Compare the2023 Nissan AriyaVS 2023 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 Ariya 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 Ariya 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 Ariya Platinum+ has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The EQB doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

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

The Ariya’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 Ariya 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, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Ariya its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 67 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The EQB has not been tested, yet.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Ariya 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.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Ariya for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Nissan will pay for tire rotations, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the EQB.

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 Ariya’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 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 21 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 12 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The Ariya has more powerful engines than the EQB:

As tested in Motor Trend the Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Platinum+ electric motors is faster than the EQB 350:

The Ariya can travel longer on a full charge than the EQB on a full charge:

For better stopping power the Ariya’s brake rotors are larger than those on the EQB:

The Ariya’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 Ariya stops much shorter than the EQB:

For better traction, the Ariya Platinum+’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the EQB (255/45R20 vs. 235/50R19).

The Ariya Platinum+’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the EQB’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Ariya has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the EQB. The Ariya Platinum+’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the EQB.

The Ariya 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 handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Ariya is 2 inches wider in the front and 2 inches wider in the rear than on the EQB.

The Ariya Platinum+ handles at .86 G’s, while the EQB 350 4MATIC pulls only .85 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Ariya Platinum+ executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the EQB 350 4MATIC (26.3 seconds @ .71 average G’s vs. 27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Ariya’s turning circle is 3 feet tighter than the EQB’s (35.4 feet vs. 38.4 feet).

The Ariya Platinum+ uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The EQB doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Ariya has 1.2 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more front shoulder room and 1 inch more rear shoulder room than the EQB.

The Ariya has a much larger cargo volume than the EQB with its rear seat up (22.8 vs. 10.7 cubic feet).

The Ariya’s cargo area is larger than the EQB’s in almost every dimension:

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

Both the Ariya and the EQB offer available heated front seats. The Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the EQB.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Nissan Ariya, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Ariya first among compact suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The EQB isn’t in the top three.