My experience of a 2024 Merc EQA350 as a loan car
Discussion
I was very pleasantly surprised by it!
Specs were 0 to 60 in 6 seconds(it is 4wd), and 288bhp/384Ib/ft/2035kg.
It had around 200 miles on the range when I got in it, and I drove about 60 miles in it. It was still showing around a 150 miles left on the range when I handed it back.
At first the braking regeneration got on my nerves a bit, but I did get used to it though. One pedal driving(mostly) was quite novel too I thought. I did say to my missus that it was a shame that it weighs so much though, because with less weight I reckon that it would feel pretty quick to be honest.
The initial pick up when I floored it wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be, especially because a lot of owners of EVs do say that it is immediate, but this wasn't anyway. Plus it never felt all that quick, however I am used to a F82 M4 as a daily though, plus the Merc GLE400d that we have also has far more torque in comparison to the EQA(it is heavier though).
Having a loan car that I didn't have to replace the fuel in felt good, and if you're only doing local runs, then I can definitely see why many love EVs for sure. It opened my eyes in a positive way, and that surprised me really, because I'm usually very quick to dismiss electric in fairness.
I just wanted to share some positivity about electric for a change really, and I felt like the car deserved it.
Specs were 0 to 60 in 6 seconds(it is 4wd), and 288bhp/384Ib/ft/2035kg.
It had around 200 miles on the range when I got in it, and I drove about 60 miles in it. It was still showing around a 150 miles left on the range when I handed it back.
At first the braking regeneration got on my nerves a bit, but I did get used to it though. One pedal driving(mostly) was quite novel too I thought. I did say to my missus that it was a shame that it weighs so much though, because with less weight I reckon that it would feel pretty quick to be honest.
The initial pick up when I floored it wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be, especially because a lot of owners of EVs do say that it is immediate, but this wasn't anyway. Plus it never felt all that quick, however I am used to a F82 M4 as a daily though, plus the Merc GLE400d that we have also has far more torque in comparison to the EQA(it is heavier though).
Having a loan car that I didn't have to replace the fuel in felt good, and if you're only doing local runs, then I can definitely see why many love EVs for sure. It opened my eyes in a positive way, and that surprised me really, because I'm usually very quick to dismiss electric in fairness.
I just wanted to share some positivity about electric for a change really, and I felt like the car deserved it.
cerb4.5lee said:
I was very pleasantly surprised by it!
Specs were 0 to 60 in 6 seconds(it is 4wd), and 288bhp/384Ib/ft/2035kg.
It had around 200 miles on the range when I got in it, and I drove about 60 miles in it. It was still showing around a 150 miles left on the range when I handed it back.
At first the braking regeneration got on my nerves a bit, but I did get used to it though. One pedal driving(mostly) was quite novel too I thought. I did say to my missus that it was a shame that it weighs so much though, because with less weight I reckon that it would feel pretty quick to be honest.
The initial pick up when I floored it wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be, especially because a lot of owners of EVs do say that it is immediate, but this wasn't anyway. Plus it never felt all that quick, however I am used to a F82 M4 as a daily though, plus the Merc GLE400d that we have also has far more torque in comparison to the EQA(it is heavier though).
Having a loan car that I didn't have to replace the fuel in felt good, and if you're only doing local runs, then I can definitely see why many love EVs for sure. It opened my eyes in a positive way, and that surprised me really, because I'm usually very quick to dismiss electric in fairness.
I just wanted to share some positivity about electric for a change really, and I felt like the car deserved it.
Quoted, just in case... Specs were 0 to 60 in 6 seconds(it is 4wd), and 288bhp/384Ib/ft/2035kg.
It had around 200 miles on the range when I got in it, and I drove about 60 miles in it. It was still showing around a 150 miles left on the range when I handed it back.
At first the braking regeneration got on my nerves a bit, but I did get used to it though. One pedal driving(mostly) was quite novel too I thought. I did say to my missus that it was a shame that it weighs so much though, because with less weight I reckon that it would feel pretty quick to be honest.
The initial pick up when I floored it wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be, especially because a lot of owners of EVs do say that it is immediate, but this wasn't anyway. Plus it never felt all that quick, however I am used to a F82 M4 as a daily though, plus the Merc GLE400d that we have also has far more torque in comparison to the EQA(it is heavier though).
