Mercedes-Benz GLB 350 4MATIC Electric 2027 first drive

Mercedes-Benz’s transition from the undercooked and uninspiring previous-generation EQA and EQB models into what has become the all-new GLB Electric (and soon, the GLA Electric) couldn’t be better-timed for the fortunes of the three-pointed-star marque.

Stuttgart’s modestly sized electric SUVs needed to drive substantially better and offer a cutting-edge level of EV tech to justify their premium pricing and brand positioning, so a degree of over-compensation was in order if Mercedes-Benz was going to be ‘saved’. And that appears to be exactly what is happening.

Underpinned by a brand-new MMA (Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture) platform that recently debuted under the third-generation CLA, the second-generation GLB maintains a similar profile to the circa-2019 original, but is otherwise a completely different, enormously improved car that also now boasts a premium level of electric-vehicle smarts.

Simultaneously launching in Australia alongside its combustion-engined siblings (the $65,400 front-drive GLB 200 and $76,100 all-wheel-drive GLB 220 4Matic, which we’re yet to drive), the GLB Electric line-up consists of the rear-drive GLB 250+ ($74,990) and the all-wheel-drive GLB 350 4Matic ($86,200) – both of which boast 800-volt architecture and fast charging speeds at up to 320kW DC (for a 10-80 percent battery boost in 22mins).

Mercedes-Benz’s WLTP combined range claims are similarly impressive – 570km for the 250+ and 554km for the 350 4Matic, with peak WLTP figures of 626km and 609km respectively. And based on our launch-drive average of 15.7kWh/100km in the 350 4Matic (which calculates to a real-world range of 541km), those range claims are entirely believable.

Just like the new CLA, the GLB achieves what its wrapping promises, and that applies to both its EV range and performance (0-100km/h in a satisfying 5.5sec for the 350), as well as its dynamics.

The new MMA platform introduces all-new suspension across the range – a three-link strut front axle with forged aluminium components and multi-link independent rear suspension, plus standard adaptive damping on all GLB variants bar the comfort-tuned base GLB 200 (which can be equipped as such when the AMG Line package is added).

While the CLA has already proven that the new MMA architecture doesn’t need adaptive dampers to ride properly (unlike preceding MFA- and MFA2-based vehicles), fitting the high-spec dampers to the 20-inch-wheeled GLBs introduces a refined absorbency and a pleasing fluency to the way the GLB 350 4Matic drives (the only variant we’ve tested for now).

For way too long, smaller Mercedes-Benz models have lacked the comfort and refinement expected of a premium-priced, three-pointed-star product – to the point where every VW Golf since the 2004 Mk5 has annihilated its non-AMG Stuttgart equivalent for sophisticated driving dynamics. So it’s a welcome relief to finally be able to enjoy comfortable quietude in a ‘regular’ Mercedes-Benz model.

Like the CLA, the GLB 350 4Matic turns in nicely and hangs on through corners with a well-balanced pliancy. For once, it’s not trying to be sporty, to the huge benefit of its overall suaveness. With its 85kWh (usable) NMC battery housed in the floor, the low centre-of-gravity enhances its agility too, though with a kerb weight of 2205kg, there’s plenty of mass to move here. The flagship GLB is heavier than it looks.

While the second-gen GLB clearly takes inspiration from the styling theme of the 2019 original, it has evolved into a more sophisticated and premium vehicle crowned by distinctive lighting arrangements. The Electric’s front-end scores an illuminated grille featuring 94 three-pointed stars while the rear gets a striking, dark-tinted horizontal light band with a pair of stars on either side and a kind of retro-cool, slightly menacing ’80s vibe.

To make it better at seating five-plus-two people, Mercedes-Benz has expanded the new GLB by 98mm in length (to 4732mm), 27mm in width (to 1861mm) and by 60mm in wheelbase (to 2889mm), while reducing height slightly (by 14mm to 1687mm). Yet you’d never know there had been any saving there because interior headroom in the first two rows is huge – increasing by at least 34mm.

This focus on packaging usefulness permeates the entire car – from its new 127-litre frunk to its 480-litre boot when the third row is folded to the 32mm increase in the entry aperture to the ‘plus-two’ third row that makes it quite easy for adults to clamber back there, even though it’s only designed to take humans up to 171cm tall.

Having that level of functionality is what the GLB is all about – giving this relatively compact 4.7m-long electric SUV the ability to comfortably seat seven if it needs to but operate as an excellent four-seater most of the time.

As for the interior aesthetic, it isn’t as sophisticated as the exterior. Firstly, while Mercedes-Benz offers an alternative colour treatment (to predictable all-black with silver detailing), it’s essentially white Artico inserts for the seats and doors – no heritage-inspired colour combinations here!

And while there’s a tonne of equipment, especially if you add the $4000 Plus Package (which brings the full MBUX Superscreen dash, massaging front seats, a 16-speaker Burmester 3D surround-sound stereo, heat- and noise-insulating glass and ‘Multibeam LED’ headlights that do their own vehicle blocking on high-beam), the finishing isn’t an uplift from previous generations and doesn’t feel as premium as expected.

Then there’s the full-width dashboard screen, which remains as polarising in the GLB as it does in the identical CLA. It ultimately works surprisingly well once you get to know it (which it should after four generations) and features Mercedes-Benz’s latest operating system as well as AI assistance from Google and Microsoft (if that floats your boat).

But as a piece of hardware, it’s very much a huge digital slab attached to a dashboard backing, which intriguingly gives 1974 Holden LH Torana vibes, even down to the underslung centre air vents, as well as the impression that it’s going to look dated fast. Only time will tell.

That said, there’s so much goodness in the GLB 350 4Matic Electric that it’s dubious dashboard aesthetic can pretty much be forgiven. This is a classy car that drives like a Mercedes-Benz should, offers cutting-edge EV credentials and impressive energy efficiency, as well as the kind of active-safety tuning excellence that Mercedes-Benz has long been the master of.

It’s also $5000 cheaper than its CLA coupe-sedan DNA relative, which significantly amps its value-for-money appeal, even though we’re talking about a medium SUV that will be over 90-grand drive-away.

Finally, though, here is a smaller Mercedes-Benz model deserving of its three-pointed-star badge – all 100-plus of them.