Mercedes EQC range, battery and charging

The Mercedes EQC’s official driving range of around 250 miles is better than an Audi e-tron, but falls short of the Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model X's figures. Our initial test drive suggested it’ll do well over 200 miles to a charge in mixed driving, or closer to 240 miles if you spend most of your time around town. However, it’s disappointing that the EQC’s fastest charge rate is 110kW, where the e-tron will take a 150kW charge.

Mercedes EQC range

The Mercedes EQC has a claimed range of 255 miles from its 80kWH lithium-ion battery, which is lagging a little behind rivals like the Model X and I-Pace. On our test route around Norway, which took in mostly sedate A-roads or urban streets, we saw an indicated real-world range of well over 200 miles, which is very comparable to both the I-Pace and e-tron.

However, when testing the EQC in the UK to see what it was like to live with, we were only seeing around 180 miles of range. Far off what Mercedes claimed, or what we experienced previously. But, if you do a lot of trundling about town and make good use of the regenerative braking (which, unusually, you must choose to 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 the EQC’s fastest 110kW charge time (currently a rarity on UK roads) then you can get a 10-80% charge in under 40 minutes. Plug into a dedicated 7.4kW home wallbox and you can expect a full charge in around 13 hours. However, the EQC comes with just a 7.4kW on-board AC charger, which means that even if you plug in to a 22kW public AC fast charger, you'll only ever get a charge speed of 7.4kW.

You have to use a DC rapid charger to get anything more than that 7.4kW charging speed. DC rapid chargers plug in to the Mercedes’ CCS port (located on the rear wing of the car where a conventional fuel flap would be) using a cable permanently tethered to the charging station. A 50kW rapid charger will top the EQC up from 10% to 80% capacity in around 90 minutes, while one offering speeds of 100kW or more will do the same in 35 minutes.

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 rapid charging takes place, which promises good things for the longevity of the 80kWh battery.