Having a loan car that I didn't have to replace the fuel in felt good, and if you're only doing local runs, then I can definitely see why many love EVs for sure. It opened my eyes in a positive way, and that surprised me really, because I'm usually very quick to dismiss electric in fairness.
I just wanted to share some positivity about electric for a change really, and I felt like the car deserved it.
We spend countless hours on here arguing the toss about the theoretical benefits of one powertrain vs the other, the weight, the weight again, and then just for good measure the weight for a third time.
Get in these cars and drive them and it all goes out the window when you realise that they are a pleasant place to be, cover most of the bases and don't leave you feeling shortchanged.
Having said that, 140 bhp per ton was never going to set the world on fire.
cerb4.5lee said:
SWoll said:
And that was driving what is widely considered a pretty average EV.
Yes and I've been reading a few reviews of it, and they aren't exactly complimentary as you say. 
My experience with it has made me fancy trying a really fast EV now to be honest.
GT9 said:
Quoted, just in case...
We spend countless hours on here arguing the toss about the theoretical benefits of one powertrain vs the other, the weight, the weight again, and then just for good measure the weight for a third time.
Get in these cars and drive them and it all goes out the window when you realise that they are a pleasant place to be, cover most of the bases and don't leave you feeling shortchanged.
Having said that, 140 bhp per ton was never going to set the world on fire.
We spend countless hours on here arguing the toss about the theoretical benefits of one powertrain vs the other, the weight, the weight again, and then just for good measure the weight for a third time.
Get in these cars and drive them and it all goes out the window when you realise that they are a pleasant place to be, cover most of the bases and don't leave you feeling shortchanged.
Having said that, 140 bhp per ton was never going to set the world on fire.
The weight of this definitely played a big part for me in the corners from a driving perspective though. However it isn't designed to be great in the corners though to be fair to it. A lot of the reviews slate the way it drives from a drivers perspective as well. However as something to just sit back and relax in, I did really rate it though for sure.
The steering wheel was comically light to use, and that took away any satisfaction of throwing it around for me(it reminded me of the old Audi TTS we had regarding that too). The TTS was a pretty poor car in the corners from a drivers perspective too, however it was a lovely thing to live with though(much like this was).
SWoll said:
You need to try something like a Model 3 Performance or i4 M50. I guarantee you'll be blown away by the drivetrain in either for normal road driving. Won't give you the fizz of your M4 at full chat but the way they shove you down the road is preposterous and so much more accessible/useable than ICE for a daily driver.
It has got me eager to try something much faster for definite, and I genuinely enjoyed getting to know this for the day. I love driving different cars in general, because I enjoy driving, and I also really like to compare cars to each other as well. So this was a good experience for me really. cerb4.5lee said:
SWoll said:
You need to try something like a Model 3 Performance or i4 M50. I guarantee you'll be blown away by the drivetrain in either for normal road driving. Won't give you the fizz of your M4 at full chat but the way they shove you down the road is preposterous and so much more accessible/useable than ICE for a daily driver.
It has got me eager to try something much faster for definite, and I genuinely enjoyed getting to know this for the day. I love driving different cars in general, because I enjoy driving, and I also really like to compare cars to each other as well. So this was a good experience for me really. With my kids now grown and driving themselves I intend to supplement the EV with something fun with a big petrol engine soon, but don't see us ever going back to ICE for the vast majority of our use as they are just so good at the essential stuff.
cerb4.5lee said:
SWoll said:
And that was driving what is widely considered a pretty average EV.
Yes and I've been reading a few reviews of it, and they aren't exactly complimentary as you say. My experience with it has made me fancy trying a really fast EV now to be honest.
You definitely should try a proper performance EV! It's so easy to get a 24 hour test drive now too, provided they think you're a potential buyer of course. The dealers know full well that people need time to properly try an EV ahead of considering the switch, so test drives are generally encouraged and offered.
Frankly I'm amazed that you found so much to like about a low power mumsnet EV, that I assume you didn't have time to figure out how to disable OPD on.. If you'd been in Taycan or iPace, I imagine you would had come back from the experience drooling..
cerb4.5lee said:
SWoll said:
You need to try something like a Model 3 Performance or i4 M50. I guarantee you'll be blown away by the drivetrain in either for normal road driving. Won't give you the fizz of your M4 at full chat but the way they shove you down the road is preposterous and so much more accessible/useable than ICE for a daily driver.
