While an electric vehicle still doesn’t make sense for everyone, our time with the Mercedes-Benz EQC has illustrated that EV life is a little more practical than we might have imagined. This month, we say farewell to our EV long-termer.
- Real-world range is accurate and useful
- Build quality is that of a Mercedes-Benz
- Styling blends in and doesn’t scream EV
- Public charging is still an issue, even in the big cities
- Cabin space and ergonomics could be better
- Weight is evident on choppy surfaces
We know that a pure EV isn’t the answer for most Australians right now in 2022. The fact remains, though, that we’ll be testing more and more of them over the next five years or so, as manufacturers roll them out apace. Further, the key for us has always been to assess how easy they are to live with, and how practical they can be for those who decide to buy one.
With that in mind, we spent a good few months with the 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQC400 Sport – in town and out on the open road – to delve a little deeper into EV ownership and usage.
| Key details | 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQC400 Sport |
| Price (MSRP) | $141,300 plus on-road costs |
| Colour of test car | Salenite Grey Metallic |
| Options | None |
| Price as tested | $141,300 plus on-road costs |
| Rivals | Audi E-Tron | Porsche Taycan | Jaguar I-Pace |
The good? Well, there’s plenty to discuss here. The EQC is, first and foremost, a Mercedes-Benz. It’s not an EV for the sake of it. It is designed and built like a Mercedes-Benz, it just happens to be electric. You could also argue that any manufacturer that goes pure EV with either a medium or large SUV has hit the sweet spot for the biggest cross-section of Australian new car buyers.
So, the body style is right, and the execution is right. We love the fact that even though the styling is a little different, the EQC doesn’t scream, ‘look at me, I’m driving an EV!’. Those of you who want to drive an EV for reasons other than virtue signalling will like the way the EQC blends into the traffic.
| Key details | 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQC400 Sport |
| Seats | Five |
| Boot volume | 500L / 1460L |
| Length | 4774mm |
| Width | 2096mm |
| Height | 1622mm |
| Wheelbase | 2873mm |
The drive experience, the cabin execution, the integration of the tech, and the way the EQC feels behind the wheel are all genuinely premium, and add to the sense of quality you get every time you take the EQS for a drive. That’s important, not just because of the badge it’s wearing, but also because of the price. We know EVS aren’t cheap – not compared to a like-for-like internal combustion vehicle anyway – which is why the more expensive, premium brands probably make the most sense in this segment right now.
It’s easy to overlook the fact that the EQC is a medium SUV, and it therefore delivers all the practicality that we expect and enjoy when driving a medium SUV. There’s plenty of room in all five seats, it’s comfortable, there’s plenty of storage, the family will love it, and there’s room for five, plus a host of luggage as well. There’s no doubt this is a practical and useful platform.
It’s punchy too. A pair of 150kW electric motors with outputs of 300kW and 760Nm should get any vehicle moving rapidly, and they do. We need to stop worrying about how fast EVs are and instead focus on how practical they are, but the EQC gets up and cranking effortlessly. The claimed 417km (WLTP) range is a little optimistic, but in the real world, in traffic, you’ll get well into the 380–390km range as we discovered on test.
What would we change? We’d lose the transmission tunnel and liberate more cabin space. That’s an easy one for the next generation of EVs, which won’t share platforms with existing internal combustion vehicles, and will be free of some of those historical encumbrances. If there’s no driveline as such, there’s no need for the platform to accommodate one.
We don’t love the MBUX ‘Hey Mercedes’ system. That might come across as harsh, because it’s a personal comment. However, most testers at Drive agree on this one. It works, and it does what you expect it to do, but for our money, most buyers would prefer to simply use the voice-command system they are already familiar with on their smartphone OS. It’s why a simple smartphone-mirroring system is so much more accessible to people.
And it begs the question why the manufacturers would pump so much money into the development of their own system. Still, it’s the way of the future, and will become more important the more the driver is removed from the actual driving experience.
The only time you feel the heft of the EQC – and it is a meaty SUV at 2500kg – is when you encounter nasty road surfaces. It’s difficult to damp and absorb as much weight as the EQC carries without some transmission into the cabin, and you do feel it. On average roads, though, the EQC cruises along in comfort. It’s only the worst of our urban or regional network that upsets it.
