Mercedes-Benz EQC is a monumental EV debut
Mercedes-Benz EQC is a big, burly SUV and the brand’s first pure electric, mass production vehicle, but is already joined by a growing, variously sized, electric family
We’re a little late to explore Mercedes-Benz’s first attempt at a pure electric, mass production vehicle. The new Mercedes-Benz EQC is a big, burly SUV, roughly equivalent in size and price to the current GLE model. This in turn is the modern-day evolution of Mercedes’ debut SUV, the ML, which launched all the way back in 1997. For a time, the EQC stood alone as the only pure electric car in the company’s line-up (alongside several plug-in hybrid models), the first of ten planned EVs in the EQ series that are set to be launched in the next couple of years. The big hitter, the EQS, is also with us, an impressive electric reimagination of Mercedes’ flagship S-Class saloon. There’s also the smaller EQA, EQB, EQE and EQV, implying that the company is hellbent on following its long-standing system of similarly styled but slightly differently sized cars.
Like all car makers, it’s starting its EV journey at the top of the market; as battery tech and margins improve, you can expect electric Mercedes to get smaller and smaller.
Mercedes-Benz EQC
The EQS is an American-scale SUV – that is to say, it is absolutely massive. The exterior design has a slippery, slightly soap-bar like character that appears to have had some of its detailing worn away. Gone are the instant visual signifiers that scream ‘Mercedes’, even the three-pointed star looks slightly lost in the glass-encircled grille.
The company was an early master of the art of consistent, corporate design. Mercedes imbued its entire fleet of vehicles with a set of scalable visual values that ensured even the smallest cars in its range shared DNA with their more refined stablemates. In the past two decades, the arrival of SUVs and crossovers has muddied the clear waters of car design and its simple hierarchies. These days, small cars still ape their elder siblings, but the imitation is paler and the flattery less sincere.
The EQC’s unassuming exterior is countered by a very stylish cabin design, dominated by a dashboard-wide screen that feels sufficiently futuristic. Refinement is top notch, although there’s no disguising the weight of the batteries over bumps and rough roads. At a shade under 260 miles, the range is best described as adequate, although fast-charge compatibility with the expanding IONITY network will ease the inevitable range anxiety (many owners will doubtless have access to their own charge box).
In the meantime, you get the satisfying feeling of boosting driving efficiency through the paddle-mounted regeneration function – click to increase the amount of kinetic energy the brakes pump back into the batteries. There’s also an array of sensor-driven systems that will automatically eke out as much battery life as possible, sifting through data from satnav, radar systems and speed limit info and making the necessary invisible adjustments.
For the time being, switching to electric is still a consumer choice, but it won’t be for very much longer. More affordable EVs are appearing all the time, although in the world of Mercedes, even its smallest electric cars tend to have premium prices. Mercedes is a strong player in mass-market luxury, and its broad sweep of EVs should retain the prestige (and price) the marque has always commanded.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
The Mercedes-Benz EQC might be full of advanced technology, but it still commands attention like a traditional brawny SUV, not a mobility pioneer.
INFORMATION
Mercedes EQC400 4Matic, from £65,720
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiences
Aesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternatives
From the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice church
Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Vauxhall Corsa Electric brings the modest model upmarket
Car-share convenience or the burden of automotive ownership? The Vauxhall Corsa Electric goes high-tech to help sway the undecided
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Mighty Kia EV9 is the brand’s biggest electric vehicle. How does it scale up to its rivals?
We take the Kia EV9 – now in showrooms, in a wide range of versions – for a spin to see how the revitalised company handles the design of a big SUV
By Guy Bird Published
-
Toyota bz4X SUV is the marque’s first pure electric vehicle
The Toyota bz4X is our first chance to explore how the long-standing masters of mass automobile production make an EV
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
New Rivian R2 and R3 downsize a format to increase the EV company’s standings
The Californian manufacturer has revealed the new Rivian R2 and R3, all-electric SUVs that combine practicality with functional elegance
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Microcar madness: three new ultra-compact electric city cars
These two-seater electric microcars are the ultimate errand machines, designed for short hops and small spaces, all with a minimal footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
EMC White Wolf is a military Mercedes turned modern-day cruiser
The Expedition Motor Company (EMC) takes surplus Mercedes G-Wagens and uprates them for contemporary collectors, creating a classic car that goes anywhere
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
CES 2024 was a showcase for how to shoehorn AI into next-generation cars
CES 2024 in Las Vegas underlined that future mobility will be shaped by AI, like it or not, as intelligent assistants emerge to guide, plan and converse with their human cargo
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Year in review: the top 10 cars of 2023, as selected by Wallpaper’s Jonathan Bell
What were the best four-wheeled offerings of 2023? Transport editor Jonathan Bell takes us through the year’s most intriguing automobiles
By Jonathan Bell Published