Written by Alan Taylor-Jones Published: 22 October 2021 Updated: 23 January 2023

Overview

If you need a seven-seater that’s spacious, luxurious and powered by electricity, your choices are rather limited. In fact, you could argue that the Mercedes-Benz EQV is about your only choice if all occupants are to be transported in equal opulence.

Sure, you can buy a Tesla Model X with seven seats, but those in row three will have to be children or very uncomfortable. As for other electric Multi Purpose Vehicles (MPV), can you imagine a celebrity or important executive getting out of a Peugeot e-Traveller or Vauxhall e-Vivaro Life? Thought not.

The EQV is certainly a premium-priced offering, coming in with a cash price of more than £70,000, but for that, you get a 204hp motor, a luxurious and adaptable interior plus the refinement of an electric motor. Like the smaller EQA and EQC, it’s based on an existing Mercedes platform, in this case the V-Class MPV.

In terms of how it looks, there are no surprises. It looks like a V-Class with something akin to the EQC’s nose grafted to it. Despite a giant battery, the interior is just as spacious with only a few subtle changes giving the game away. Even then, the EQV-specific digital displays are only likely to be seen by the driver.

What is the Mercedes-Benz EQV’s range?

Despite being based on the eVito electric van with a paltry 93-mile range between recharges, a much larger battery means it’s capable of 211-213 miles of range according to WLTP testing. Based on our experiences we’d expect that to be nearer 150 miles in the real world if you venture onto the motorway. Thank a 2.6-tonne kerbweight for that.

The batteries are located under the EQV’s floor, giving it the same versatility as the diesel-engined V-Class. That means all occupants can face forward, or you can configure the rear seats to face each other with a central table. Perfect for those impromptu conferences mid-journey.

What about charging the EQV?

How long it takes to replenish the EQV’s 100kWh battery pack (90kWh usable) depends on where it’s being topped up, but at a rapid public charger it will go from 10% to 80% in 45 minutes. 

On a domestic wallbox that figure expands significantly to 10 hours (Mercedes-Benz quotes a 10% to 100% figure here), which makes this an overnight operation, as is the case with many high-end EVs these days.

All that can be monitored and managed via smartphone, and there’s all the pre-conditioning possibilities, be it warm or cold, to make setting off as comfortable and economical as possible.

What’s it like to drive?

Nestled under the bonnet is a 204hp electric motor that drives the front wheels via a one-speed automatic transmission. The 0-62mph time is claimed at 12.1 seconds and the maximum speed is electronically capped at 99mph. As you’d expect from that time, performance is pretty leisurely even with one person aboard, but it’ll happily haul itself up to 70mph and stay there without fuss. 

You can change the strength of the regenerative braking that tops up the battery when you come off the accelerator pedal. In its strongest mode, you rarely have to touch the brake pedal as it slows down quickly when you come fully off the accelerator pedal. Weaker modes will suit those who’d rather slow down using the brake pedal, while auto mode varies the deceleration depending on traffic in front of you. Although this works well in other Mercedes models, we found it led to an inconsistent response to the brake pedal that made smooth driving tricky.

You never get away from the weight and size of the EQV, though. But it’s exactly as you would expect it to be – great visibility from a high driving position gives you confidence in traffic, and it’s stable and quiet on the motorway. We’ve so far only sampled it with the air suspension that comes on the top Sport Premium Plus model. It’s soft and comfortable around town, but you really feel the EQV’s weight at higher speeds with a floaty sensation over crests and compressions.

Unsurprisingly, the squidgy suspension means plenty of bodyroll in the bends which won’t leave your passengers particularly happy. Even so, there’s sufficient grip to drive it far more briskly than you’d think although it’s anything but agile – no surprise given how porky it is.

The EQV offers Eco, Comfort and Sport drive modes, and there’s quite a difference between the two. Eco mode encourages slower driving, blunting accelerator response, which makes town driving a bit of a chore. Comfort is a good compromise offering better throttle response while Sport is a bit too sharp for our liking.

What versions are available?

Currently, there’s just one battery-spec available – the EQV 300 – offering the maximum range, and there are three trim levels: Sport, Sport Premium and Sport Premium Plus, maxing out at almost £80,000 in cash terms.

All EQVs get leather seats with Sport Premium adding the table we mentioned above.