Mercedes-Benz EQB vs VW ID.5

The Mercedes-Benz EQB costs £15,150 more than the VW ID.5. For that premium it adds 2 more seats (7 versus 5). The VW ID.5 is not just cheaper - it also offers 94 miles more WLTP range, 65 kW faster peak rapid charging and 42 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the VW ID.5 comes out ahead overall.

The VW ID.5 is £15,150 cheaper to buy. The VW ID.5 is cheaper to charge, roughly £152 a year versus £184 for the Mercedes-Benz EQB, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the VW ID.5 comes out roughly £15,310 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 214 miles for the Mercedes-Benz EQB and 293 miles for the VW ID.5 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The VW ID.5 goes roughly 79 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 29-32 minutes.

The two are within 18 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 566 mm of total clearance for the Mercedes-Benz EQB and about 548 mm of total clearance for the VW ID.5. The VW ID.5 also turns in a 1.5 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Mercedes-Benz EQB and 84% for the VW ID.5. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.