Mercedes EQC 400 – Autocentrum.pl review [YouTube]

The AutoCentrum.pl portal tested the Mercedes EQC 400 in the 1886 limited edition. The car received very good marks both in terms of driving performance and software capabilities. There was also an attempt to compare the Audi e-tron and the Mercedes EQC - but in this case no winner was chosen.

Let's start with a quick reminder of which car we are talking about:

• Mercedes EQC, price from PLN 328,
• segment: D-SUV [more on this at the end],
• battery: 80 kWh (net power),
• charging power: up to 110 kW (CCS) / up to 7,2 kW (Type 2),
• real range: 330-390 km (no exact data; WLTP: 417 km),
• power: 300 kW (408 HP)
• torque: 765 Nm,
• weight: 2,5 tons
• verified edition: “1886”.

The representative of the portal AutoCentrum.pl did not particularly appreciate the exterior of the car, but drew attention to the front and rear light strips, indicating the absence of roof rails and a coupe-like "monolithic" silhouette.

By the way, we managed to find out interesting data: air resistance coefficient Mercedes EQC Cx в 0,29with special rims - 0,28, and with the AMG package - 0,27. In comparison, the Cx of the Audi e-tron is 0,28, and the manufacturer boasts that compared to the internal combustion versions, a reduction of 0,07 points is possible:

> Cx drag coefficient of the Audi e-tron = 0,28. This is 0,07 less and 35 km more than in exhaust gases.

The interior belongs to the premium category, as is the case with Mercedes. There are plastic-finish elements, but the rose gold accents are much more noticeable. For several months, Mercedes has stipulated that they will only be present in cars in the EQ line. Those yellow numbers on the blue clock are a delicate disaster in our opinion, but luckily the colors can be changed.

The cabin has a lot of space in the front and quite a lot in the back. The observer's attention was drawn to the profiling of the roof, which rose above the heads of the passengers in the back seat. Thanks to this, even very tall people have little space above them. The downside was the middle tunnel: not high, but wide, which is the remnant of the diesel platform on which the EQC was built.

Application and navigation

As we mentioned, a lot of time was spent on the mobile app and navigation. The system is really smart and catches up and at times drives Tesla away in terms of features. Navigation not only knows the charging power of individual devices, but can also suggest charging times. As you might guess, the algorithms work in such a way as to optimize (read: shorten) the total travel time, especially stops at charging stations.

An important element is the drawing of the "cloud" on the map: in the car a little less accurately, in the mobile application - more. The latter has two clouds: the first one describes a route that can be overcome at 80 percent of the battery capacity, the second - provided that the battery is discharged to zero.

The presentation of the mobile application gives the impression that it is arranged in such a way as to show: "And in this Mercedes is better than Tesla." And it is right! The EQC notifies the user that it is open and also informs the user of open windows. This latest information, along with the ability to remotely close windows, will certainly be warmly received by Tesla Model 3 owners. Especially those whose cars left their windows at night in the rain, which happened in 2018 🙂

Mercedes EQC: energy consumption and range

The results for the vehicle's energy consumption were surprisingly good. While driving at a speed of 90 km / h (meter 94 km / h) you need a car 18,7 kWh / 100 km... Based on this, we can conclude that the vehicle's power reserve is as much as 428 kilometers. This is an astonishing number, considering that observers have climbed approximately 350 kilometers:

> Mercedes EQC 400: Autogefuehl review. Comparable with AMG GLC 43, but range ~ 350 km [video]

Interesting: Bjorn Nyland, who also tested EQC, got results similar to the AutoCentrum.pl portal - preliminary measurements showed that Mercedes EQC coverage should be about 390-400 kilometers... Unfortunately, the machine was out of order, so the experiment could not be completed.

Let's add that Autogefuehl drove the regular version of the car, while Nyland and AutoCentrum.pl drove "Edition 1886". Therefore, it is worth refraining from publishing the results. Our current calculations show that Mercedes EQC coverage in mixed modewhich is closest to the real range should be in the range 350-390 kilometers... So far, we have estimated it at 330-360 km, with particular emphasis on the range of 350-360 km.

Driving experience

The AutoCentrum.pl portal rated the car as ... electric, which is much less typical than analogs with an internal combustion engine, because it is fast, lively and, as you might guess, quiet. Weighing 2,5 tons The car received many accolades for acceleration (5,1 seconds to 100 km / h) and a very precise steering system.

