It is also possible that Mercedes could bring another manufacturer on board in order to enjoy a lower combined fleet average and avoid EU-imposed fines. Fiat Chrysler and Tesla signed a similar agreement in April, which allows FCA to count Tesla’s EV-only models as part of its fleet, thereby lowering its average CO2 output. Mercedes is one of a number of manufacturers being forced to consider drastic line-up reshuffles to meet the quotas. Despite the recent launch of its EQC electric SUV – and the imminent arrival of the cheaper EQA – the maker cannot rely on its relatively low-volume EV sales to offset the environmental impact of its conventionally fuelled cars. Max Warburton told the FT that if the industry sold the same mix of vehicles in 2021 as it did last year, car makers would face €25bn (£21.2bn) in
Origin: Report: Mercedes could restrict 75% of AMG range in 2020
Mercedes
2020 Mercedes S-Class seen testing with less disguise
Mercedes-Benz will move its S-Class flagship saloon to a new generation next year, and prototypes are beginning to drop disguise in new shots. Latest images show more of the BMW 7 Series rival’s overall profile, and we can see that the brand isn’t ditching the curvy surfacing of the outgoing model. It will have, however, a redesigned front end with lights inspired by the latest-generation CLS. A spy photographer previously managed to point their lens inside of a prototype, revealing Mercedes has totally redesigned the cabin around a large, portrait-oriented central touchscreen. The Tesla-style display is significantly larger than any screen Mercedes has offered in previous models, and detail shots show the bottom half of it is dedicated to the limo’s climate control functions, with touch-capacitive shortcut buttons below. It’s likely further updates to the brand’s already new MBUX user interface will boost features and usability, while the brand’s trademark digital dials are also visible. The seventh-generation S-Class looks set to regain its place at the forefront of the brand’s technical knowhow, with a range of new electrified powertrains and advanced driver assist features. Comfort and technology levels will take a boost with the target of lifting it beyond rivals such as the Audi A8 and BMW 7 Series. The new Mercedes flagship, which is due in UK showrooms next year, has been developed to support two distinctly different saloon models for the first time. While standard versions are set to receive a range of plug-in hybrid drivetrains, the German car maker also plans to introduce an aerodynamically optimised pure-electric version that insiders say will serve as the flagship model for its new EQ electric vehicle sub-brand. Badged EQ S, the new model will offer a claimed range in excess of 310 miles on the latest WLTP test cycle when it goes on sale in 2022. Plug-in hybrid versions of the S-Class will feature part-time zero-emission capability for distances of up to 62 miles, together with the option of a newly developed 4Matic four-wheel-drive system with fully variable apportioning of drive between the front and rear axles. The EQ S forms part of Mercedes’ £9 billion programme to introduce more than 10 dedicated electric vehicles to the UK market within the next six years. In a further change, it is believed that Mercedes-Benz has decided to do away with its long tradition of offering the standard S-Class, which goes under the internal codename W223, with two different wheelbases. Nothing is official at this stage, but it is understood that the growth of the E-Class to a length of 4920mm is behind a decision to produce the new S-Class exclusively in long-wheelbase guise, with the car measuring around 5280mm in length. However, while the standard S-Class sits on the MRA platform, the more technically advanced four-wheel drive EQ S will be the first Mercedes-Benz model to be based on the new modular electric architecture (MEA) platform. Unlike the structures being developed to underpin smaller EQ models, it is not based on an existing platform but has been developed as dedicated EV architecture with a flat floor to house batteries. The drivelines set to power hybrid versions of the new S-Class are based around Mercedes’ latest 3.0-litre and 2.9-litre in-line six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines and the AMG-developed 4.0-litre V8, all of which operate in combination with a disc-shaped electric motor housed within the automatic gearbox and a lithium ion battery located in the boot floor. The pure-electric EQ S is set to receive two electric motors – one acting on the front axle and the other driving the rear – providing permanent four-wheel drive in all variants. In the upcoming EQ C, this set-up delivers more than 400bhp and some 516lb ft, although engineers involved on the development of the EQ S suggest it will offer even greater levels of power and torque, with a planned AMG performance model earmarked to produce more than 600bhp. Despite the differing platforms, both the standard S-Class and the EQ S are set to share the same active suspension system. A development of the existing S-Class’s AirMatic+ system, it works in combination with a 48V electrical architecture and a stereo camera that scans the road ahead to adjust the spring and damper action on each wheel, allowing it to not only counteract body lean in corners but also to better control pitch. Stylistically, the new S-Class is claimed to break new ground with a lineage that Mercedes-Benz design studio sources say will influence a whole new generation of models. Recent prototype spy shots preview a design that will feature distinctive tri-band LED multibeam headlights, a new interpretation of the classic Mercedes-Benz grille and door handles that retract back into the bodywork to help improve aerodynamic properties. It is understood that the EQ S will adopt its own distinct styling. Reflecting the
