air conditioning system.

There’s tonnes of storage space up front — thanks partly to the fact that the gear selector is on the steering column — and the door bins are utterly massive, as you’d expect from a van.

Mercedes Benz EQV 300: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 221-222 miles
Efficiency: 2.2 miles per kWh
Battery size: 90kWh
Max charge speed: 110kW
Charge time AC: 10-12hrs
Charge time DC: 45mins
Charge port location: Left front
Power outputs: 204bhp

Space in the back is even better. Being based on a van means that you can be just as comfortable whether you’re sitting in row two or row three, and you don’t even have to keep the seats in traditional rows — the EQV’s interior is flexible enough that you can have the rear seats facing one another, for that full-on Apprentice sensation. Higher spec models get folding tables for each seat — and there are five in the back as standard, split between a three seat bench and two individual ‘captain’s chairs.’ No-one’s going to be uncomfortable back there, and the middle row of seats (assuming that’s the layout you’ve picked) easily slides and folds to allow access to the further-back seats. All of the rear seats come with ISOFIX points for child car seats, which is great.

Boot space depends very much on how and where you position the seats, and it’s almost totally variable on that basis. However, as with many MPVs, if you fill all the seats, there’s not a lot of space left over for bags. Go for the optional Extra Long version if you need more boot space, but the weight of the extra bodywork does impact the range.

The only powertrain on offer for the EQV uses a 90kWh battery and a 204hp electric motor driving the front wheels. Mercedes quotes a maximum range of 222 miles, which is OK, but that will fall to as little as 160 miles if you’re racking up lots of motorway miles. A seven seat Volkswagen ID Buzz can stretch to 293 miles, officially.

If you’re looking for a car-like driving experience, the ID Buzz is a better bet in that regard too. For something that’s as big, tall, and van-y as the EQV, it’s actually pretty nice to drive, but you can tell it’s still a van at its core with the noise that reverberates up through the huge interior space and the ponderous feeling around corners on twisty roads.

That said, it’s easier to move around town than you might expect, and turns quite tightly, which is good when you consider that the EQV’s short range means that it’s really designed for city-centre celebrity transport.

It’s also really good on the motorway — Mercedes’ excellent radar-guided cruise control helps here — and very comfortable, no matter which of the seven seats you’re sat in. However, motorway miles really hit the range, so sadly the EQV isn’t able to make the most of its comfort.

Really, the EQV isn’t a family car — in spite of how much your kids would love the huge back seats and the electric sliding side doors — it’s a professional services vehicle, designed for use as a posh taxi or airport transfer vehicle, able to slip silently in and out of ULEZ areas. Still, it’s a tempting prospect, even at the colossal asking price, and you’ll find no classier way of hauling seven people about.

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Brace yourself, because the Mercedes EQV might be based on a van, but it’s not wearing a commercial vehicle price tag. In fact, this electric seven-seater costs more than £90,000 in basic form. That’s enough to make the rival Volkswagen ID. Buzz seven-seater — a car that regularly gets castigated for its price tag — seem positively cheap, and the Volkswagen has considerably more range too. The likes of the Citroen e-Spacetourer and Peugeot e-Traveller are also much cheaper, but can’t match the classiness nor comfort of the Mercedes, and both feel pretty cheap inside.

The EQV manages to be comfortable and easy to drive in most scenarios, but the chassis can judder over bumps and range isn’t great

In town

For such a long car, the Mercedes EQV manages to be relatively simple to pilot around town. The light steering makes manoeuvring easier and you have a turning circle of just 11.8m, but that can’t hide the fact the EQV is close to 5.4 metres long. A Volkswagen ID. Buzz has a tighter turning circle too at 11.1m, but the EQV isn’t bad for something this huge.

The standard-fit comfort suspension does a good job of ironing out a lot of creases at higher speeds, but at slower speeds, there can be some shakes and bumps through into the cabin. Where the EQV will work best is in town, so the air suspension that’s offered on the top-spec model might be the way to go.

You do get the parking package as standard that offers a reversing camera and sensors on the front and rear. Those do help make getting through tighter gaps and into parking spaces pretty simple, but a 360-degree camera is now standard, to help make your life even easier.

With large windows all around, visibility is good. You can easily look over your shoulder into your blind spots, while the rear window is large too – although the rearmost head rests can block it when in place. The bonnet also isn’t too long, so you have a good sense of where the front wheels are.

The electric motor doesn’t provide sparkling performance, but does get you up to speed well enough. You can deploy the regenerative braking to help with recharging as well, with the intelligent recuperation – engaged by pulling both paddles on the steering wheel at the same time – the best mode to make the most of the battery pack.

On the motorway

For long-range drives, the EQV can be a comfortable car for up to seven people, but you may be charging it up fairly often. While the 90kWh battery pack sounds like it’ll take you quite far, the rather blocky shape of the EQV means you don’t get great efficiency when driving at motorway speeds.

As mentioned earlier, getting up to speed can be a little slow, with the 0-60mph time of 12.1 seconds certainly not the fastest for an EV. When you’re up to speed though, the EQV can be put into the slightly fiddly adaptive cruise control mode to help you keep a safe distance to the car in front and help you chew through the miles in comfort.

You do get lane keep assist and blind spot detection to help with keeping you safe in traffic.

On a twisty road

Being van-based, the EQV isn’t suited to being ragged on a twistier road. The front-mounted electric motor isn’t punchy enough to give you an exciting time while driving and the EQV’s height can mean you lean a bit through corners at higher speeds.

