Good looking, pleasant to drive and well-engineered; shame it’s not quite on the money for an incentive.

 Price: $85,500 ($94,150 as tested).

Powertrain: Single asynchronous electric motor and 66.5 kWh lithium-ion battery with 140kW/375Nm, 16.6 kWh/100km, FWD.

Vital statistics: 4463mm long, 1834mm wide, 1624mm high, 2729mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 340/1320 litres; 20-inch alloy wheels.

Like: Mixes typical (so, excellent) Mercedes fit and finish with acceptable electric performance and range; using ICE platform no compromise; decent battery efficiency.

Don’t like: 750kg towing capacity is verging on pointless; under-bonnet presentation lets down premium aura; Mercedes’ resistance to a sub-$80k price tag.

APPROACHING the EQA with expectation of it presenting the very best sub-$100,000 electric buying experience might seem a touch ambitious.

The solidity of this brand’s badge prestige and engineering prowess notwithstanding, there’ll be some chance of finding this being a car that, for sum total of achievement, is less about setting the pace than keeping up with it. There’s nothing completely iffy. It still conspires to front as a smart-looking, expensively made and tech-packed compact five-seater. That there’s no shortage of ‘Mercedes-ness’ to how it feels, looks and drives are easily identified strengths. 

Yet you might nonetheless conclude that, in some respects, other competing marques that might crop up should this be a cross-shopping exercise are already pushing just that little bit harder, shining just that little bit brighter.  

Simply because it’s not a ground-up effort, as others are, but instead stands as a conversion – albeit a very convincing and comprehensive one – of a pre-existing fossil-fuelled car, the GLA crossover? Well, yes, there is that to consider.

Beyond this aspect, though, it’s highly possible other numbers might not  crunch quite properly for the second member of Benz’s EQ family to land here. Might it be better with a touch more step-up fizz, a little more range, a slightly more complete technology suite? Undoubtedly, yes, now the likes of the Polestar 2 and - for those whose aren’t so hooked on badge snobbery to be blind to all else - the Hyundai Ioniq 5 are prowling this sector. Also, of course, there’s the Tesla Model 3 in its entry format.

Thinking of those alternates raises that one immediate niggle. Even big spenders love a bargain. So, regardless that it is said to have a big order bank already, you have to wonder how much more consumer interest there might now be in the compact battery Benz had there been a way to trim the car’s sticker by just $5001, so as to allow it to qualify for the Clean Car rebate. Mercedes’ apparent indifference to this incentive will seem cold, given that has clearly hotted up the others’ standing.

As is, then, the EQA if considered by pure logic and nothing more might not come out as being the worst of what’s around, yet some say you’d have to surely be very good with figures to leave impression that it stands as the best.  

But, outside of a fleet management office, who actually thinks like that?

Certainly not the person most special in my life. As much as calculus, complex tables and computer screen-filling equations are intrinsic to my wife’s professional life, she knows a good car when she sees one. And, to her eyes, the EQA was very much the right number. Quite a shocker statement from a person who has stated no particular interest in switching over into any EV, yet, despite having been exposed to some of the best around.

It’s been a good year for battery-dedicated involvement. Since June the Audi RS e-tron GT, the Ioniq 5, Mazda MX-30 and Peugeot e-208 GT have plugged into our driving lives. I cite the Audi as the technology masterpiece and, along with the Ioniq, conceivable Lotto winnings’ buy-ins. I also found the Mazda, for all its foibles and flaws, to be engaging. Not so Mrs B. She was indifferent to all. I expected more of the same with the Benz. And, yet, quite the contrary. It’s the one she wants.

Actually, if push came to shove, I’d be happy enough to have it as well; when summing up what it does and how, there’s little that truly jars and a lot that makes you think ‘yeah, works for me.’

Just two personal annoyances hang over this car, both intertwined and arriving when I lifted the bonnet. Benz can generally be relied upon to make their powertrains look quite presentable, with everything placed neatly and all the untidy bits covered by a plastic shield. Here, the look is far from that standard; it’s all a bit too ‘raw industrial’, really. The other car I can recall being in same state was the now discontinued VW e-Golf, so maybe it’s a German thing.

