The Mercedes-Benz EQC is a four-wheel drive, all-terrain luxury SUV which represents a giant step forward in the world of electric vehicles (EVs). One of the world’s biggest and most historic car manufacturers has got serious about its commitment to a fully-electric future, which you can read more about in our Mercedes EQC review.
Mercedes EQC interior and practicality
The EQC boasts an exceptional build quality. This is instantly obvious both from the outside thanks to its elegant lines and when you climb inside the cabin using the handy sidestep. The beautiful Mercedes EQC interior has a high-quality finish which screams class and elegance, and stands in pretty stark contrast to the signature minimalism you get in a Tesla.
The car is a pleasure to drive, and you can look forward to a smooth, comfortable ride inside the cockpit. The EQC is packed with technology including driver aids such as lane, braking, distance and blind spot assist, as well as evasive steering and a pedestrian warning function.
There’s a lot of tech to get your head around, and you may need to spend a little more time getting to grips with it all compared to a Tesla. Once you do though, you can look forward to reaping the rewards both in terms of your driving experience and the performance of your car in terms of efficiency.
The EQC is incredibly spacious. It’s roomy in the front and back, while the boot capacity is a generous 500 litres. There’s extra storage space under the boot tray too, for things like your charging cables, jack and other bits and bobs you keep in your car. Plus, it’s just a push of a button to fold the rear seats down.
Mercedes EQC range and performance
There’s no doubt this is a big car, but it doesn’t feel intimidating to drive. The handling is decent, but this isn’t a car for throwing around quiet country lanes. It’s no slouch at all in a straight line though, with a 0-62mph of 5.1 seconds more than enough to worry much smaller, sportier cars from a standing start.
With a limited top speed of 111mph, the EQC relies on two motors for its power, with a smaller, more economical one at the front. You’ll mainly use the front-wheel drive when pootling around town, while the rear motor also kicks in when you need some extra oomph or 4WD capability. There’s certainly plenty of power on hand, with the 300kW generated equivalent to a shade over 400bhp.
The EQC has an 80kWh battery, which comes with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty. The power unit gives you a WLTP range of 259 miles, while our ‘real world’ Mercedes EQC range is 230 miles.
Cost to charge Mercedes EQC
| Battery size | Cost of full charge* | Full charge time | ‘Real world’ range | Cost per mile | |
| Mercedes EQC | 80kWh | £11.20 | 11 hours 26 mins | 230 miles | 4.8p |
This is an energy-efficient car for its size, with five different regeneration settings to tailor your driving experience to your needs. The ‘Maximum Range’ mode is best if you’re looking to eke out your battery as much as possible, including by restricting your speed according to the speed limit on the road you’re driving along.
The excellent performance of the regeneration technology filters down from the all-conquering Mercedes Formula 1 team, as well as the new Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E team. The EQC is based primarily on the Mercedes GLC though, which means the bones of this car are from a very popular premium SUV.
However, many of the parts which make up this car have been built specifically for this model, with Mercedes claiming that only 15% of the EQC’s components can be found in other models. That really makes a difference and will make you feel like you’re driving a brand new model, rather than a copy of an existing car.
One familiar aspect though is the excellent MBUX system. The Mercedes-Benz User Experience is basically a twin-screen infotainment system which feeds you all the information you need about your car, including things like your speed, range and how hard your electric motors are working. You also get a smart sat nav, which uses augmented reality to project instructions onto a live feed of the road ahead.
Mercedes EQC Public Charging
The EQC is a very clever car in many respects. It is able to acclimatise its battery via a heating and water cooling system to the optimum temperature for charging, when it knows you’re about to stop and plug in. This means your car’s able to take the maximum amount of energy from the charger, allowing it to charge up at 110kW when using a public super charger.
Even the process of stopping to charge is a joy. The car can communicate directly with charge points, meaning there’s no need for cards or apps. You can order your charge from inside the cockpit via Mercedes me Charge, while you can also access this app on your smartphone. The app allows you to use any public charger, and you simply pay through your Mercedes account.
This is a significant step forward, and makes Mercedes EQC charging much easier and quicker than most other models. It’s also cheaper, as you don’t have to pay monthly fees with a range of providers, in order to use different charge points. The car does the work for you while costing less, which is the future with EVs.
With over 7,000 charge points, Polar is currently the UK’s largest public charging network. You can pay £7.85 for a monthly membership or charge on a pay-as-you-go basis, with cheaper prices available to members. The cost and time to charge a Mercedes EQC with Polar is:
| 50kW cost of full charge | 50kW full charge time | 50kW cost per mile | 150kW cost of full charge | 150kW full charge time | 150kW cost per mile | |
| Polar member | £12.00 | 96 mins | 5.2p | £16.00 | 44 mins | 7.0p |
| Polar non-member | £20.00 | 96 mins | 8.7p | £28.00 | 44 mins | 12.2p |
*Polar member = 15p per kW for 50kW charger and 20p per kW for 150kW charger. Polar non-member = 25p per kW for 50kW charger and 35p per kW for 150kW charger.
How does the Mercedes EQC compare?
The fact that big brands like Mercedes are committing huge resources towards developing and producing EVs tells you everything you need to know about the future of motoring in general. Indeed, you could even say that Mercedes are a little late to the party, as the EQC is competing with fellow fully-electric luxury SUVs such as the Audi e-Tron, Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model X, as well as the upcoming Volvo XC40 Recharge. We’ve put a little comparison together for you below:
| Vehicle | Battery size | Cost of full charge* | WLTP range | ‘Real world’ range | Cost per 100 ‘real world’ miles |
| Mercedes EQC | 80kWh | £11.20 | 259 miles | 230 miles | £4.86 |
| Audi e-Tron | 71kWh | £9.44 | 186 miles | 175 miles | £5.68 |
| Jaguar I-Pace | 90kWh | £12.60 | 292 miles | 220 miles | £5.72 |
| Tesla Model X Long Range | 100kWh | £14.00 | 314 miles | 285 miles | £4.91 |
| Volvo XC40 Recharge | 78kWh | £10.92 | 264 miles | 230 miles | £4.74 |
With initial deliveries of the Volvo XC40 Recharge not expected until early 2021, the Mercedes EQC is currently the cheapest luxury SUV to run in terms of cost per mile. This is just another string in this brilliant car’s bow, and testament to the on-board technology engineered by Mercedes.
Thinking of taking out a Mercedes EQC lease but still unsure about going electric? Why not download the EQ Ready app, which analyses how you drive your existing car, and tells you if an EV is suitable for your lifestyle.
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Sources:
https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/passengercars/mercedes-benz-cars/models/eqc/explore.html
https://www.daimler.com/documents/sustainability/product/daimler-environmental-check-mb-eqc-class-org.pdf
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/volvo-xc40-recharge-p8-orders-open-electric