Compared to the Audi e-tron, however, the Mercedes EQC looks a little less comfortable, perhaps because the e-tron has full air suspension (EQC: rear only) and is also bigger and bulkier. On the other hand, if you look at: the e-tron reacted slightly slower to a light touch of the accelerator pedal, the response was faster in the EQC.

Riding Modes

Driving mode (own, Sport, Comfort, Eco, Maximum Range) and regenerative power, i.e. regenerative braking after the foot is removed from the accelerator pedal. The last parameter is independently adjustable and can have up to five different levels:

• D+,
• D,
• D-,
• D--,
• D_CAR.

In our opinion, the most interesting are two steps. D+ this is a level that can be useful on the highway and during long trips: the car does not brake regeneratively at all, it accelerates “at idle speed” without capturing kinetic energy. On the other side D_CAR is an option in which the Mercedes EQC automatically selects the recovery level depending on the information coming from the GPS navigation (speed limits, descents, ascents, etc.)

We do not know this car, but we got the impression that we would choose D + on excursions, and D– in the city.

Autopilot

The review practically did not include the topic of Autopilot - after all, there is no such Mercedes EQC system. It should be emphasized here that the car has a lane keeping mechanism and a distance to the vehicle in front. it's the same the only electric car besides Teslawhich can change lanes at the direction of the driver with a direction indicator.

Summation

The overall assessment of the car was positive and quite high. The reviewer did not decide to name either the official price of the Mercedes EQC or the variant under test, so it is not known how he will assess the car's value for money.

> Mercedes EQC: PRICE in Poland from PLN 328 [officially], i.e. more expensive than in the West.

Here's a full entry worth watching:

By the way: the C-SUV or D-SUV segment, i.e. we do not agree with AutoCentrum.pl

The columnist for the AutoCentrum.pl portal has mentioned several times that the Mercedes EQC belongs to the C-SUV segment. We asked him about it. We probably won't violate the privacy of the correspondence if we admit that he suggested, among other things, that the interior is of medium size.

Looking at Wikipedia, we can see that the car is classified as a "compact luxury crossover". So on the one hand it is "compact" and on the other "luxurious". Unfortunately, the problem with the American classification is that it takes into account both the exterior dimensions of the vehicle and the size of the cabin, which in the case of electric vehicles (smaller engines) can lead to confusion.

When this information is transmitted to Europe, the situation becomes even more complicated. In fact, the boundaries between the classes of passenger cars (A, B, C, ...) are quite smooth, all crossovers should still be described as J segment.

> Current prices for electric vehicles in Poland [Aug 2019]

We value the extensive experience of the AutoCentrum.pl portal and hundreds, if not thousands of tested vehicles. However, one cannot agree with the Mercedes EQC classification in the C-SUV (compact crossover) segment.... From the very beginning of the work of the portal www.elektrowoz.pl, we have tried to use the following classification:

• if we describe a "compact crossover", then the editorial staff of www.elektrowoz.pl uses the phrase "class / segment C-SUV",
• when we describe a “compact luxury crossover”, the phrase “D-SUV class / segment” is used on www.elektrowoz.pl.

Thus, in the case of certain vehicles, we can classify vehicles differently from AutoCentrum.pl. We are trying to accept the amendment that most modern crossovers are raised passenger cars with a slightly higher roofline.. And this means that the C-SUV class can be derived from C, and D-SUV can be derived from D. And here our approach works fine, because cars with dimensions similar to the Mercedes EQC belong to the D segment (see: Mercedes C-class), not as C (compare: Nissan Leaf or Mercedes EQA).

> Prices for Tesla Model 3 in Poland from 216,4 thousand PLN zlotys. FSD for 28,4 thousand rubles. zlotys. Collection from 2020. We shoot: in Poland

The more attentive reader will surely remember something else. In the first photos of the camouflaged BMW iX1, we showed that the Hyundai Kona Electric (B-SUV) is lower than the BMW i3 (B-class), although the segment name (“SUV”) would mean something else entirely. ... Therefore, at that time we decided to treat the A and A-SUV, B and B-SUV segments, as well as the C and C-SUV segments equally.

> BMW iX1 – small electric crossover to go on sale in 2023?

The lack of precise definitions in the European Union leaves us with room for maneuver (and, of course, mistakes), however, we believe that our choice will make it easier for our readers. Manufacturers are looking to cut down the classes so that each model is the "leader in its segment." However, this causes a lot of confusion - even we are already so trained that we feel a little internal resistance to putting the BMW i3 and Hyundai Kona Electric in the same compartment ...

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