MERCEDES’ PREMIUM MPV

Van-based seven-seater goes electric with a 340km range and a B4.1mn price tag

You could argue that the new Mercedes-Benz EQV gets very close to being the perfect BEV. It’s generous in size and tall, so a very big battery slips under it a treat. It’s one of those vehicles that’s likely to do constant city to airport runs, so its journeys will be regular and fairly short. It’s built for a wide range of loading conditions (from six people plus luggage to just its driver), so its air suspension can be expected to cope with the battery’s additional weight. And its operators are bound to have regular charging to hand.

In essence, it’s an electric version of the recently updated van-derived V-Class, smartly furnished for five in the back (with three, if necessary, across the rear bench), with powered side doors and rich (if conservative and a tad funereal) black leather trim.

Our test car’s price of £77,145 (4.1 million baht in Thailand after taxes) is no bargain (although the EQV starts at £70,665), but if reducing initial outlay is your target, you can instead buy a diesel V-Class for as little as £54,620.

As soon as you drive it, this MPV’s suitability as an EV becomes even clearer. It’s a little more sluggish off the mark than most EVs but still gives the same clean departure. It’s extremely quiet and smooth, gliding along with ease and swallowing broken bitumen without a murmur.

Road noise is low, too, because the cabin is extra-well-insulated from the road by the big battery.

Even the steering, which might be expected to be bus-like, is nicely weighted and very accurate, and the turning circle isn’t disastrous, because the EQV is only about as long as the Mitsubishi L200 and Ford Ranger pickup trucks — and people use those as family cars.

The best surprise, though, is the range: Mercedes promises 342km at this time of the year, and we returned almost exactly that without trying excessively.

The one foible is a rather bouncy ride if you get going on a British B-road. It bounces when largely unladen, so with five rugby players and kit aboard, we reckon it would be seriously underdamped at any more than a leisurely cruise. Then again, it will probably never be driven like that in service, so no drama. It’s effective at doing what it was built for.