New Mercedes EQC 400 2019 Review Interior l First Electric SUV.

Crusing down the strip in Las Vegas in the Mercedes EQC 400, it’s very possible to completely forget you’re in an electric car. The lights, outside music and inevitable slow crawl in Vegas strip traffic can remove some of the most enjoyable features of driving electric; that being the instant torque of the electric motor, the quiet cabin and smooth vibration-less acceleration.

As for range, Mercedes has been quoting 400 km, which is based on the European WLTP range test. Shult has been driving the EQC for a while now, and knows exctly what it’s capable of. He told us of a recent trip when they drove the vehicle (normal driving not hypermiling) 228 miles and had 7% battery left. He added that we’d have to wait for the official EPA range rating, but that he expects it to be about 220 miles. That seems about right if you do the math based on the 400 km WLTP rating (by the way, the “400” in the EQC 400 name, is based on the 400 km WLTP rating). On other EVs, we’ve noted that the EPA rating has been roughly 10% – 15% lower than the WLTP, and 220 is 12% lower than the 249 mi (400 km) the EQC was rated. For what it’s worth, the car estimated that it had 230 miles of range when we started out in the morning, fully charged.

The EQC is equipped with a 32-amp onboard charger, good for AC charging up to 7.4 kW. The car will come with a 120-volt portable EVSE in the US, and Mercedes will offer Level 2 charging options for purchase. As for DC Fast charging, the EQC will accept up to 110 kW, allowing the vehicle to charge from 10% to 80% in about 40 minutes. I asked why Mercedes didn’t match the Audi e-tron and provide 150 kW charging, and was told that they believe 110 kW works fine for the 80 kWh battery. If the battery was larger, then they would have possibly allowed a higher charging rate. It was further explained that Mercedes believes 10%-80% in 40 minutes is “quite good” for a 200+ mile EV in today’s market.

There are four driving modes, plus an Individual customized setting. The four standard modes are: Comfort, Sport, Eco and Max Range. The car always defaults to Comfort upon startup. In Sport mode the car offers the most dynamic performance, with more power available off the line and more direct steering response. In Eco the car offers less power and is more efficient, and in Max Range, the vehicle will deliver the maximum possible range. Our Mercedes rep warned us that it’s not fun driving in Max Range, but it will get the driver most range available. Individual mode allows the driver to personalize certain driving characteristics to their liking.

Mercedes describes the driving modes as follows:

COMFORT: Default setting; accelerator pedal characteristic supports a comfortable driving style, but also automatically becomes more dynamic depending on the driving style.
ECO: Driving program focused on high efficiency and low consumption.
MAX RANGE: Intelligent driving program that can help the driver achieve the maximum possible range.
SPORT: Driving program focused on the best response for the highest driving performance.
INDIVIDUAL: Allows the driver to customize each individual parameter separately.

The EQC has five different levels of regenerative braking. The most interesting is the default setting, called Auto. In this mode regenerative braking is constantly adjusting based on topography, traffic, stereo cameras, and radar data, to intelligently set the strength of regeneration. Mercedes believes most drivers will appreciate how well this mode works, and use it for the majority of their driving. For those who want stronger or weaker regeneration, there are paddles on the left and right side of the steering wheel, just like Hyundai has on the Kona Electric.

The left paddle strengthens the amount of regen, and the right one lessens it. One pull of the right paddle from the default Auto mode puts the car in “sailing” mode. We were told this is basically the same as freewheel coasting. The other extreme is One-Pedal mode which is activated by two pulls from the left paddle. In D mode the vehicle mimics a conventional ICE with an automatic transmission. Below is how Mercedes describes the 5 regenerative braking modes:

D Auto (recuperation via ECO Assist to suit the situation)
D + (coasting)
D (low recuperation)
D – (medium recuperation)
D – – (high recuperation). This makes one-pedal driving possible, because in most situations the recuperative deceleration is enough not to require operation of the brake pedal.

The EQC has two asynchronous 150-kW motors that deliver a total of 408 hp and 564 lb-ft of torque. That’s good enough to propel the heavy EQC for 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds. As mentioned above, our driver really gave us a good idea of how well the electric crossover can perform when pushed, and it was definitely impressive. Hopefully, we’ll get the opportunity to drive an EQC ourselves closer to the European launch.

#SDADan