Mercedes-Benz EQC Review (2019-present)
Mercedes-Benz EQC cars for sale
4.0
Expert review
Pros
Relaxed and comfortable to drive
Very quick, but cheap to charge
Spacious and practical
Cons
Not as much fun as a Jaguar I-Pace
High insurance premiums
Some rivals can recharge more quickly
The CarGurus verdict
The Mercedes EQC is sumptuous and lovely to drive and to live with, and comes with all the financial and environmental perks of a pure electric car. We’d recommend it over the heavier-feeling and less efficient Audi e-tron, even if the Jaguar I-Pace is our pick of the electric luxury SUVs thanks to its fantastic handling and sharper looks. Don’t let the Merc’s expensive equipment packs put you off, either; there are very competitive finance deals around that make the EQC one of the more affordable premium electric SUVs for most buyers or, better still, go for one of the many nearly-new examples out there for even better value.
What is the Mercedes-Benz EQC?
The Mercedes EQC is the first pure-electric SUV from the German brand. It’s aimed squarely at the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace, as well as various other electric vehicles including the Tesla Model S.
The Mercedes is currently only offered in one form, with an 80kWh battery pack (lithium-ion) badged the EQC 400 4Matic. According to official WLTP figures, the battery delivers a maximum driving range of between 248 and 252 miles depending on the trim you opt for. In the real world, though, expect max range to be more like 200 - 220 miles in warm weather and mixed driving speeds, while wintry weather will see that drop to more like 180 miles. Sounds drastic, but that is very comparable to the Audi e-tron 55 and even the Jaguar, despite its higher claimed official range. Given that it has a smaller battery than both yet manages similar real-world range, the Mercedes is actually the most efficient of the three posh plug-in 4x4s.
Charging happens via a Type 2 and CCS socket at the back of the car, where you’d expect the fuel filler to be in a petrol or diesel car. These are the European standard socket types, and between these sockets and the standard charging cable provided, you’ll be able to plug the Mercedes EQC into the vast majority of AC slow or DC rapid public chargers in the UK.
The same cable will also fit into a standard 7kW home wallbox, which will fully charge the electric Mercedes in under 13 hours. Plug into a 50kW DC CCS rapid charger that you find in most motorway services and you’ll get an 80% top-up in around 75 minutes. The Mercedes can charge even faster than that thanks to a peak charging speed of 100kW, so if you can find an ultra-rapid charging station of 100kW or faster, you’ll get the same 80% battery charge in 40 minutes (or 100 miles of range in under 30 minutes). Not bad, but not as quick to charge as the Audi e-tron, which taps out at 150kW.
Mercedes also provides a cable for plugging into your everyday three-pin domestic socket, but treat it as a useful emergency backup since it’ll take over a day to get a full charge using this cable.
How practical is it?
The EQC is as spacious and practical as you’d expect of a large five-seat SUV that’s a fraction larger than an Audi Q5. The 500-litre boot is more than big enough for a couple of big dogs or chunky buggies, and the 40/20/40 split rear seats fold flat, although it must be said that non-electric SUVs of a similar size will tend to offer slightly more ultimate boot space.
Rear passenger space is very decent, too, so two tall adults will feel comfortable on a long journey, although parents with young kids might wish for wider-opening rear doors to make the daily faff with car seats a bit easier. The middle seat is also hindered by a tunnel in the floor and quite a hard seat squab, so there are certainly better options if you regularly want to five people in the car, not least the more expensive but vastly more practical Tesla Model X with its five, six or seven-seat layouts.
What's it like to drive?
It’s lovely to drive, too. Not only because it has an abundance of power courtesy of twin electric motors that send 402bhp to all four wheels, but also because it’s the most comfortable of the premium electric SUVs. It’ll certainly fire down the road at a shocking rate if you want it to, but the loping ride comfort and serene refinement (quieter even than its electric rivals) encourage a much calmer, unruffled driving experience. Fairly heavy body lean in fast cornering also discourages any really vigorous progress, but there is plenty of grip courtesy of that four-wheel drive, so the EQC feels well within its comfort zone on a decent country road even if it's nowhere near as fun as the sportier Jaguar I-Pace.
Technology, equipment & infotainment
Up front the Mercedes really delivers on the perceived quality and plush finish that you’d expect of the brand. Rose-gold surrounds for the air vents might sound a bit TOWIE but do actually look quite subtle and smart, and the blend of gloss and metal finishes work well with the standard leather upholstery.
The real focal point of the EQC’s cabin is the single-piece screen that encompasses a 10-inch touchscreen as well as the digital driver’s dials, which offer a great range of configuration than most. Between the MBUX touchscreen infotainment system itself, the touch-sensitive pads on the steering wheel and the shortcut buttons on the dash, it’s easy to hop between functions and control the major features of the EQC’s system, but some settings are well hidden and the interface isn’t as intuitive as that in the BMW X5 or Audi e-tron.
