Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by electric engines and utilizing the 5-door suv body style within the same 'SUV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Mercedes Benz and rear in the case of the Hyundai). The first one has a Mercedes Benz-engineered powertrain under the hood, a IM Electric unit in formation 1 / 0 with 190hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a PMSM Electric unit in formation 0 / 1 with 170hp engine designed by Hyundai.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the German car offers a marginal difference of 6% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Hyundai as a brand displays somewhat better results, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Mercedes Benz with an average rating of 4.3, and models under the Hyundai badge with 4.5 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the German car rank it on average as 1.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Hyundai is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.4 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 185 kilometers per hour, 25km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, especially if you take into account all the free charging points provided by the manufacturer and/or the local government's environmental programs. One of the essential things to consider when it comes to this type of vehicles would be range, although here it's more or less the same, orbiting around 410 kilometers on a single charge.

Verdict

Hyundai is apparently more reliable, not too much, but just enough. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the German car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with Hyundai outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. The Korean car offers somewhat better range. It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the Hyundai. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.