It has got me eager to try something much faster for definite, and I genuinely enjoyed getting to know this for the day. I love driving different cars in general, because I enjoy driving, and I also really like to compare cars to each other as well. So this was a good experience for me really. 
) and can confirm it's fun in a whole different way to a traditional M car.I'd sum the car up as; an abundance of power, anytime/place/situation, there's just so much excess power to use and the car puts it all down to the road. It's a very different way to experience car performance. I doubt you'll notice the missing engine note, you'll be distracted by what the cars doing, not the noises it makes.
There's also no chance of anyone in your old M4 getting away from you, in the real world, not a hope. Not on a drag, not on a fun b-road. The M50 is brutally fast in all real world situations.
raspy said:
You need to try a proper EV like a Model S Plaid or Lucid Air Sapphire, where you have at least 1,000 bhp.
Is that a 'need' Not sure about the Lucid Air, but I've yet to hear any serious praise of the Model S in terms of dynamic handling, vs a Taycan etc. I know they did the track pack but it sounds like that falls short of actual new suspension and is just brakes and tyres? I think also an update to the damping and air suspension setup, but it's still essentially standard Plaid setup?
Not a criticism, it's sensible for American and European cars to be set up to favour different drivers and roads.
SWoll said:
cerb4.5lee said:
SWoll said:
And that was driving what is widely considered a pretty average EV.
Yes and I've been reading a few reviews of it, and they aren't exactly complimentary as you say. My experience with it has made me fancy trying a really fast EV now to be honest.
I have to agree with SWoll, see if you can get test drive in one or the i4 M50, they are on another level for pace
TheDeuce said:
cerb4.5lee said:
SWoll said:
You need to try something like a Model 3 Performance or i4 M50. I guarantee you'll be blown away by the drivetrain in either for normal road driving. Won't give you the fizz of your M4 at full chat but the way they shove you down the road is preposterous and so much more accessible/useable than ICE for a daily driver.
It has got me eager to try something much faster for definite, and I genuinely enjoyed getting to know this for the day. I love driving different cars in general, because I enjoy driving, and I also really like to compare cars to each other as well. So this was a good experience for me really. ) and can confirm it's fun in a whole different way to a traditional M car.I'd sum the car up as; an abundance of power, anytime/place/situation, there's just so much excess power to use and the car puts it all down to the road. It's a very different way to experience car performance. I doubt you'll notice the missing engine note, you'll be distracted by what the cars doing, not the noises it makes.
There's also no chance of anyone in your old M4 getting away from you, in the real world, not a hope. Not on a drag, not on a fun b-road. The M50 is brutally fast in all real world situations.
Coming from a 2.0 tdi it’s a massive step up in performance with very low running costs.
Would happily have another next time.
ashenfie said:
On a new I4 M50 your going dump £22k in value pretty quickly. The Tesla is at least 12k cheaper or around £100 a month cheaper. Seams a no brainer
You'd be a bit crazy to buy either new tbh. Lease new, buy used. Leasing is almost always cheaper overall for higher price tag EV's.My M50 is around £650 a month, 6 months down - so £26,650 for it's first three years of life. I bet that's less than they will lose if bought for ~£76k over the same time. At a glance they look to have lost about £30k on AT, but hard to tell as they're all around 15k miles, mine will go back with 36k at three years. I can't imagine it'll have lost less than 45% of it's rrp at that point.
Zj2002 said:
I Iove mine too, the acceleration is brutal. Although the over taking ability is more impressive than standing starts.
Coming from a 2.0 tdi it’s a massive step up in performance with very low running costs.
Would happily have another next time.
Indeed, it's the 40-70mph acceleration that shows the car off best - which is nice because that's what you need to: a) overtake a 40mph Peugeot on a twisty backroad b) accelerate down a slip road c) boot it out of a tight and fun corner Coming from a 2.0 tdi it’s a massive step up in performance with very low running costs.
Would happily have another next time.
I feel like the actual 0-60 could be faster if BMW wished.. I'm thinking they didn't want to have that particular on paper stat diminish the M3. Although I see a few testers have got the M50 down to 3.3 seconds vs BMW's quoted 3.7
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