Mercedes EQC review: range, battery & charging

The Mercedes EQC’s official driving range of around 250 miles was competitive when it launched back in 2019, but technology has progressed and rivals now manage more miles on a charge. The recently-updated Audi Q8 e-tron, for example, claims a range of up to 330 miles, while the bigger-battery BMW iX xDrive50 can do up to 380 miles before needing to be plugged in. Furthermore, when the time does come to top up, those competitors will charge faster, too.

After driving the EQC ourselves we expect you’ll get just over 200 miles to a charge in mixed driving, or a little less in cold weather. It’s disappointing that the EQC’s fastest rapid charge rate is just 110kW – the updated Audi can accept up to 170kW, while the new Polestar 3 can reach 250kW if you find the right ultra-rapid charger.

Mercedes EQC range

The EQC has a claimed range of up to 254 miles from its 80kWh battery, which is lagging a little behind rivals like the above-mentioned Audi Q8 e-tron and BMW iX, as well as the Tesla Model X, and even the ageing Jaguar I-Pace. Technology in this area of the market has progressed rapidly over the past few years, and Mercedes has been left behind.

Adding salt to the wounds, when testing the EQC in the UK to see what it was like to live with, during the colder months we were only seeing around 180 miles on a charge. But if you do a lot of trundling about town and make good use of the regenerative braking (which, unusually, you must turn on using steering-wheel paddles), the range will increase. 

Charge time

The EQC gets Type 2 and CCS sockets, which gives it access to the vast majority of public chargers. If you can find a public rapid charger capable of delivering upwards of 110kW (the Merc's maximum charging speed), then you can get a 10-80% charge in around 40 minutes. 

While that might sound competitive, rivals now offer much faster charging. Despite the Audi Q8 55 e-tron’s bigger battery (114kWh vs 80kWh in the EQC) it’ll perform a 10-80% in just 31 minutes, thanks to its 170kW peak charging speed. A BMW iX's 200kW maximum is faster still.

However, if you only ever charge at home, that’s unlikely to be a dealbreaker. Plug into a dedicated 7.4kW home wallbox and you can expect a full charge of the Mercedes EQC’s battery in around 13 hours.

The Mercedes has a water-cooled on-board charger and thermal battery management, which pre-heats the batteries in advance of charging (as long as the system knows a charge is imminent). It then keeps the batteries cool while charging takes place, which promises good things for the longevity of the battery.