Origin: 2020 Mercedes S-Class seen testing with less disguise
After Mercedes, Volvo and Audi are bailing out from Montreal Auto Show
The Detroit auto show also known as the North American International Auto Show will, in 2020, leave behind its traditional still-hung-over-from-New-Years January time slot for a new its-not-freezing-any-more date in June.Thatll make LeSalon International de Montréal – a.k.a. the SIAM, still hosted in January the first major North American auto show of the year.Does that mean that, three months before its doors open to the public, the 2020 Montreal International Auto Show will see even more concepts cars, world premières or more firecrackers, rock bands and other fanfare?It doesnt seem like it. In fact, the latest news is two more manufacturers are bailing out of the Quebec rendezvous. The organizers, the Corporation des concessionnaires d’automobiles de Montréal, learned a few days ago Audi and Volvo wont show their new vehicles at the downtown Palais des Congrès during the shows January 17 to 26 run for 2020.That implies Polestar, Volvos new electric-performance brand, which just announced Montreal would play home to its first North American dealership, wont catch any of the eyes of the metropoles Auto Show 200,000 visitors.These two absentees join an already-not-coming Mercedes-Benz; corporate in Germany announced last September the best-selling luxury brand in Canada and the U.S. would be a no-show at all North American exhibitions this year.But, in Montreal, though Mercedes-Benz wont be represented as a manufacturer, local dealerships have accepted the shows offer of a small area outside the main floor, where theyll display their latest products, says SIAM vice-president Denis Dessureault.Its not the first time Montreals automotive rendezvous has to deal with AWOL manufacturers. Most notably, at the turn of this century, a bunch of luxury brands decided to skip the Montreal Auto Show, then held at the Olympic Stadium, over its crashed roof, and organized their own annual event at Place Bonaventure. It lasted only two years.More recently, we saw Porsche drop out of the SIAM picture from 2012 to 2014; it came back in 2015, though Volvo didnt participate that year, nor in 2016.Volvo also bails from Toronto’s CIASWhat about the Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS), scheduled for its 47th run at the Metro Toronto Convention Center from February 14 to 24 next year? Well, theres good news and bad news.Yes, Audi will show its new products in la Ville-Reine, confirms spokesperson Cort Nielsen, adding the Montreal no-show decision was taken by the Montreal dealers.The bad news? Volvo wont participate in Torontos CIAS, despite the auto show being the biggest in Canada with 350,000 visitors and despite Ontarios market registering 42 per cent of all new cars sold each year in the country.For now, only Volvo and Mercedes-Benz are out of the CIAS, though. That brings us to a total of 38 brands for this 2020 edition, general manager Jason Campbell told Driving.ca. He quietly added that the floor space vacated by Benz was quickly grabbed up by competitor BMW-Mini.No confirmations for the 100th annual Vancouver Auto ShowWhen it comes to the Vancouver International Auto Show, an event celebrating its 100th anniversary in March, nothing is confirmed, or not confirmed We dont secure our dealers that quickly, executive director Jason Heard told us.That said, Vancouvers automotive rendezvous already dealt with an absent Mercedes-Benz last year, as did Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, New York, ChicagoAnd it could be so much worst. The 2019 NAIAS, the last North American International Auto Show held in Detroit in its usual January slot, had to deal with a much longer list of absentees. Audi, BMW-Mini, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche and Volvo all skipped that
Origin: After Mercedes, Volvo and Audi are bailing out from Montreal Auto Show
Hot diesel saloon showdown: Audi vs Alpina vs Mercedes
Diesel. Thought it was dead, didn’t you? And maybe it is. Sales have been down in the UK for the past 26 consecutive months and, anecdotally, more of the new cars arriving at Autocar road test headquarters now read 95RON on their filler caps; 98RON if we’re lucky. But try telling this to Audi. Audi spent millions (billions?) winning Le Mans time and again with smooth and bizarrely quiet TDI thrust, and now it’s fitting sophisticated diesel engines to its aspirational road cars. Models such as the S6 saloon and Avant, which only two generations ago used a normally aspirated 5.2-litre petrol V10 shared with Lamborghini. The S7 Sportback didn’t exist in the glory days of Audi’s supercar-engined but otherwise amusingly low-flying exec saloons, but it’s of the same ilk as the S6 and fundamentally they’re the same machine. It’s why the new S7 Sportback now also gets nothing more exotic, enticing or enthralling than a medium-sized V6 diesel. Madness or masterstroke? Anyone craving unleaded