This is the new all-electric Mercedes GLB, but it'll come as a hybrid too

Mercedes has ditched another of its EQ models as the seven-seat EQB dies and is replaced by this… the all-new GLB. Much like it did with the new CLA and GLC, Merc is launching the GLB in electric form first with hybrids to follow shortly after.

Shouldn’t be that much range anxiety going on in the electric versions though, because the snappily titled GLB 250+ with EQ Technology will do 392 miles on a single charge. Heck, even the GLB 350 4Matic with EQ Technology claims up to 382 miles of range. Both of those use an 85kWh battery and sit on an 800-volt architecture, which means they can also accept rapid charging at 320kW and can add up to 162 miles of range by spending 10 minutes plugged in.

The 250+ makes do with a single motor on the rear axle that provides 268bhp and 247lb ft of torque. That means it’ll do 0-62mph in 7.4 seconds, while the 350 with its second motor on the front axle for part-time all-wheel drive manages the same sprint in 5.5 seconds. Power figures for that one are 349bhp and 380lb ft. Oh, and for all you caravanners, the latter can tow up to two tonnes.

More electric variants are promised further down the line, and the hybrids will get the same 1.5-litre four-pot engine as found in the combustion-powered CLAs.

The new GLB’s interior also borrows heavily from the CLA, with an optional ‘Superscreen’ that features a 10.25in driver display, a 14in central infotainment screen and another 14in screen for the passenger. Because remember, Merc’s design boss Gorden Wagener told TG earlier this year: “When you have a small screen, you automatically send the message ‘congratulations, you are sitting in a small car’.”

The screens in the GLB run the fourth generation of MBUX, and the virtual assistant now uses generative AI from both Microsoft and Google to be “intelligent, easy to talk to and empathetic like a friend”. Because human friends are so overrated.

If you do actually have real-life pals, you’ll be able to take plenty of them with you, because the GLB gets seven seats as an option and more room than both the previous GLB and the EQB. There’s space for five child seats, plus a sliding middle bench. The wheelbase is up by 60mm, which means more legroom all round, and with a standard panoramic roof there’s more headroom too. Oh, and that panoramic roof can also be specced with 158 stars that light up at night.

Boot space is 480 litres in the seven-seater (with the rears folded away) and 540 litres with just five seats. There’s also a 127-litre frunk.

The exterior is almost as boxy as the previous GLB, but now you get a monstrous starry grille and more stars to go with the rear lightbar. There are also flush door handles and fairly compact side mirrors.

Prices for the 250+ will apparently start at just under €60,000 in Germany (around £52,000), while the 350 4Matic will be a couple of grand more.