Compare the2024 BMW iXVS 2023 Mercedes EQB

Both the iX and EQB have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The iX has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The EQB’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The BMW iX 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 iX’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the front seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The EQB doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The iX has a standard PostCrash iBrake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The EQB doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The iX has a standard Active Park Distance Control 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the iX. But it costs extra on the EQB.

The iX’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the EQB.

Both the iX and the EQB have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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.

The BMW iX weighs 941 to 1272 pounds more than the Mercedes EQB. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The iX’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the EQB’s (12 vs. 5 years).

BMW pays for scheduled maintenance on the iX for 3 years and 36,000 miles. BMW 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.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that BMW vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. With 9 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks BMW higher than Mercedes.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks BMW third in overall reliability. Mercedes is ranked 24th.

The iX has more powerful engines than the EQB:

As tested in Motor Trend the BMW iX is faster than the EQB 350:

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

The iX’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s at 60 in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The EQB doesn’t offer launch control.

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

The iX’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 iX stops much shorter than the EQB:

For better traction, the iX’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the EQB (275/40R22 vs. 235/50R19).

The iX’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 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 iX has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the EQB. The iX’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the EQB.

The iX M60 has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The iX’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The EQB doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the iX’s wheelbase is 6.8 inches longer than on the EQB (118.1 inches vs. 111.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the iX is 3.6 inches wider in the front and 4.8 inches wider in the rear than on the EQB.

The iX xDrive50 handles at .88 G’s, while the EQB 350 4MATIC pulls only .85 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The iX M60 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.9 seconds quicker than the EQB 350 4MATIC (25.5 seconds @ .74 average G’s vs. 27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

The iX has .8 inches more front headroom, 5.6 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear headroom, .8 inches more rear legroom and 3.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the EQB.

The iX has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the EQB with its rear seat up (35.5 vs. 10.7 cubic feet). The iX has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the EQB with its rear seat folded (77.9 vs. 61.8 cubic feet).

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

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the iX’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The EQB doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that BMW service is better than Mercedes. J.D. Power ranks BMW 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 17% lower rating, Mercedes is ranked 18th.

Laser headlights, optional on the iX, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the EQB’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

The iX has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the EQB. The iX also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the EQB.

The iX has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the EQB.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the BMW iX has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the EQB.

The iX’s optional Automatic Parking Assistant can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Parking Assistant Professional will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The EQB’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Consumer Reports® recommends the BMW iX, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the iX first among upper midsize premium 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.

The BMW iX outsold the Mercedes EQB by over three to one during 2022.