We get behind the wheel of this all-electric, front-wheel-drive, sport executive SUV, which thanks to its enlarged battery can travel almost 350 miles on one charge.
"Welcome to another edition of EV Hour.
I bet you that when you think about Mercedes EQ Output, which is the name that they give all of their EVs essentially, you think about the more expensive ones."
"That's because that's the ones that we usually choose to showcase in shows like these.
So it's kind of interesting to me that while this is a way more expensive version of the cheaper car, it's still an EQA 250, meaning that this is supposedly one of Mercedes' more affordable options from their whole lineup.
Now, as you'll see throughout this video, again, as I said, there's a bunch of extras on this."
"That's part of the reason that they call it A+.
But there's also a bunch of other stuff, which makes this cheap car very expensive.
But if there's one thing that I have to come back to is that I think Mercedes actually has something going on with the EQ cars.
Something that gives them an X-factor, which is fun for me because I would not recommend this particular Mercedes to you."
"I have driven other Mercedes cars and there are others that I've yet to try, but that I kind of think that I will possibly recommend more strongly and prefer.
But this is still a Mercedes and that makes it at least to some degree cool.
That's complex. Let's try and unpack."
"The standard car is already expensive, but one can easily chalk that up to brand value and the overall fit and finish, which continues to be astounding.
As I said, this is a Mercedes and that matters.
Furthermore, this striking blue and the curvy stance makes it quite the looker on the street, and it does use its dimensions to full effect on the inside as well."
"I have gone on record in the past saying that I like Mercedes MBUX user interface in the car, and that is very much the same now.
But in this particular instance, this MBUX system is fitted to a car which is meant to be cheaper than the average Mercedes.
It's an A-class after all, but it is the EQA 250 plus, and there's a bunch of extras on this car, meaning that you'll be paying a lot more than a standard Xpeng G9, a minibus fitted with a whole host of accessories as standard."
"And when that's the case, this pretty tiny screen here, which does offer wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which does work well, mind you, it becomes harder to swallow.
There really isn't anything wrong with it.
It is the standardized system that we know."
"Navigation is incredibly smooth.
Again, as I said, you can use wireless Apple CarPlay if you want.
All of these features work very well, and both this screen right here and this command center screen over here, they look good.
The displays themselves are high quality, and a lot of the features are actually handled by this little bar down here with physical buttons, which feel incredibly nice to touch and use, very tactile."
"But when push comes to shove, this car is just not as cheap as I think it probably should be when you're getting a screen this small that feels this cramped.
It stands to reason that if you want an EQA, you should probably get the cheapest EQA because then at least you wouldn't have paid as much, because I'm pretty sure you can even get a bigger, possibly better Mercedes without all of these extras for less than what this car as it stands costs right now."
"So the interior, despite the fact that it's all very nice, is a bit of a letdown, at least from a technological standpoint.
Ultimately, I'd recommend getting the very cheapest version of the EQA you can.
It's not that these upgrades aren't meaningful, but very quickly you get into EQB territory, and the extras push this within the realm of the EQE sedan as well."