Australian New Car Buyer – June 2019

12 |AUSTRALIAN NEW CAR & SUV BUYER’S GUIDE

MERCEDES EQC

T

he German brands

are in the fi rst stages

of an electric vehicle

rollout that will, within

the next few years, extend to

almost every model range on

their books.

Mercedes-Benz opens its

electric account with the

EQC400, a mid-size fi ve-seater

SUV due by the end of the

year. Pricing had not been

announced as we went to press,

but it’s expected to be in the

low-mid $100K range. EQC

competes with Jaguar’s I-Pace,

which starts at $123,814, and

the Audi e-tron, which arrives

early in 2020.

The fi rst product of Mercedes’

new EQ electric vehicle brand,

EQC400 uses an 80kWh

lithium ion battery pack to

supply power to two electric

motors, one at each axle. The

front motor is calibrated for

maximum effi ciency at low to

medium load, while the rear

motor is calibrated for more

performance-oriented driving.

Together, they produce 300kW

of power and 765Nm of torque,

and the EQC operates as an all-

wheel drive, with the front and

rear motors seamlessly varying

their contribution as required.

Comfort, Eco, Max Range and

Sport modes allow the driver

to adjust performance and

range parameters; the latter,

according to Mercedes, is “more

than 450km”.

The 0-100km/h trip takes

5.1 seconds and top speed is

governed to 180km/h.

An onboard 7.4kW charger

allows you to recharge the

battery from a domestic 10amp

power point, but Mercedes isn’t

saying how long this will take. A

Wallbox charger is also available

for home installation. At a fast DC

charging station — of which there

are still very few in Australia —

EQC’s battery can be re charged

from 10 per cent to 80 per cent

in around 40 minutes. EQC’s

on-board navigation system will

show you where the nearest

charging station is located.

THE NEW MODEL DIARY JUNE–DECEMBER 2019