Mercedes-Benz’s EQ range is its hot line of electric vehicles. After all, electric is the way we’re all going. The Mercedes-Benz EQC is what we’ve all been waiting for: a decent SUV that’s got the benefits of electricity tucked into a sizeable, family-friendly body with plenty of class.  What’s more, that class is delivered through the use of a heap of renewable materials wherever possible. If this is what the future of motoring looks like, I like it. The fact that it’s an SUV is a bit of a game-changer and it means that tradies will now have the ability to go electric – if a small SUV like the EQC suits them.

The big question with any EV is how it performs, especially in the areas of charging time and battery range. This gets particularly interesting in the case of a larger vehicle such as the 2019 Mercedes-Benz EQC.  The official stated range is 434 km, which is enough for the pair of electric motors to take you from Sydney to Canberra and a tad beyond, assuming that the traffic’s flowing freely.  Given that the range that you’ll actually get depends on conditions, traffic density and driving style, the range available probably is enough to get you to from Sydney to Canberra without recharging.

Recharging time at a rapid charging station will take 40 minutes to get you from 10% to 80%.  What’s more, EQC owners get a discount at Chargefox ultra-rapid stations (a 5-year subscription comes with the car when you buy it); you’ll find these tucked away in handy locations around the main cities in the southeastern parts of the country. However, you can charge your 2019 Mercedes-Benz EQC at any public charge station, and it comes with its own charging cable, of course, which plugs into any outlet at these stations.  At home, you can either go for the fast Mercedes wall charger or you can plug into any electrician-approved power socket and make the most of night charging rates. Charging with the Wallbox is three times quicker than using a conventional power socket, but even the conventional socket does the job overnight. The electric motors are mounted over the front and rear axles to harvest the braking energy and re-convert the kinetic energy into electrical potential energy.

In the performance department, the 2019 Mercedes-Benz EQC is no slouch. The top speed possible is 180 km/h – and that top speed has been regulated, as the twin electric motors are capable of much more.  As this is a purely electric vehicle, you’ve got all the torque – a massive 760 Nm – available all the time, and the power peaks at 300 kW. This is perfect Mercedes-Benz performance of the sort we know they can deliver with petrol and diesel engines.  And the 0–100 km/h time? How does 5.1 seconds for a family-sized SUV?  Sounds decent to me (although you won’t hear anything because electric motors are quiet, apart from the low-speed pedestrian warning signal). What’s more, because the motors are mounted over the axles rather than having the powerhouse all in one place, this gives the handling a totally new feel, as the balance is different… and a lot more fun.

The 2019 Mercedes-Benz EQC has plenty of on-road presence, standing 1.6 m high on its 20-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels, and its 4.7 m long and 2.1 m wide (wing mirror edge to wing mirror edge).  It seats five people very comfortably, and keeps them protected with a full suite of nine airbags.  The exterior of the currently available models comes in a nice creamy matte white (great for tradies) at the time of writing, but more colours are coming in early 2020, including a selection of metallic greys, a vivid red and a beautiful metallic peacock blue. The seats are upholstered in black leather and the interior’s standard trim is black ash wood. The overall look of the exterior is smooth and seamless, especially as things like the “radiator grille” and the “air intakes” aren’t quite as essential in a purely electrical vehicle and are mostly there for aesthetic reasons. Don’t worry; it still looks like a proper Mercedes-Benz AMG with the badge sitting there proudly on the black “radiator”. Look closely and you might be able to find where the designers have used renewable natural materials including hemp, wool, cotton, rubber and paper – but not if safety will be compromised.

Mercedes has been working hard on its active safety features recently and seems to be in a competition with the other safety leader, Volvo. This means that quite a few driver aids come as standard features in the 2019 Mercedes-Benz EQC, such as the active braking assistance, active lane assistance, blind spot monitoring, evasive steering assistance in the Driving Assistance Plus package. Throw in attention assistance, your good old ESP (a real safety must-have), active parking assistance with a 360-degree camera, and even traffic sign assistance and you’ve got something that exists to protect and serve, as the old saying goes. If you’re wondering what it’s got to stop you stalling during hill starts, don’t forget that you can’t stall an electric engine…

As for the infotainment, if smartphone integration (Apple or Android) talking to the big full-colour high-resolution touchscreen isn’t enough for you, then there’s Mercedes-Benz’s very own Mercedes Me Connect system to help you with navigation, remote unlocking monitoring the condition of your vehicle, making emergency calls and more – including the ability to find where you’ve parked when you come out of the supermarket. The dashboard has a fully digital display that’s wide and easy to see, with heads-up display as a backup to minimise distractions. Wireless charging is available for all your devices and there’s voice control for a lot of the infotainment choices. You’re kept comfy with dual-zone climate control and the front seats have a heating function (love it). The interior lighting makes the most of LED technology, as you’ve got 64 colour choices to select from (that’s one way to keep children entertained easily on a night drive if they’re not asleep). The 13-speaker 590 W Burmester sound system should take care of the rest of the entertainment.

The rear seats fold flat, which increases the luggage compartment size. However, the 2019 Mercedes-Benz EQC is at the smaller end of the SUV spectrum, so although it will suit families and some tradespeople and small business owners, it might not quite provide enough space for, say, a plumber or gardener. Nevertheless, the 2019 Mercedes-Benz EQC is a sign of things to come and offers plenty of room and plenty of bells and whistles along with innovative electric motoring in one stylish and luxurious package.

Mercedes-Benz advises us that because of the high demand for this fully electric SUV, delivery is expected in October 2020.  Better place your orders soon!

Current model series include:

• Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4Matic

For any more information on the Mercedes-Benz EQC, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Mercedes dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!