The lighter steering that helps around town doesn’t help communicate the grip from the tyres as successfully here. That’s not to say the EQV feels unsafe at all, it’s just much more suited to calmer driving and keeping passengers in comfort.

You won’t be wanting for space inside the EQV with loads of room for seven people, but the boot space, while good, isn’t as practical as alternatives

The EQV definitely doesn’t lack spaciousness, as the front two seats give you plenty of room. The driver’s seat gets a good amount of adjustment, with head and legroom for the passenger also ample.

Being a van, you inherently have a large space between the front seats. But rather than filling that with a centre console, Mercedes has left that empty to help with the roominess. You do have a storage bin below the infotainment touchpad though – a bit of a throwback in Mercedes design – while the doorbins and glovebox are okay, not special.

Space in the back seats

With two rows of seating behind the driver, you get plenty of room for passengers. That’s usually set up as a row of two in the middle ahead of three chairs at the rear – which can be removed to improve boot space, but you will then need to find a place to store them while they’re not in the car.

You can slide the seats on both rows forward and backwards easily to give you more legroom – although you don’t need to to be comfortable. You get good headroom too, making it great for ferrying people around.

Boot space

The 1,030-litre boot with seven seats in place is a good size for a family vehicle or a taxi service, but is a little short of the 1,100-litre space offered by the VW ID Buzz. You get a flat floor throughout, and by sliding the seats forward you can capitalise on storage space and still have plenty of room.

The Stellantis trio of the Citroen e-Spacetourer, Peugeot e-Traveller and Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric – that are built on the same chassis – all get 1,384 litres up to the roof, but you can’t move the rear seats of those forward to improve rear space like in the EQV.

You can improve the rear space even further by taking the rear seats out altogether. That said, you’ll then need to find a place to keep them in the meantime, which if you don’t have a garage, can be very impractical.

While you get decent levels of equipment and it looks stylish enough, the screens look outdated

Based on the V-Class that was originally introduced in 2014 and facelifted in 2019 and again in 2024, the EQV isn’t the most modern-feeling Mercedes you can buy. It feels much better than the Stellantis alternatives and is on a par with the newer Volkswagen ID Buzz – although the ID Buzz costs a lot less. Where the Buzz has the advantage is the look of the dashboard – it’s much simpler and less fussy than the Mercedes.

The 2025 update gave the V-Class a dashboard akin to a Mercedes E-Class from one generation ago - while it doesn’t have the eyecatching full-width displays you get on Mercedes’ newest luxury models, it does get two high-resolution screens. The central display is a touchscreen, but you also get a touchpad controller if you prefer interacting with that on the move.

Material quality is excellent - there are plenty of real metal finishes, and the switchgear all feels solid and nice to use. The exception is the touch-sensitive steering wheel, which is an exercise in frustration when all you’re trying to do is change the stereo volume.

Further down the dash you do find the occasional scratchier plastic, but that’s to be expected on a vehicle based on a commercial vehicle. Most of what you touch feels great, and that extends to the soft, supple leather used for the (very comfortable) seats both front and rear.

Passengers in the rear get electric sliding doors and you can add a rear seat entertainment pack to give them something to enjoy while they’re back there - or simply add a tablet mount to the front seat headrests and let them make use of ample 12V and USB sockets. There are also discrete air-conditioning controls for the rear, too.

The EQV is fitted with a 90kWh battery pack paired to a 204hp electric motor mounted to the front axle. The EQV 300, as it’s labelled, doesn't have a particularly streamlined shape and weighs more than 2,913kg at the kerb – not the best combination for long-range efficiency.

You get up to 222 miles of range with that setup (221 for the Extra Long), and that isn’t as good as the Volkswagen ID Buzz’s official range of up to 293 miles. You’re also needing to achieve 2.2 miles/kWh to get that figure, which is quite tricky at motorway speeds.

For charging, you get 11kW AC charging, which can take close to 10 hours to go from 10-100% charge. On DC, you can charge up to 110kW, getting you from 10 to 80% in 45 minutes, which means you may get caught out by overstay fees at some charging points.

Being an electric vehicle, VED costs just £10 for the first year, but because of the EQV’s chunky price tag, you’ll be paying an extra £425 in years two-to-six. If you’re a business user, though, the BIK (benefit in kind) tax charges are minimal, and start from as little as £47 per month.

When the V-Class was originally tested back in 2014, Euro NCAP gave it five stars. In the intervening years, that rating has been maintained, and when the EQV was introduced, it gained the same rating, although it should be noted that the crash test has been made more stringent in recent years.

The EQV also comes with a decent amount of safety assists as standard, including active brake assist, blind spot assist and lane keep assist, as well as the driver assistance package that adds adaptive cruise control. All of these help make drives much easier, especially in a bulky van.

You’ll be able to fit child seats with ISOFIX points on the five rear seats, while other security features include child safety locks and airbags in both the front and rear compartments.

The EQV has had some issues with suspension. The front axle of some models from 2020-2021 weren’t connected to the steering knuckle properly on some, while some suspension struts weren’t mounted successfully reinforced. If you’re after a used model, this is something you should make sure has been fixed.

With every Mercedes, you get a three-year/unlimited mileage warranty, while – being an EV – the EQV also gets an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty for the battery pack. You also get roadside assistance with that warranty that includes Europe-wide cover.

The EQV didn’t feature in the latest Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, but Mercedes as a brand had a poor outing — finishing in 25th place out of 32 brands in UK consumers’ eyes, with 26.3% of owners reporting faults with their cars.