performance will soon have the option of the RS7 – which packs around 600bhp and is faster and firmer than ever before – so perhaps the S7 can thrive as a sub-sonic diesel express. And yet even if you ditch the exciting engines, Audi’s S moniker still needs to mean something to the person paying over £70,000 after options. Which is why today we’re putting the S7 up against Mercedes’ aristocratic CLS 400d 4Matic and the lesser-spotted but dynamically very well-sorted Alpina D5 S. These cars have different identities but a shared philosophy: namely, that in the real world, big diesel four-doors can be almost as quick and just as desirable as their pumped-up petrol counterparts, only more refined and much more economical. In terms of crucial ‘fitness for purpose’, their case is stronger more of the time than for the 600bhp car that flirts with single-digit fuel economy the moment you explore its potential. At £68,000, the S7 Sportback is by £6000 the most expensive car here, but it’s an otherwise cosy clique: six-cylinder engines, four-wheel drive, easily more than 300bhp and, in the case of all three, precisely 516lb ft served up ‘from the basement’, as one nameless Autocar tester once put it. The Audi uses a dual-clutch gearbox whereas the others have automatics, and it’s the only car here with rear-wheel steering, although that is an option on the Alpina. As you notice straight away in the metal, the Audi is also the longest, widest and lowest car here – marginally more so than the Mercedes, with the more conventionally proportioned BMW 5 Series-based Alpina a little way off either. But none stands out as a design marvel. The inoffensive CLS underplays its hand as a sophisticated ‘four-door coupé’ whereas the S7 Sportback chokes a good degree of its natural elegance with an enormous grille and odd details such as the halfhearted diffuser. Meanwhile, the D5 S sports Alpina’s usual aerodynamic fastenings and, unlike the Audi, its four exhaust tips are genuine. It looks the most serious, although you can nevertheless see why someone might go for the sleeker cars. Their level of presence marks them out as something unusual and quite special. We should now talk about the Audi’s new 3.0-litre V6 TDI. The block is ordinary in the sense that you’ll find it on regular models such as the A7 50 TDI but the pistons, conrods and crankshaft are all upgraded. There’s not only a variable-geometry turbocharger fed by exhaust gases but also an intake-side electric compressor that doesn’t require gas flow. It spools to 70,000rpm in an instant and, in theory, covers off the old-school turbocharger’s more laggy response. Beyond 1650rpm, it’s an ornament, being primarily designed to give sharp step-off and acceleration from low engine speeds, and can react so quickly because it’s driven by a 48V system whose lithium ion battery resides under the boot floor. That’s right. Never mind a big-capacity V10: the medium-rare Audi four-door of 2019 is a diesel mild hybrid. There’s also a battery alternator/starter connected to the crankshaft. It can scavenge electrical energy during deceleration and get the V6 going again after periods of engine-off coasting. Fit for purpose in the real world? Almost 35mpg combined and 344bhp suggest that’s very much the case. The first stint in this test takes us straight into an area where these cars need to excel: motorway driving. Refinement starts with comfort and here it’s difficult to look past the Mercedes, whose leather chairs have the sort of deep, low-set curvature that makes it feel by far the most GT-esque. The leather steering rim is wide, thin and firm – old-fashioned but good to hold. The Alpina is also supremely comfortable, feeling more materially rich than either of the others and with switchgear that’s simpler and more elegant. What you don’t get is the sensation that you’re sitting in a car with a particularly sporting persona, which, of course, you’re not. Alpina
Origin: Hot diesel saloon showdown: Audi vs Alpina vs Mercedes
Electric SUV megatest: Mercedes EQC vs luxury rivals
Tuesday, 8.43am, Milton Keynes Coachway: Britain’s latest and most powerful electric car charging station, installed by Ionity in a corner of Milton Keynes’ park and ride bus station, consists of four charging bays. And right now, it just so happens that we’ve got four EVs with batteries to brim ahead of an Autocar group test with a twist. What luck. Pretty soon, the brand-new Mercedes-Benz EQC that I’ve brought along – the newest boy in the electric luxury car class – is joined by fairly recent arrival the Audi E-tron, electric SUV old boy the Tesla Model X and current class favourite the Jaguar I-Pace. With the hum of flowing current and cooling fans that duly ensues, it’s as if we’re in some giant, open-air computer server cupboard. Plugged in and topped up, the Tesla makes the grandest promises – 287 miles of battery range advertised, compared with only 226 miles for both the Audi and Jaguar, joint least. Will any of those advertised range figures be enough to complete our planned convoy road trip to the Severn Estuary and back, though? And over the next 250 miles and 36 hours, which of these cars will prove itself to be the most practical, usable and all-round convincing electric luxury car in a newly metal-swollen niche of the market? Today, we’re heading to the Severn Bridge to overnight, via some dependably good roads for photography and driving, as a test of real-world, mixed-route energy efficiency and range. Tomorrow, we’ll turn around and head back, testing the current reliability and scope of the UK’s rapid charging network, as well as the various respective capacities of our cars to access and navigate it. Much as it would make life simple to say, here and now, that the first car to return to the point from which we’re about to depart will be our winner, I suspect the truth won’t be quite so straightforward. 