Mercedes EQA review: interior, dashboard & infotainment
Even the entry-level Mercedes EQA 250+ comes well equipped, with a solid, high-quality interior and lots of kit
The Mercedes EQA feels familiar, which is a great compliment. Despite sitting at the bottom of Mercedes' EQ electric range, it doesn’t feel as if the design team has cut any corners. The cabin is filled with sumptuous materials, including a set of Artico man-made leather seats that could fool even the most dedicated meat-eaters.
The kit list is impressive; the entry-level Sport trim was dropped shortly after launch, with the tried-and-tested AMG Line, AMG Line Premium and AMG Line Premium Plus specs taking the lion’s share of sales. You can get an EQA 250+ with all the kit you could reasonably want, for a whisker over £52,000.
Whichever model you go for, the EQA feels like a premium product befitting of its price tag – both in terms of interior quality, kit and comfort. You can read more about what we thought about ride and refinement in the performance, motor & drive section of this review.
Mercedes EQA dashboard
Mercedes is pretty good at shrinking its top-spec models to fit smaller budgets – offering much of the same design and technology in its flagship cars as it does its more mainstream variants, and that’s exactly what’s happened with the EQA.
Anyone who has sat in an EQC will find the EQA’s cabin feels instantly familiar, with a similar dual-screen layout and centre console design. Every version gets a pair of 10-inch displays, with Mercedes' tried-and-tested MBUX infotainment system. Below this sits a set of turbine-style air vents, each with ambient lighting built-in; the cabin can light up like a Christmas tree at night should you so wish.
Some of the EQC’s gloss-black plastic has been swapped for harder-wearing satin trim but none of it feels cheap; the interior and dashboard are befitting of the £50,000-plus price tag. You’ll have to search much lower down on the centre console or the bottom of the doors to find any truly budget materials.
Equipment, options & accessories
Thankfully, unlike on the EQC, every version of the EQA gets smartphone integration as standard, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus two 10-inch screens. It really is, both from a visual perspective and in terms of functionality, one of the best systems around.
The entry-level Sport trim has been dropped, so EQA buyers are forced into the more aggressive-looking AMG Line cars – as is true for much of Merc’s current lineup. These cars get 18-inch wheels, LED lights plus full-width light bars front and rear, plus heated ARTICO man-made leather seats. You also get sat-nav and a parking package with reversing camera.
The AMG Line Premium pack costs £3,000 and adds 19-inch wheels, keyless entry and wireless phone charging, plus a better stereo, augmented reality for the navigation, and 360-degree parking cameras. Finally, there’s the AMG Line Premium Plus pack, which is another £3,000 on top of the Premium pack, or £6,000 over the standard AMG Line. These cars come absolutely fully loaded, with 20-inch wheels, adaptive suspension, a panoramic sunroof and a head-up display.
Infotainment, apps & sat nav
The MBUX infotainment system is one of the most complete and tech-filled setups on the market. It’s pleasing then, that Mercedes hasn’t scrimped with its smallest and cheapest electric car – fitting the SUV with two 10-inch screens as standard; you don’t get that on the A-Class hatchback or petrol GLA models. The graphics are sharp and the colours bright, and once you’ve got used to the fiddly steering wheel controls and slightly confusing trackpad, it’s actually one of the most intuitive systems on the market. Besides, you can always revert to the touchscreen should you wish.
Furthermore, AMG Line Premium cars get Mercedes' clever augmented reality sat nav, which projects directional arrows onto images relayed from the front-facing camera to show you which exit to take or which street to drive down. It sounds like a gimmick, but it’s actually incredibly useful. Every model also gets Smartphone Integration as standard, which brings Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – allowing you to project the contents of your phone to the car’s central screen.