Mercedes-Benz GLB vs Polestar 4

The Polestar 4 costs £13,890 more than the Mercedes-Benz GLB. For that premium it adds a 1.2s quicker 0-62mph time. The Mercedes-Benz GLB is not just cheaper - it also offers 120 kW faster peak rapid charging and 2 more seats (7 versus 5). On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Mercedes-Benz GLB comes out ahead overall.

The Mercedes-Benz GLB is £13,890 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £176 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Mercedes-Benz GLB comes out roughly £13,970 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 268 miles for the Mercedes-Benz GLB and 277 miles for the Polestar 4 - effectively matched, and both well below their WLTP figures because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 20 minutes in the Mercedes-Benz GLB and 30 in the Polestar 4, so the Mercedes-Benz GLB loses less time at each stop.

The Mercedes-Benz GLB is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 147 mm narrower than the Polestar 4. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 539 mm of total clearance for the Mercedes-Benz GLB and about 392 mm of total clearance for the Polestar 4. The Mercedes-Benz GLB also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Mercedes-Benz GLB and 84% for the Polestar 4. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.