10:52am, A34, near Oxford: It’s a good car, this Mercedes – quicker and more engaging than I reckoned a few months ago after driving it abroad – and yet classy, comfortable, spacious, rich and quiet. Right now, it’s wafting serenely around the Oxford bypass as part of a four-car convoy that few will hear coming, but that plenty will notice passing. Not that those onlookers will all have nice things to say about the sight of the Mercedes. Photographer Olgun Kordal had it about right when he described the EQC as looking like a GLC “that has been left in the oven too long”. Shame. The Audi is considerably smarter to my eyes, the Tesla marginally less so, with its bulbous proportions and its slightly incongruous sloping roofline. But it’s the Jaguar that’s the bedroom wall material. Chucking it in among its direct competition only serves to underline what a stellar job was done on the I-Pace’s design and how much more interesting an object it is to behold than pretty much anything else like it. Well, can’t sit here and admire it all day. As we peel off west towards Wantage, onto smaller and more testing A- and B-roads, I flag down a colleague and swap into the I-Pace. And how great to be reminded what a treat this car is to drive. As well as feeling a good deal lighter, tauter handling, more immediate and more agile than the EQC, it’s got wonderfully tactile and supremely well-weighted steering. And it rides uncommonly well, with a decent sense of cushioning even on 22in rims, and a present but entirely tolerable amount of road noise. For performance, it’s right up there: the EQC’s torque might allow it to pick up more briskly from roundabout pace, but the Jaguar’s almost as quick from low speed. Holding up on some local country roads we know well gives a chance to hop into all four cars for back-to-back comparisons of the driving experiences they offer – as well as to take some action photographs. My suspicions about the Audi E-tron prove correct: it weighs marginally less than the EQC and yet it feels bigger and heavier because its softer all-corner air suspension and steering are plainly tuned more for comfort and isolation than for handling dynamism. The E-tron is very good at smothering bumps, filtering surface coarseness and making you relax at the wheel. As everyone in the road trip party agrees, though, it’s not nearly as engaging as either the EQC or the I-Pace. Ask the same party to choose the car they’d drive every day, and without a second thought for where or how, and the result’s equally unanimous: Jaguar, please. 3:32, westbound M4, near Swindon: Our little electric caravan is doing just fine, although since it hasn’t yet been running for a full hundred miles, so it should be. After a few hours, for photos and a bite of lunch, we’re on our way west, taking in our first few motorway miles of the trip and homing in on our final destination for the day: the Alveston House Hotel just north of Bristol. My first few miles of the trip in the Tesla have just been followed by another few miles in the Audi – and you couldn’t have picked a pair
Origin: Electric SUV megatest: Mercedes EQC vs luxury rivals
Mercedes showcases Vision EQS
Mercedes showcases Vision EQS The concept could become a flagship electric model for Mercedes Mercedes Benz has unveiled the Vision EQS at the Frankfurt Motor Show, previewing what is expected to become the electric version of the flagship S-Class. With the all-electric EQ range confirmed to expand, this Vision EQS is still a concept, but with a number of hints at a production version down the line. Mercedes itself describes the concept as a ‘trailblazer for the entire Mercedes-Benz EQ family’. Add in the fact that Jaguar’s replacement XJ rival will be all-electric too, and the Vision EQS is looking increasingly likely to become simply the EQS. Expect the yacht-themed styling to be toned down a little; made a little more ‘normal’, as designers can get away with certain ideas in concepts that simply aren’t allowed on production models. The prominent ‘grille’ mirrors that of the currently available EQC SUV though, and a sleek saloon shape would both help attract buyers and aid aerodynamics. Under the skin of the concept is a powertrain that puts out around 350 kW and 760 Nm of torque. A battery of around 100 kWh gives a range of up to 435 miles on a charge, and the battery can be topped up at maximum speed via a 350 kW CCS ultra-rapid charger. These figures are rather vague because that’s how Mercedes has announced them – this is a concept after all. Advanced driver assist systems are fitted to the Vision EQS, though Mercedes expects that ‘individual driving pleasure will continue to be desirable in the future’. A high-tech cabin incorporates recycled materials from ocean waste, wood is locally sourced from German forests, and batteries are sourced from CO2-neutral manufacturers, reducing the overall CO2 impact. Mercedes says the Vision EQS is the ‘first milestone on the way to a CO2-neutral mobility of the future’.
