Mercedes-Benz EQB vs Polestar Polestar 4

The Polestar 4 is the clear range winner. Its 100kWh battery claims up to 620km on the Rear Motor and 590km on the Dual Motor, among the stronger figures in the class. The Mercedes-Benz EQB uses a smaller 70.5kWh battery and is set up for city and suburban family driving rather than long-distance touring, so it does not travel as far between charges. As with any EV, sustained highway running sits below the claim for both. If long drives between chargers are routine, the Polestar is the easier car to live with; if your week is mostly the school run and errands, the EQB has enough range to be a fuss-free daily.

The Polestar 4 wins on both counts. On a DC fast charger it peaks at 200kW and claims 10 to 80 per cent in about 30 minutes, where the EQB tops out at 100kW and takes around 35 minutes for the same window. At home the gap matters just as much: the Polestar accepts 11kW AC, while the EQB is limited to 7kW single-phase, so it refills more slowly overnight. Both use a 400-volt architecture, so neither matches the fastest 800-volt rivals like the Hyundai Ioniq 5. For a household that charges at home and occasionally fast-charges on a trip, the Polestar's higher rates are a real convenience edge.

The Polestar 4 is the cheaper car. After a $4,600 cut that took effect on 2 September 2026, the entry Rear Motor lands at $81,135 driveaway in New South Wales and the Dual Motor at $89,380. The single EQB 250+ grade sits at about $97,344 driveaway, so even the dearer Polestar Dual Motor comes in below the Mercedes, and the Rear Motor is roughly $16,000 cheaper. The EQB asks that premium for its badge and its third row, not for more performance or range. If value is the lever, the Polestar wins comfortably; if the seven seats are non-negotiable, the EQB's price is the cost of a layout nothing else near the money offers.

For a growing family the EQB has the trump card: a standard 5+2 third row, making it one of very few seven-seat EVs that still parks like a compact SUV. The rearmost pair suits children or shorter adults on shorter trips, and a sliding second row eases access, with 495 litres of boot behind row two. The Polestar 4 seats only five, but it answers with a longer wheelbase, limo-like rear legroom and a larger 526-litre boot with the seats up. If you regularly need six or seven seats, the EQB is the pick; if five seats are plenty and you want the roomier back seat, the Polestar is the better everyday family car.

On paper the Polestar 4 has the edge. It carries a 5-star ANCAP rating from 2025 and a broad standard suite: autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, pedestrian detection and driver attention monitoring, plus seven airbags. The EQB is currently ANCAP-unrated. Its original five-star rating was carried over from the petrol GLB tested in 2019 and has since lapsed, so the car has no active star rating. That is not the same as failing a test, and the EQB still comes with AEB, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitoring as standard. If a current star rating is essential to you, the Polestar is the safer buy on the evidence available.

The Polestar 4 is quicker in both forms. The entry Rear Motor makes 200kW for a claimed 7.1-second run to 100km/h, already comfortably ahead of the front-wheel-drive EQB's 140kW and 8.9 seconds. Step up to the Dual Motor and 400kW drops the sprint to a claimed 3.8 seconds, which is sports-car territory and well beyond anything the EQB offers. The EQB is tuned for easy commuting rather than pace, and for most family duty its performance is adequate. But if acceleration or the reassurance of all-wheel-drive traction matters, the Polestar answers in a way the single-motor EQB cannot.

Both are electric, so both can qualify for the federal EV fringe-benefits-tax exemption on a novated lease, which is where an EV claws back real money against a petrol equivalent. The test is on the list price against the fuel-efficient Luxury Car Tax threshold, not the driveaway figure. The Polestar 4's list prices sit comfortably below that threshold, so it clears the test with room to spare. The EQB's list price sits closer to the cap, so the exemption can be brought into play but is worth confirming against current figures. For a salary-packaged buyer the Polestar is the safer bet on the tax maths as well as the sticker, but a lease provider can run both for your situation.

Each has a quirk worth weighing. The EQB is now a run-out model: Mercedes-Benz has an electric GLB arriving to replace it, so you are buying the outgoing car, which can help on price but matters for resale and future support. The Polestar 4's catch is visibility. It deletes the rear windscreen entirely and feeds a roof-mounted camera to a digital rear-view mirror, which gives a wide view but takes real adjustment when judging distance behind you. A 360-degree camera helps at parking speeds. Neither is a deal-breaker, but both are worth experiencing before you sign: try the Polestar's mirror on a test drive, and ask your EQB dealer about run-out terms.

For regular long-distance driving the Polestar 4 is the stronger tool. It goes further between charges, up to 620km claimed on the Rear Motor, and it fast-charges at 200kW, twice the EQB's peak, so the stops are shorter on a big day. The EQB's 70.5kWh battery and 100kW DC charging are tuned for a home-charged suburban life rather than the highway, so it needs more and longer stops on a touring run. Both are 400-volt cars, so neither is the quickest-charging EV on the market, but between these two the Polestar is clearly the better interstate companion. If your weeks are mostly local, the gap matters far less.