Anyway, the primary reason for lifting the front lid had nothing to do with scoring the powertrain’s presentation. I was looking, in vain, for somewhere to stow the primary recharging cable that, when the car was handed over, had been slung into the boot floor and filled pretty much all of it. With many electric cars, even front-drive ones as this is, the drive system is so much smaller and heat-emitting than a fossil-fuelled engine that makers slot in additional cubbies, expressively for this purpose. No so such luck. Thing is, with the EQA, there’s no underfloor stowage for the hefty cable set, either. Just a bag. In true ownership, this kit would most likely be kept in your garage; but in a car going through multiple hands that’s not an option. So it takes up luggage room I’d rather set aside for bags and so on. 

The above is a rare blemish for Mercedes and, taking a broader view, it doesn’t blemish the overall impression. Really, it’s the comfort and smooth operability that won the both of us over.

As much as the donor is designated as an SUV … well, the EQA is not. As much as electric drive has awesome potential for that kind of thing, it’s not an adventure car. You could just as easily call it an extra-large hatchback though, on that note, it’s pretty much the right size. Compact enough to work in the city, yet with a ‘big car’ feel to allow it to be perfectly okay with taking on extended open road driving with genuine confidence.

 The interior environment is definitely one of the big pluses. The front of the cabin is carried over entirely from the GLA, including the MBUX digital ‘plank’ dashboard layout, with its rich graphics.  Mercedes does plush as a base spec and there’s very little obvious cost-cutting going on in a cabin full of soft leather and with lots finishing touches to remind you’re buying from a top-end maker, going well beyond the usual electric tailgate.

One prestige element involves the circular ventilation dials lighting up at night and the whole interior being bathed in LED lighting in cool colours. A frippery, for sure, but something that makes it feel reassuringly expensive and luxurious.

The cabin also offers decent interior space with enough room in the back for taller adults to sit behind the front passengers. There is plenty of head room in the rear, too, and though the floor is quite high in relation to the seat base, that doesn’t compromise comfort. Boot space is a weakness, just 340 litres with the rear seat in pace means it offers 95 litres’ less than in the GLA. 

The MBUX display is the best in the business and the display as crafted for electric offshoots is awesome, particularly when treated, as in this car, to the $2500 MBUX innovation package that broadens the operability.

The screen behind the steering wheel maintains sporty blue and red coloured digital dials and a configurable display that you can shift around to show different information.  

On the dashboard is another big glossy screen with beautifully crafted graphics and a clean, elegant main menu. You get the usual smartphone mirroring, a good sat-nav system and various comfort settings. The screen is touch-operable or you can use the mousepad, though I found it a bit too sensitive. All this is plucked straight from the regular GLA (and A-Class) but as you’d hope, in EQA, the operability also spans into the electric side of things, so you can monitor pretty much everything in respect to the drivetrain’s operation and the recharging.

Everything you’d expect from a premium car brand is included, so you get a reversing camera, the usual active lane assist (steering intervention to nudge you back into your lane if you drift wide) and blind-spot assist, which shows a warning light and audible signal if you’re about to change lanes when another vehicle is in your blind spot.

There’s also emergency braking if the car senses a collision is imminent; it does seem a bit eager here, likewise the auto braking that occurs when the car is running in its active cruise control mode, which ties to a route-based software that allows the car to ready itself for upcoming bends and react accordingly. It’s a great idea, but too over-zealously wrought. Anyone following behind will wonder about the skillset of the human at the wheel when the car self-determines, sometimes with unnerving abruptness, to crawl into a corner that could be reasonably taken at much higher pace.

Talking of how it looks on the road. Inasmuch as the EQA’s genetics are pretty obvious, it doesn’t appear as a GLA doppelganger on the road, as while the basic body panels are carried over, there’s been a fair bit of change to the trimmings, mainly for aero effect but also, I’d suppose, to remind that it’s on an ohm run. Hence the cool light bar that links the rear lights and neat little blue-and-black EQA badge above the front wheelarches. 

Up front, it has the required blanked off grilled that a mate reckons has definite overtones of the a Mercedes van from the 1950s and 1960s. The overall impact is that it appears to take less design direction from the larger SUVs in the line-up, with exception of the EQC, of course. The car has good presence, especially when viewed from the front. Despite being based on a chunky donor, the roof, side glass and rear window work together to give it a sleeker appearance. Addition of an AMG-Line appearance kit, including 20-inch wheels and, at $2950, the most expensive of the four enhancements treated this particular car, undoubtedly made it all the more handsome.