Origin: Mercedes showcases Vision EQS
Mercedes launches GLE 350 de and GLC 300 e PHEVs
Mercedes launches GLE 350 de and GLC 300 e PHEVs The GLE PHEV has an electric range of around 60 miles Mercedes Benz has added two new plug-in hybrids to its SUV range – the GLE 350 de and GLC 300 e – the former featuring an electric-only driving range of 60 miles on a charge. The GLE 350 de is a plug-in diesel hybrid that features a 31.2 kWh battery for a range between 56 and 62 miles on a charge, depending on specification. The battery powers a 100 kW electric motor, which contributes to a combined power output of 320 hp (235 kW). CO2 emissions are 29 g/km, and the official fuel economy is 256.8 MPG. The petrol-powered GLC 300 e plug-in hybrid has a more common set of statistics, with a 13.5 kWh battery allowing an electric-only range of 24 to 27 miles on a charge. CO2 emissions are rated at up to 57 g/km, and the fuel economy score is 112.9 MPG in the least efficient specification. All of the above figures are based on WLTP testing, which at least in terms of electric driving range, proves relatively achievable in real-world driving conditions. Both models feature Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel drive system, and the GLE 350 de can be rapid charged on CCS charge points at up to 60 kW. A 10-80% charge will take around 20 minutes, and a 10-100% charge around half an hour. This new GLE 350 de joins the latest BMW X5 plug-in hybrid in offering considerably larger battery packs, and subsequently, longer driving ranges on electric-only power. The BMW features a 24 kWh battery – the same as the first-generation Nissan Leaf – and this new GLE 350 de has a similarly-sized battery to the updated Leaf MkI. Further specifications and pricing details will be released closer to on-sale date.
Origin: Mercedes launches GLE 350 de and GLC 300 e PHEVs
New Mercedes GLE Coupé receives hot AMG 53 variant
Mercedes-AMG has unveiled the new GLE 53 Coupé as a performance-oriented reworking of the new GLE Coupé, also revealed today. A prelude to the full-blown GLE 63 that’s expected next year, the GLE 53 features a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged inline six petrol engine with 429bhp and 384lb ft of torque. It also has a 48V mild-hybrid system, making use of the firm’s EQ Boost starter/ alternator that delivers an additional 22bhp and 184lb ft for short periods and improves on-paper efficiency. One of the turbos is of the conventional exhaust gas-driven variety, with another made up of an electric compressor driven by the 48v system. The unit makes the SUV capable of 0-62mph in 5.3sec (the same as the regular GLE53) and a governed 155mph, yet also a claimed 30mpg combined. The latter is an NEDC correlated figure rather than the more realistic WLTP figure, however. As with other Mercedes-AMG models, there are revisions to the chassis, including retuned active ride control and air suspension, a more direct variable-ratio steering set-up and a high-performance braking system with 400mm-diameter front discs. The car sits 15mm lower to the ground than standard in Sport and Sport+modes, and lowers to the same point above 75mph in Comfort. The firm also claims the 60mm shorter wheelbase than the standard GLE further boosts agility. AMG-specific styling modifications inside and out also feature, such as specific bumpers with larger air intakes and chrome louvres, a silver chrome front splitter and flared wheelarches. Quad tailpipe trims for the AMG exhaust system also mark it out. Furthermore, an optional AMG Night package with black exterior trim detailing and tinted windows is available. Six wheel designs can be ordered, all from 20-22in in size. Typical AMG trim elements feature inside, with stainless steel pedals, aluminium shift paddles, carbon fibre detailing and standard AMG sports seats with red topstitching. A range of different upholstery and trim elements are available to order
Origin: New Mercedes GLE Coupé receives hot AMG 53 variant
Mercedes unveils GLE-based experimental safety vehicle
