2026 Mercedes-Benz GLB review: 95 reasons you’ll know it’s a Mercedes
With 95 stars on its front grille alone, the newest version of the hot-selling GLB isn’t shy about reminding you it’s a Mercedes
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[SINGAPORE] The Mercedes-Benz GLB 250+ electric asked me, in earnest robotic tones, whether I wanted directions to the nearest nasi lemak. I’d mentioned a craving out loud, and rather impressively, its Google-powered navigation system conjured up a list with star ratings.
What it failed to mention is that the only nasi lemak really worth eating is in Malaysia, not Singapore, so clearly there’s room for improvement.
While the new GLB can guide you to a five-star eatery, it has practically a galaxy’s worth of its own stars. The front grille, once home to slats, is now a panel lit from within and dotted with 95 of Mercedes’ three-pointed star emblems. Subtle, it isn’t.
Two GLBs are on sale for now, both pure electric, rear-motor and rear-wheel drive, with hybrids to follow. Yours for S$290,888, the GLB 200 electric Progressive uses a 58.4 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery for 150 horsepower and 453 km of range, and it sits in the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system’s Category A.
For a S$35,000 on top of that, the Category B GLB 250+ electric AMG Line Sport steps up to an 85.5 kWh nickel manganese cobalt pack, with range stretching to 674 km – over five days, I covered 388 km and returned the car with the trip computer showing 153 km left.
Between the two, the 250+ is built to impress. It gets sportier AMG bumpers, lurid red artificial leather bucket seats that massage your lower back on demand and, more conspicuously, the MBUX Superscreen, which puts a 14-inch display in front of the front passenger, complementing the main screen. It’s digital overkill, but it’s what impresses people these days.
While Disney+ or whatever plays on the front passenger’s screen, there isn’t much amusement to be had behind the wheel. The Mercedes has 272 hp, which is plenty of power, but it’s ladled out like honey rather than sprayed like water from a firehose, so the acceleration feels gentle. It’s almost like driving a stately car from the 80s with a big, torquey engine but a slushy three-speed auto blunting its edge.
Ironically, the Mercedes actually has a two-speed transmission – one more than most electric cars – but it still makes zero to 100 kmh in 7.4 seconds feel unhurried.
What it lacks in urgency, it makes up for in comfort, though. The suspension is neither wallowy nor bone-rattling, and it’s great at shrugging off patchwork tarmac. The car itself is surprisingly eager about cornering, too, flicking its nose into the bends before its sticky Michelins take over and cling on gamely.
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The third row seating is genuinely better than before, with more headroom, but there are still no air-con vents or USB ports back there. That being so, I’d call this a 5+2 rather than a true seven-seater, but if you have kids less than 1.7 m tall, they’ll fit just fine.
On the flipside, the boot is not good for much with all seven seats up, but it expands to a cavernous 1,605 litres with them folded. It has tie-down rings, bag hooks and an underfloor compartment for the luggage cover, all of which are useful.
So is the 127-litre frunk, which is big enough for a proper haul of groceries. Opening it requires you to reach for a latch under the dashboard instead of the key or touchscreen, but the frunk has its uses; I took a pizza home in it without making the car smell like an Italian kitchen.
One of the car’s best features is digital, however. MB.Charge Public, a function inside the car’s companion smartphone app, provides access to more than 7,000 charging points across Singapore. It means one app and one bill, rather than the usual juggling of half a dozen operators’ apps, and Mercedes is working on adding Malaysian charging networks.
That ought to jibe well with the GLB 250+’s relatively long range and long-distance comfort, and is one more thing that makes the Mercedes an unusually versatile car. It can seat seven one day and take you on an Ikea rampage the next, but will also take family and luggage on long road trips across the border, with a frunk that would let you sneak home a month’s supply of nasi lemak, all without covering up that new car smell.
Mercedes-Benz GLB 250+ electric AMG Line Sport Motor power/Torque 272 hp/335 Nm Battery type/Net capacity Lithium-Nickel manganese cobalt/85.5 kWh Charging time/Type About 4.5 hours (22 kW AC), 22 minutes 10 to 80 per cent (320 kW DC) Range 674 km 0-100 kmh 7.4 seconds Top speed 210 kmh Efficiency 19.4 kWh/100 km Agent Cycle & Carriage Singapore Price S$325,888 with COE Available Now
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