Auto Express – August 07, 2019

26 7August2019 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

JamesBrodie

[email protected]

@jimmybrods

NEWCARS

Visitautoexpress.co.ukforthe latest newcarsand drives

600LTSPIDER

McLaren’smost

focusedsports

modellosesitsroof

28

Mercedes EQC400

FIRSTUKDRIVEFirst all-electric model from Mercedes sub-brand arrives in UK

“Driving the EQCismuch likeany other EV:hit

the throttle and there’saninstanthit of torque”

MERCEDEShassetaside10billion

Euros(£9.2bn)foraplug-invehicle

pushthatwillleadintothemid2020s,and

it’spromisedthatthiscashwillresultin

10all-electricMercedesandSmartmodels

hittingtheroadbeforetheendof2022.

Keytothiswillbeanall-new,purpose-

madeplatformbeingbuiltinabrand-new

factory. Butbeforethat,thefirm’sfirst

purebattery-poweredcarfromthenewly

launched‘EQ’sub-brandisthis:theEQC.

It’savailableinUKdealershipsnow.

Thecar’sdesignlanguagesetsthetone

forEQcarstocome,butsquintalittleand

itresemblestheGLC–andforgoodreason.

TheEQCusesahighlymodifiedversionof

thatcar’sconventionalplatform,rather

thansomethingunique.Sowhilethe

TeslaModelXandJaguarI-Pacehavebeen

developedtotallyfromscratch,theEQC

mirrorstheAudie-tron,bytryingtobe

aconvincing,upmarket,long-rangeelectric

SUVunderpinnedbyaknownquantity.

Theplatformhasbeenadaptedtohouse

an80kWhbattery, withapairofelectric

motorsdrivingeachaxle.Totalsystem

powerstandsat403bhp,whileitstorque

measuresahealthy760Nm.

Inside,you’regreetedbyafamiliardual-

screeninfotainmentset-upanddigitaldials,

whilethecentreconsoleandswitchgearare

identicaltothelatestGLC’s.Thecabinfeels

abitmoretraditionalthansomeofthe

competition’s,andisonlydifferentiated

fromotherMercsbysomenewvents,

copperaccents,andalarge,sweeping

panelrunningfromthedoorstothedash.

Buildqualityisgood,butthisisn’tthe

mostspaciouscarinthesegment.The

centreconsoleeatsintothefrontfootwells,

whilesittinginthebackrevealsheadroom

isatapremium,nippedawaybytheEQC’s

aerodynamicallyfriendlylowroofline.

DrivingtheEQCismuchlikeanyother

electriccar.Itweighsinat2,495kg,buthit

and259milesonasinglecharge.Our

testcar’sfullbatterysaiditcouldmanage

240miles,andwereckonyou’llgetclose

tothatinnormaldriving–sotheEQCwill

beverycompetitiveagainstitsrivals.

Asfortoppingup,theEQCisn’tquiteas

advancedastheAudie-tron,whichsupports

150kWcharging.NorwillitmatchaTesla

ModelXpluggedintoaSupercharger.Ata

110kWcharger,Mercedesclaimsa10-80

percentrechargetimeof40minutes.

IntheUK,theEQCcomeswithayear’s

subscriptiontothecurrentlyslimIONTY

network,aCCS-2connectorandaType2

cablefora7kWwallboxandpubliccharging,

whereafullrechargewilltakearound11

hours.ChargingnetworkBPChargemaster

isoneofMercedes’partners,anditoffers

a7kWhomewallboxfor£854fromlaunch.

thethrottlehardfromstandstillandyou’ll

stillfindthatslugofinstanttorque.

It’ssimplyimpossibletoignorethecar’s

sheermass,though.TheEQCisfarheavier

thananI-Pace,andwhilethesteeringis

direct,thecar’sweightquicklybecomes

unnervingifyoupushincorners.It’snot

thefastesttocometoastopeither.Jaguar’s

EVisamuchbettercarinthisregard.

WheretheEQCexcelsisasacruiser.All

electriccarsarehushed,buttheMercedes

isquieterstill,thesmoothshapeslinking

throughtheairwithlittlefuss.Itrideswell,

soakingupthebiggestbumpswithease.

You’llnoticealittlemovementandwobble

onundulatingsurfaces,though.

AnothertrumpcardistheEQC’sreal-

worldrange.Dependingonspecification,

Mercedesquotesarangeofbetween232

Electric motor

Power/range

403bhp/232 miles