The front air dam plastics are low as well, and you’ll scrape them unless you’re super cautious over sharper speed humps and driveways. Keep that in mind, and try not to wince when you hear the dreaded graunching sound…
| 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQC400 Sport | |
| ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2019) |
| Safety report | Link to ANCAP |
The only other negative we’ve noted really isn’t a Mercedes-Benz issue at all. Public charging. Let’s first eliminate the ‘yeah, but’ end of the argument from the EV evangelists. Let’s also eliminate the ‘EVs don’t work in a big country’ argument from the other extremity. Both tend to cancel each other out.
The facts, though, are the facts. We have rarely headed to a public charger in or around Sydney that hasn’t proven to be an issue in one way or another. That’s a fact we are not making up. All of us at Drive have experienced it multiple times. And that includes our long-suffering photo and video gurus, who often get sent out into the wild to ‘quickly grab some content of said vehicle charging’. It’s rarely that easy.
Chargers that don’t work. Chargers that are supposed to be somewhere based on an app search that aren’t, in fact, there. Cars plugged in for way longer than they need to be while the owner is absent. Non-EVs in EV parking spaces. Teslas using the free chargers, because the owner doesn’t want to pay to use a Tesla Supercharger. Damaged chargers that you can’t connect to the car. Chargers that appear to be working when you connect up, but return to the vehicle and it hasn’t charged. You name it, we’ve encountered it while we’re out testing.
| At a glance | 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQC400 Sport |
| Warranty | Five years / unlimited km |
| Service intervals | XX months / 1X,000km |
| Servicing costs | $XXX (3 years) | $XXXX (5 years) |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | X.XL/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | X.XL/100km |
| Fuel type | XX octane petrol |
| Fuel tank size | XXL |
Yes, you can charge at home. Yes, you probably will. That doesn’t excuse or circumvent the reality that public charging in Australia is still pitiful, undersupplied, and often unreliable. I’m not referring to having to wait however long when you get to a charger. That’s part of the experience at the moment. No issue there. I’m referring to public charging that is effectively out of action.
Every time we headed out of the city on a longer road trip, we took to calling ahead to make sure the charger at the other end was working. We’ve charged recently in Yass, Narrandera, Moss Vale and Berry – all outside the Sydney metro area, of course – and we’ve had no issues at all. We did call ahead just to check, though.
| Key details | 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQC400 Sport |
| Engine | Two 150kW asynchronous electric motors |
| Power | 300kW |
| Torque | 760Nm |
| Drive type | All-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Single-speed direct drive |
| Battery pack | 80kWh |
| Power to weight ratio | 120kW/t |
| Weight (tare) | 2500kg |
| Turning circle | 11.8m |
In our experience, the chargers supplied by the motoring clubs are the most reliable out of the cities. We’ll leave the argument about how we advocate for more chargers, and how we roll that infrastructure out, for another day. At the moment, for the new EV owner, public charging is a lottery. And it’s something you’ll need to be prepared for.
The argument about never letting the battery go flat doesn’t wash either. I still see plenty of people trudging along a suburban road with a fuel can…
With pricing north of 140 grand, the EQC isn’t for everybody. However, plenty of Mercedes-Benz owners have spent that kind of money on whatever other ‘Benz they happen to be driving. It’s why premium EVs like the EQC, E-Tron, I-Pace and Taycan make sense. Those badges have never been especially ‘cheap’ to park in your driveway. It means, therefore, that the step into EV ownership within those stables isn’t as taxing on the wallet.
If you’re in the market for a premium EV, then, the EQC is hard to fault. It’s built well, delivers genuine efficiency on the road, and can be an engaging SUV to drive into the bargain. It makes even more sense for a two-car family who can stretch the budget to buy one. The EV for all your day-to-day work, and an internal combustion engine for those situations where the EV isn’t yet as practical.
Medium SUVs are the modern battleground for family buyers in Australia, and it’s hard to think that electric Medium SUVs won’t be the next transition.
MORE: Long-term report one: Introduction
MORE: Long-term report two: Around town
MORE: Long-term report three: Beyond the suburbs
MORE: Everything Mercedes-Benz
The post 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQC review: Long-term farewell appeared first on Drive.
