Mercedes vs Kodiaq: Czech Republic Price War

The Mercedes-Benz GLB came to the Czech Republic to show itself to the public for the first time live in Ostrava, on the occasion of a women’s tennis tournament. We didn’t hesitate and we also arrived in the city for reconnaissance.

The car is located right at the entrance, it is also accompanied by a fresh SUV named GLC, which was shown in Prague last November.

The family GLB is 4.7 meters long, 1.68 meters high and has a wheelbase of almost 2.9 meters, so we are not far from the truth when we compare it dimensionally to the popular Kodiaq or Enyaq from Skoda.

It’s no secret that the car uses the foundations introduced in the CLA model, which won the title of European Car of the Year and is fighting for the title of Car of the Year 2026 in the Czech Republic. Just look head-on at the electric variant on display and you will immediately recognize the familiar shape of the backlit mask studded with stars.

This contrasts tastefully with the black painted body and black 20-inch wheels in the AMG style. On the sides you can notice the retractable door handles, just like the CLA, but the basic design of the door handle is ordinary.

On the roof there are longitudinal carriers, at the back cloudy LED headlights with star motifs inside. After pressing the Mercedes logo, the fifth door opens and the basic 540-liter trunk looks out at you, which, piled up to the roof, can hold luggage with a volume of 720 liters.

After folding the rear seats below the level of the cover, the volume is 1,150 litres, after the roof, then 1,715. In the back of the trunk, you will also find a hook for bags, anchor eyes, a compartment with a net and a 12-volt socket. Before you get in, we recommend opening the hood. In the electric version, you will find a deep 127 liter trunk.

Inside, you can safely recognize the Mercedes CLA-style layout, i.e. digital alarm clocks combined with the main display of the info system and the optional passenger display. All in one “package” fitted for space into a short dashboard with a cut-out for a head-up display and mechanical control of the ventilation outlets on the glass.

The passenger compartment is modest, but we like that the manufacturer has shaped it and used the available space. It would probably be much cheaper to make it smaller and straight, not curved in the storage area.

The software interface supported by artificial intelligence offers, for example, ambient styles that adjust the screen background and backlight in the style of the aurora borealis, an asphalt track or the depths of the sea.

And there are also games here. We didn’t find Angry Birds or Beach Buggy Racing 2 like in the recently tested CLA (the games can be bought in the digital store), but a nice clicker where you try to travel around the map of world cities with a futuristic ball and collect blue hexagons.

As usual, you have an unnecessarily large steering wheel in front of you, here with double arms and paddles for regulating recuperation. On the left is the seat control and ergonomic dual window switches with a physical button to switch to the rear row.

Volkswagen came up with a similar solution earlier, but it chose a less friendly touch button for switching rows. One way or another, nothing compares to four physical switches.

Otherwise, the rest of the driver’s workplace is already known from the CLA, so we recognize the central tunnel, armrest, drink holders and wireless mobile phone charger. When you look up, you’ll see a backlit glass roof with star motifs. This is a pleasant sight, especially for the passengers in the back, where we also sat.

And we have mostly good news! Even a 192 cm tall individual will have enough space above his head and for his legs (with the driver’s seat adjusted to his person), but his left thigh will not hit the armrest with the window control so pleasantly.

Because passengers in the second row sit slightly higher than those in the front, they benefit from the vehicle’s glazing and a wide view. The seating in the second row is divided in a ratio of 40/20/40, adjustable, ISOFIX mounts are present on the outer seats.

Adding to the ample space is the feeling of airiness, own drink holders for the second row, pockets on the backs of the front seats or ventilation vents. Larger families will be delighted to have the GLB with a third row of seats (7 seats in total).

For the time being, Mercedes revealed more detailed specifications of the electric drives, where both the 250+ rear-wheel drive version and the 350 4Matic four-wheel drive have been confirmed.

Technically, we know everything again from the CLA, so the GLB is based on an 800-volt architecture, offers a usable battery capacity of 85 kWh, charging with a power of up to 320 kW and a two-stage gearbox for the rear electric motor. Furthermore, the output is 272 hp (torque 335 Nm) for the rear wheel and 353.5 hp (torque 515 Nm) for the four-wheel drive.

Depending on the wheels and equipment chosen, the rear-wheel drive will go 542-631 km on a single charge, while the 4Matic version will go 521-614 km.

Fans of internal combustion engines will not miss the 1.5-liter mild-hybrid four-cylinder gasoline engine with an eight-speed automatic transmission and a 1.3 kWh battery, which will enable a longer time of operation purely on electricity (up to 100 km/h). More detailed engine specifications will be revealed by Mercedes later, but we expect the CLA portfolio to be overturned, i.e. outputs of 156, 184 and 211 hp in combination with front-wheel drive or 4×4.

You can watch the news of GLB, CLC and CLA live in the Ostravar arena until Saturday, February 7, when the women’s tennis tournament WTA Ostrava Open 2026 culminates. Tickets by day and sector start from 149 CZK.

The Mercedes-Benz GLB 250+ itself starts from CZK 1,355,200, the GLB 350 4MATIC from CZK 1,433,850. The internal combustion engines do not yet have prices, but we calculate that the SUV will start at around 1.2 million crowns in the weakest variant.