Compare the2023 Nissan LeafVS 2022 Mercedes EQB

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Leaf are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The EQB doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Leaf has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The EQB doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Leaf has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The EQB doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Leaf has standard Rear Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The EQB doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Leaf’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the EQB.

Both the Leaf and the EQB have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available daytime running lights, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Leaf 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the EQB. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the EQB ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 3 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Leaf’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 22 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 9 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

On the EPA test cycle the Leaf gets better mileage than the EQB:

The Leaf’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the EQB are solid, not vented.

The Leaf stops much shorter than the EQB:

The Leaf has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The EQB doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better maneuverability, the Leaf S’ turning circle is 3.6 feet tighter than the EQB’s (34.8 feet vs. 38.4 feet). The Leaf SV PLUS’ turning circle is 2.3 feet tighter than the EQB’s (36.1 feet vs. 38.4 feet).

The Nissan Leaf may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 900 to 1200 pounds less than the Mercedes EQB.

The Leaf is 8 inches shorter than the EQB, making the Leaf easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Leaf has .5 inches more front headroom and 1 inch more front legroom than the EQB.

The Leaf has a much larger cargo volume than the EQB with its rear seat up (23.6 vs. 5.1 cubic feet).

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Leaf has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the EQB only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Leaf has standard extendable sun visors. The EQB doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Consumer Reports® chose the Nissan Leaf as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Nissan Leaf outsold the Mercedes EQB by over seven to one during 2022.