The silent fight for supremacy of the EV -SUV begins.
Two years ago, the
German luxury brand Mercedes-Benz had decided to conquer the emerging market
for electric SUVs, with what they called the "EQC". It would be the
SUV for anyone looking for an incredible performance (like from an electric
car), offering immense functionality and cutting-edge technology that are
neatly packaged in a recognizable and soothing Mercedes package that everyone
would love.
Today they have delivered.
At an event in Sweden, Mercedes has taken over the
production maturity of the EQC SUV, which is not only the first all-electric
SUV from Mercedes-Benz, but also the first product of its new electrified
sub-brand EQ. Not only is it a precedent for any future EQ model, it also puts
Mercedes-Benz in competition with players like Tesla, with its Model X (which
breaks the niche) and the award-winning Jaguar I-Pace.
If you like the EQC a bit like the GLC, we'll tell you now
that there's a reason. The EQC rides on a 2873mm wheelbase identical to the
GLC, although the electric SUV is slightly shorter but slightly wider. The
reason for the almost damned measurements is basically: EQC runs on a new
all-electric EVA platform, but EVA is "inspired" by the MRA platform,
which supports the GLC class. It also helps that the GLC class is one of the
most popular SUVs of the brand: If the version with internal combustion sells
well, this should be the electric, right?
Under the skin is a
80 kWh battery, slightly smaller than the Jaguar I-Pace (90 kWh) and the
upcoming Audi e-tron (95 kWh). The driving force is 300 kWh and 765 Nm. Thanks
to a twin-engine setup with one motor on each axle, all four wheels are driven.
Despite its weight of nearly 2.5 tons, the EQC reaches a speed of 100 km / h in
only 5.1 seconds and offers a range of 450 km (more than 450 km / h) according
to the NEEDC cycle. That's not bad, and the integrated high-performance DC
charging system also allows the EQC to charge 10% to 80% in just 40 minutes
with a 110 kW fast charger.
Charge it at home and this will take a long time due to the
much lower, slower charging power of 7.4 kW. However, the use of a
Mercedes-Benz Wall box triples.
Enter and you are immediately welcomed by a unique cockpit
experience, both foreign and equal to that of current Mercedes-Benz owners.
Next-generation Class A owners will immediately recognize Mercedes-Benz's new
user interface, MBUX, which powers the big-screen displays in front of the
driver and above the center stack. Saying "Hey Mercedes" will trigger
the AI-powered speech recognition software, which is similar in execution to
Siri and Amazon Alexa.
However, as this is the first time that MBUX has been used
in an EQ brand electric model, Mercedes has developed unique features for the
system, which display information such as charging speed, power consumption and
suggested departure times based on navigation entries. The navigation will also
show you charging stations, which will be automatically integrated into your
route if the distance you wish to travel exceeds the projected range of your
battery.
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