As in the donor, you're sitting quite high up and there's great visibility in all directions. The driver's seat and the steering wheel deliver lots of adjustment, though, so it's easy to get comfortable. Newcomers to the Mercedes way may find the steering column mounted drive selector a little odd; after driving many models with it, I’d like to say I’m utterly attuned, but, even now, still have to watch myself from confusing it for the indicator wand (which you don’t want to do, as it puts the car into neutral). The idea of having a gear wand is to free up space in the centre console, and it certainly does that.

There’s only one EQA power option, as indicated by the 250 in the badging. An all-wheel-drive, dual motor 350 is set to come at some point, and anyone who expects an electric with real fizz to its step might want to wait for that one.  

Like all electrics it evidences a sharpish step-off feel, yet the languid 0-100kmh time of 8.9 seconds reminds how brief that buzz really is and from thereon it falls into being more relaxed in operability than some. Not to the point of seeming totally average, but you’d certainly be daft to challenge a Model 3 to a drag race.

The trade-off for absolute zip, though, is decent mid-range urge, with a relatively rich torque stream. The drivetrain, as a whole, seems set-up to replicate the feel you’d get from an adequate 2.0-litre petrol engine. Not outright fast, but comfortably decent; it holds open road pace well enough.

Efficiency encouragement is even more to the fore here than in the EQC. The maker-cited maximum range of 426km seemed undermined by a serious bid to replenish to optimal, which resulted in the battery charging to 95 percent capacity via the DC input then refusing to accept any more electricity. That also saw it citing an ability to offer 338kms’ range before exhaustion; an accurate expectation as things transpired. That recharge, was the last of several during the test period, allowed me to achieve 280kms’ town and open road driving before the car was relinquished, with 80kms’ range left.

As always, so much depends on how it’s driven. This experience suggests it really revels in smooth, steady and thoughtful operability, but doesn’t require being light-footed to the point where you become a pain to other road users.

In fact, inasmuch as the economy setting definitely has impact, it doesn’t need to be driven in that mode to be miserly. By tapping the left-hand gear shift paddle on the steering wheel twice, the car will go into maximum regenerative braking mode, conserving as much power as it can from braking.

An appeal is that, in being sorted to take up to 11kW AC/100kW DC when charging, it will replenish reasonably quickly by EV standards. Sure, as if often the case, you can understand why Benz offers a wallbox, because recharging off a regular household power point is a total drag. Yet even though full ‘refills’ even from a regular (meaning 50kWh) fast charger require some effort, just 20 minutes’ on one of those bumps up the range by at least 100kms, so long as the battery is under 80 percent capacity.

Like its big sister car, the EQA does not impart as the most exciting car Benz has ever built, but it does deliver a great sense of solidity and style. EVs are heavy because of the batteries, and the EQA at just on two tonnes patently doesn’t escape that burden, but like so many of this ilk it uses that to advantage, with suspension tuned to provide a very smooth ride quality.

And laidback? Yes, that too. It benefits from having a low centre of gravity and very good tyres when tackling secondary roads, but you’ll have little trouble finding the limits in that environment. On the other hand, when operated within those clearly signalled boundaries, it’s extremely civil. How appealing is that? Perfectly, in many ways, actually. Mrs B has no wish for anything beyond a cruiser in which she can enjoy the serenity; the EQA meets her remit perfectly.

Anyhow, regardless of where it sits and what it does, it’s impossible not to find this product interesting. Mercedes having taken the very definite policy that it's best, at this price level at any rate, to mix and match internal combustion and pure electric power on the same platform shouldn’t be dissed. In this instance, the NGCC (New Generation Compact Class) chassis that also sees service under the GLA, A-Class, CLA and B-Class is quite an advanced underpinning, and certainly up to snuff for safety standard. Plus, notwithstanding that the under-bonnet presentation is nothing flash, the EQA reminds the electric adaptation is not quite as simple as ripping out the petrol engine and stuffing in batteries and an electric motor.

Driving EQA (and EQC) very much raises excitement about others to come - EQV, a van-based people carrier and EQS, aimed at the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan – and a brand strategy expected to result in up to 50 percent of the make’s sales coming from EV and hybrid models by 2030.

 What’s impressive is that there’s just no sense of this car being a new territory for the world’s oldest brand. You’d think Benz had been doing this for as long as Tesla. Presentation-wise, it’s already doing it better. The only trick is misses is not taking advantage of the inventive that has truly fired up national EV interest.