- The 2027 Mercedes-Benz GLB electric crossover is nearing its debut on December 8.
- The second-generation EV will replace the outgoing EQB.
- Based on the same platform as the new CLA, the electric GLB offers three rows of seats and three screens that look like flatscreen TVs.
The Mercedes-Benz EQB is dead, but it doesn’t mean that the German automaker has given up on the idea of a compact, all-electric crossover that can carry seven people. That’s because the all-new GLB with EQ Technology will take its place starting next year.
Set for an official reveal on December 8, the second-generation Mercedes-Benz GLB will likely land at American dealerships toward the end of next year as a 2027 model. And while we won’t know what the new crossover looks like until next month, the German brand just revealed the three-row EV’s interior.
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
Based on the same MMA modular architecture as the new CLA, the second-gen GLB adopts the same electronics store look, with no fewer than three displays on the dash. Mercedes-Benz calls this layout the MBUX Superscreen, which is not to be confused with the Hyperscreen that can be fitted in the more expensive EQS and EQE.
The company didn’t say how big the TV-like displays in the new GLB are, but they look identical to the ones fitted in the new CLA. In the sedan, there’s a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a pair of 14-inch touchscreens. If three screens are too many, you should know that the MBUX Superscreen will be optional and that the base versions will do without the passenger display.
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
The “floating” center console is borrowed from the CLA, as are the physical controls beneath the central screen. The door cards are also similar to the sedan, making the GLB’s interior a familiar place. Where the crossover vastly differs from its sedan sibling, however, is the amount of interior space.
Thanks to its boxy shape and the standard panoramic glass roof, the second-generation seven-seater offers “noticeably” more headroom in the first two rows of seats and more comfort for second-row passengers. In the three-row version, which will be optional, the entire middle row can slide forward and back. That said, the five-seater version will also offer this feature as an option.
Speaking of nice extras, the new GLB’s panoramic roof has heat-insulating laminated safety glass with an infrared-reflecting coating and a low-emissivity (LowE) coating on the inside. The latter helps keep the cabin cool in the summer and warm in the winter. In standard guise, the glass roof is transparent, but if customers are willing to pay extra, Mercedes-Benz will throw in a variable transparency feature that can tweak the opacity of independent segments in as little ast 10 milliseconds. As yet another optional extra, the panoramic roof can be illuminated in the same color as the rest of the ambient lights.
We still don’t know what will power the new Mercedes-Benz GLB, but it will likely borrow tech from the CLA sedan, which can be had with rear- or all-wheel drive. Besides an all-electric version with 800-volt tech, the seven-seater will likely also be offered with a mild-hybrid 1.5-liter gasoline engine.
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Source: Mercedes-Benz