Mercedes-Benz unveiled the latest in a long line of experimental vehicles in an ongoing project into advanced safety technology. Based on a yet-to-be launched petrol-electric GLE, the ‘ESF 2019’ research project acts as a rolling showcase for new and improved safety functions that Mercedes expects to incorporate on its future models. Among the project’s innovations are those that the German car maker calls “near series” as well as developments that “look well into the future”. The ESF 2019’s developments include a new holistic driver environment that features a retractable steering wheel and pedal box as well as ideas for new airbag installations that Rodolfo Schöneburg, the head of Mercedes vehicle safety, said “take into account the greater interior flexibility offered by autonomous vehicles”. He said: “The great advantage of automating driving functions is that, in the future, fewer accidents will be caused by driver error. However, fully automated and driverless vehicles also come up against physical limits and there will undoubtedly be mixed traffic consisting of automated and non-automated vehicles for many years.” The heavily modified GLE also uses a new interior lighting function incorporated into the driver’s sun visor. It has been developed in response to recent studies that reveal a vitalising light source similar to that of mood lamps can significantly improve driver alertness on long journeys. As part of an update to its existing Pre-Safe belt tensioners, Mercedes has also equipped the ESF 2019 with Pre-Safe Curve, which warns the driver if the entry speed to corners is too high by lightly tightening the seatbelt. A new Pre-Safe Child function preventatively tensions the seatbelt and inflates impact protection elements around the child seat before an impact, reducing the loads acting on the child. This new function is also able to monitor the seat installation and the child’s vital signs. On its outside, the new safety research vehicle features digital surfaces incorporated into the grille, rear window and roof. Developed in a programme that aims to build people’s trust in automated vehicles, these digital surfaces communicate directions and other vital information as well as warn other road users and pedestrians of impending danger, even when parked. Another new development heavily tipped to appear on next year’s all-new S-Class is Mercedes’ Digital Light – a high-definition light source with a resolution of more than two million pixels that is claimed to be dazzle-free. A further future safety function being tested by Mercedes is a small robot that doubles as a warning triangle to secure accident sites or breakdowns. It deploys from the rear and positions itself at the side of the road. An additional warning triangle folds out of the roof. A potentially life-saving innovation is the new Pre-Safe Impulse Rear. It monitors when vehicles are approaching from the rear in a tailback and can autonomously move the ESF 2019 forwards if an impending impact is detected, provided there is the space to do so. The project draws on more than 50 years of accident research. Previous experimental vehicles have previewed functions in current Mercedes models, including the rear seatbelt airbag and active high beam assistant initially incorporated on the ESF
Origin: Mercedes unveils GLE-based experimental safety vehicle
Mercedes Benz EQC available to order in UK
Mercedes Benz EQC available to order in UK The electric SUV will rival models from Jaguar and Audi The Mercedes Benz EQC is now available to order in the UK, with prices and specifications confirmed for the pure-electric SUV. Four trim levels are on offer, with an additional two special editions available at launch. Pricing starts from £65,640, though that figure does not include the £3,500 UK Plug-in Car Grant that the EQC will surely qualify for. Buyers will get a range of 259 miles (WLTP) on a single charge thanks to an 80 kWh battery, and 300 kW (408hp) and 765 Nm of torque from twin electric motors, one placed on each axle for all-wheel drive. Those figures are good for a 0-62mph time of 5.1 seconds, while the Mercedes Benz EQC is unusual for an electric car in that it’s also able to tow. Charging is carried out through a CCS inlet, with a 7.4 kW on-board charger dealing with home and fast public charging. Rapid charging can deal with up to 110 kW where chargers allow. Entry level trim includes features such as the excellent MBUX infotainment system, which has been tailored so that it can suggest long-distance routes based on the shortest charging time. First deliveries are due in July, with orders being taken now. Prices vary from £65,640 for the EQC Sport, to £79,260 for the EQC Edition 1886 model.
Origin: Mercedes Benz EQC available to order in UK
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