Compare the2024 Kia EV6VS 2023 Mercedes EQB

Both the EV6 and EQB have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The EV6 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.

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 EV6 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The EV6 offers optional Parking Collision-Avoidance Reverse 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 EV6’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 EV6 and the EQB have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the EV6 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 126 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The EQB has not been tested, yet.

The EV6 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The EQB’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the EV6 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the EQB. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the EQB ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 2 times as many Kia dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the EV6’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in initial quality. With 31 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 50 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is ranked 18th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 15 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The EV6 has more powerful engines than the EQB:

As tested in Car and Driver the Kia EV6 is faster than the EQB 350:

On the EPA test cycle the EV6 gets better mileage than the EQB:

The EV6 can travel longer on a full charge than the EQB on a full charge:

For better stopping power the EV6 GT’s brake rotors are larger than those on the EQB:

The EV6 GT’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 EV6 stops much shorter than the EQB:

For better traction, the EV6 GT-Line e-AWD’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the EQB (255/45R20 vs. 235/50R19).

The EV6 GT’s 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 EV6 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the EQB. The EV6 GT’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the EQB.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the EV6’s wheelbase is 2.9 inches longer than on the EQB (114.2 inches vs. 111.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the EV6 is 1.7 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than the track on the EQB.

The EV6 GT handles at .92 G’s, while the EQB 350 4MATIC pulls only .85 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The EV6 GT executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.3 seconds quicker than the EQB 350 4MATIC (25.1 seconds @ .77 average G’s vs. 27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

The Kia EV6 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 500 pounds less than the Mercedes EQB.

The EV6 has 1.3 inches more front legroom, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear legroom and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the EQB.

The EV6 has a much larger cargo volume than the EQB with its rear seat up (24.4 vs. 10.7 cubic feet).

The EV6’s cargo area is larger than the EQB’s in almost every dimension:

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the EV6’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The EQB doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the EV6 has standard extendable sun visors. The EQB doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The EV6 has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the EQB. The EV6 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.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia EV6 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the EQB.

The EV6 (except Light)’s optional Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist 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 Kia EV6, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the EV6 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.

The EV6 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023. The EQB has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the EV6 as the 2023 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The EQB has never been chosen.

The Kia EV6 outsold the Mercedes EQB by over six to one during 2022.