Standard equipment on the EQC is decent, with LED lights, keyless entry, manmade leather upholstery, ambient lighting and more are included on both available trims, but it’s frustrating that adaptive cruise control and Apple CarPlay are both optional and only available on the top-spec AMG Line.
Mercedes-Benz EQC running costs
The Mercedes EQC will be much cheaper to run than comparable petrol, diesel or hybrid alternatives such as the BMW X3, Mercedes GLC or Lexus RX. A full charge will cost around £11.20 on a standard domestic electricity tariff, or that cost could be halved if you make use of cheaper off-peak tariffs (which is easy to do via the car’s timed charging settings that you access via the touchscreen or phone app). Even without a discounted tariff and assuming a real-world range of 200 miles, that’s under 6p per mile – around a third what you’ll pay for a petrol car doing 40mpg. Particularly impressive for a performance, all-wheel drive SUV that does 0-62mph in 5.1sec, but that’s one of the benefits of electric power and you’ll see similarly low fuel prices in the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace.
Pure electric cars are exempt from VED road tax and the substantial ‘premium rate’ tax that combustion engined cars over £40,000 are subject to, which amounts to a saving of around £1500 in the first year (compared to comparable petrol or diesel SUVs) and a further £2375 saving over the following five years.
Insurance is in the highest group, as is the case for the EQC’s similarly powerful rivals, and expect to pay a lot for tyres. Servicing is due every 15,000 miles or 12 months, but that may vary depending on how the car is used, and a message will be beamed onto the dash when a service is due.
Mercedes-Benz EQC reliablity
There’s very little data available yet regards the reliability of the Mercedes EQC, but electric motors are typically much more reliable than petrol or diesel engines since they have far fewer moving parts to go wrong. A standard three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty brings further peace of mind, as does an an eight-year, 100,000-mile battery warranty that also promises refurbishment or replacement if the lithium-ion battery pack drops below 70% of its as-new performance. As a brand, Mercedes came a disappointing 26th out of 31 marques covered in the 2020 What Car? use car reliability survey, so here’s hoping that the Mercedes-Benz EQC and other electric cars from the brand help to improve the manufacturer’s overall reliability.
- Even though available finance and discounts offsets what can be a high brochure price for the EQC, it’s still unforgivable is that you have to go for the top-spec EQC 400 AMG Line trim, (£2000 more than the entry-level EQC 400 at nearly £67,000) and then pay almost £5,000 on top for a Premium Pack if you want Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Sure, the pack includes 20-inch alloy wheels and fancy, upgraded ‘augmented reality’ satnav, but it’s insulting to be held hostage for the price of those extras if all you wanted was smartphone connectivity that’s standard in most budget family hatches.
- To add further insult, you have to pay for yet another expensive pack if you want adaptive cruise control, another feature that’s a routine fit on many rivals and cars from classes far below. Even more frustrating given that the every EQC’s regenerative braking system automatically senses cars and junctions up ahead and adjusts the braking forces respectively, meaning that it has adaptive functionality active all the time, just not in cruise control if you don’t add the right pack. Madness.
- That standard brake regen’ is controlled via paddles on the steering wheel, which is great as it makes it easy to toggle through the various modes that range from off altogether (when the EQC will coast freely for long periods), through to a much heavier setting for around town or keeping your speed down on a long descent. Hold the paddle for a few seconds and you activate the automatic setting, in which mode the car will automatically keep your distance from the car in front by smoothly increasing braking force, or will also let the car coast on a clear road. While it might sound intrusive if you’re not used to brake regen’, the automatic setting is very easy to get used to and to trust, and most drivers will find it a key part of why the Mercedes is so easy to drive whether you’re in town or on the motorway.
- Electric cars come with rock bottom Benefit in Kind company car tax costs right now, or also offer huge tax write-downs and incentives for business owners, so if you have the freedom to within your scheme, you may as well go for the full-spec AMG Line with both available optional packs. Not only because the real difference in cost to the business user is fairly minimal, but also because the additional features that you get make a difference to how pleasant the EQC is to live with, particularly the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functions that many rely on for easy phone connectivity and an in-car interface that updates on your phone.
- Retail buyers looking for the cheapest option should, of course, look to the standard EQC. It still has many of the comforts that you’d expect of an expensive, premium SUV, but be aware that it may lose value more quickly than the AMG Line model. If you’re planning to buy outright and sell on in a few years, the AMG Line could well be cheaper over the lifetime of the car.
- Anyone after maximum luxury should go for the EQC AMG Line complete with the Premium Pack and Driving Assistance Pack. Avoid the Premium Plus Pack since it brings 21-inch wheels that start to corrupt the EQC’s otherwise very lovely ride comfort.
