Appearing at EV Weekend in December: Mercedes’ first electric SUV offers the three-pointed star experience with even more refinement and luxury

EV Weekend is Singapore’s First and Largest Electric Vehicle event, and it’s on from 3-12 December 2021 at Resorts World Sentosa! Check out the latest EVs from Audi, BMW, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Mini – see them in person, test drive them, and understand all there is to know about EV ownership and more. Sign up at evweekend.sg to find out more and win exciting prizes.

SINGAPORE

The Mercedes-EQ EQC was first introduced globally in 2019, but Claudius Steinhoff, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Singapore, insists that the timing of the car’s launch in Singapore, two years later, is appropriate, given the Government’s recent push towards electric vehicle adoption.

“We’re supportive of Singapore’s plans to encourage the take-up of EV ownership here, and we think that the timing is right for us to introduce this car in order to take advantage of the benefits available,” he said.

In fact, by 2030 the carmaker aims to go fully electric with its model line-up, even in Singapore. That’s less than a decade away but we can see how it all kicks off with the EQC right now.

What is the EQC?

The EQC is first proper EV from Mercedes-Benz and the first ‘Mercedes-EQ’ branded car – that’s the sub-brand for the company’s EVs. Dis-counting one-offs like the Mercedes Electrique and Smart Fortwo EVs, it’s a mid-sized SUV around the same dimensions as the Mercedes-Benz GLC. In fact, the EQC is based on the same architecture as the GLC, and therefore offers similar levels of practicality.

Two variants are offered in Singapore, the EQC 400 4Matic Electric Art and the pricier EQC 400 4Matic AMG Line. The latter features an AMG-exclusive styling kit that includes an AMG-specific grille, unique alloy wheel designs, and a sporty AMG Line interior. Driven and shown in this article is the Electric Art model.

Both models are powered by a dual-motor setup with an electric motor at each axle to drive both sets of wheels. The total combined output is rated at 408hp and 760Nm of torque, and allows the SUV to go from 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds. Fully charged, Mercedes claims that the EQC is able to offer a range of up to 423km.

Inside, the EQC bears a now-familiar Mercedes look, with the set of dual HD 10.25-inch screens incorporating the digital instrument panel and infotainment system spanning the dashboard. The voice-activated Mercedes Benz User Experience (MBUX) system is also present here, and integrates a few EQC-specific functions, such as indicating the amount of range remaining and the car’s charge status.

As an SUV targeted at families, the EQC offers an extensive stack of safety features. They include Active Brake Assist which incorporates autonomous emergency braking and can detect both moving and stationary obstacles. There is also the optional Driving Assistance package, which adds adaptive cruise control and blind spot warning, among other functions.

The driving experience

It’s easy to understand why electric car owners wax lyrical about how fun and easy to use their cars are once you drive something like the EQC, because it just feels so efficient. Overtaking is easily completed even before the other cars around you are aware that you’re fitting through the gap in traffic, provided you brace yourself and your passengers for the whiplash potential from the car’s massive thrust. Power delivery is instant. The car doesn’t even need space to build momentum. Actually, all electric cars need proper traction control and power management to ensure that the tyres don’t get overwhelmed from the immediate power delivery.

It’ll go from 0 to 100km/h in 5.1 seconds, but the real kicker is that according to the official stats, it’ll go from 80 to 120km/h in about three and a half seconds. The EQC is not really a sports car, despite the provision of a ‘sport’ mode in the drive selector menu. It’s quick and has plenty of traction but the suspension is tuned for comfort. It’s also very heavy, tipping the sales at 2,495kg. It’s still very agile for its size and weight, however.

When driven sensibly, there’s more than 400km in the ‘tank’. The rated efficiency of 21.5kWh/100km is just about on point, as that’s what the car delivered when on long expressway cruises here in Singapore.

The EQC’s 80kWh lithium-ion battery takes about 7.5 hours to be fully charged up on a regular 11kW AC charger. But it can also take up to 110kW of fast DC charging, which lets the EQC achieve an 80 percent charge in 40 minutes. In Singapore though, the fastest DC public chargers currently run at 50kW, so that time is extrapolated to about an hour and a half when translated to our local context.

So, why this car?

The EQC plays a major part in Mercedes-Benz’s worldwide Ambition2039 vision, which sees the brand target to have a completely carbon neutral new car fleet by 2039. The aim is to emphasise sustainability through every part of the vehicle production process, from the supply chain to its factories. The shorter term goal for Mercedes-Benz is to have more than 50 percent of its global sales be either plug-in hybrids or full electric vehicles by 2030, and the brand hopes that the EQC and EQA will kick start that revolution.

Click here to read the full review of the Mercedes-EQ EQC 400.

Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4Matic