In this new video from Carwow, we get to see all three German electric SUVs go head-to-head-to-head to see which is has the best range, the best performance, the best interior tech, and the best cargo space. Sorry, Tesla fans, no whoopee cushion tests here.

The specific versions of each car in this test are as follows; BMW iX xDrive50, Audi e-tron S Sportback, and Mercedes-Benz EQC 400. All three are about the same size but their specs vary a bit. In terms of usable battery capacity, the BMW iX has the most with 105 kWh, followed by the Audi with 87 kWh, with the Mercedes coming in last with 80 kWh. Their claimed ranges follow suit, with the BMW iX having a WLTP-rated range of 392 miles, the Mercedes having 255 mile, and the e-tron coming in last with 235 miles.

To test their efficiency, Carwow’s Mat Watons drove each car on a closed circuit, to see how many miles per kWh each car achieved. Then, he multiplied that figure by their usable battery capacities to find out how many miles each car could go on a single charge. This test was done both at highway speeds and at around town speeds, the latter of which featured typical around-town obstacles, such as stop signs and speed bumps. Admittedly, this test is a bit unfair to the e-tron S Sportback, as it’s the extra powerful tri-motor car, so it’s never going to be as efficient as the other two.

During all of those tests, Watson also tested each car’s ride comfort, interior noise, and driving enjoyment. Afterwards, he tested their interiors, technology, and practicality. The BMW iX is a very interesting and impressive car in many ways but falls down a bit in others. If you want to see which is best, watch the video below.

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This new video from Carwow pits three German electric SUVs against each other in the publication’s typical series of tests. But before we get into what happened in the drag races, let’s first talk about the cars themselves, the BMW iX, Mercedes-Benz EQC, and the Tesla Model X.

Let’s start with the latter, as it’s the older of the three. The Model X uses two electric motors to make 541 horsepower and 557 lb-ft of torque, which gives it more power but less torque than the Audi. While the BMW makes 523 horsepower and 564 lb-ft. Lastly, the Mercedes-Benz makes 408 hp and 561 lb-ft.

Every car in the test has a monster curb weight, too. The Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 is the lightest of the bunch, weighing in at a whopping 5,335 lbs. That’s followed by the Tesla Model X, at 5,423 lbs, then the BMW at 5,533 lbs, and lastly, the heaviest of them all, the Audi e-tron S Sportback, at 5,776 lbs. So which one is faster in a drag race?

During the first standing drag race, the Audi e-tron S Sportback actually jumped ahead of the pack, despite having the among the worst power-to-weight ratios in the test. That third electric motor must help a ton with traction, allowing Audi to deliver more power at launch. Though, things got a bit trickier as the tests went on. So if you want to see the fastest EV SUV for this money, check out the video below.

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Since the names are not yet as self-explanatory as the series designations that have been used for years for vehicles with conventional drives, it is worth taking a short trip through the Mercedes model range and nomenclature. The new models use the same logic as the EQC model, based on the mid-range SUV GLC.

The series designation follows the tried and tested model after the EQ as a reference to the electric drive. While the EQC has so far only been available as an SUV, unlike the planned EQS and EQE models, no further distinction is necessary. In the case of the Mercedes EQS as an electric alternative to the new S-Class sedan , there will also be an EQS SUV based on the GLS truck.

The electric E-Class EQE and the GLE variant EQE SUV come one class lower, while the Mercedes EQA is based on the GLA family. Naturally, the EQB uses the GLB as the base product. For particularly large space requirements, there is the Mercedes EQV based on the V-Class.

Production of the EQA is scheduled to begin this year, the EQB and EQS in 2021. Mercedes says the EQS will offer a driving range of up to 435 miles (700 km).

It is clear that the BMW Group is also one of Mercedes’ most important rivals in the field of electrified drives. Even if BMW has developed a lead in almost all model series with vehicles such as the i3, i8 and numerous plug-in hybrids, the Munich-based company will definitely not rest on their laurels.

Therefore, in the next few years, a wide range of electric BMW products will arrive: i7 (7 Series), i4 (4 Series Gran Coupe), i5 (5 Series), iX1, iX3 (X3) and iX.

Regardless of the products offered by the German automakers, they will all face a stiff competition from Tesla. The American carmaker is already a leader in two segments and is also planning additional products.

[Source: BimmerToday]

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In it, we get to see the legendary Tiff Needell drive both the Audi e-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQC, alongside co-host Paul Woodman.

Both cars are extremely similar; they both have dual-motor powertrains, all-wheel drive, 402 horsepower and just over 200 miles of range. They both charged quickly (150 kW for the Audi and 110 kW for the Mercedes) and they’re both as heavy as mountains made of plutonium. So which car is better to drive?

Well, they’re actually both quite different. The Mercedes-Benz EQC feels lighter on its feet, with less body roll, sharper steering and an even softer ride. The Audi e-tron feels a bit heavier, with more roll and a slightly stiffer ride. The Benz is also quieter. However, it seems as if the Audi e-tron has the better cabin and more impressive technology, even if the latter is a bit fussy.

Needell seems to be a bit noncommittal on both, though. He isn’t the biggest fan of electric cars to begin with but he’s really not in love with either of these cars, though he does seem to prefer the Mercedes-Benz for its styling and its steering. In the end, though, when pressed to choose one or the other, he again goes with a noncommittal answer and chooses the Jaguar I-Pace, as it’s faster and more fun to drive.

After Needell’s rather fence-sitting answer, Woodman does provide a real answer but it honestly wasn’t the one I was expecting. Both of these SUVs are quite good but they both also have a long way to go.

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Last year, the Stuttgart-based giant decided to finally get into the electric car market with a proper, standalone model. And while the EQC might be the only purely electric vehicle Mercedes-Benz is building right now, it’s not exactly the first. Our more car savvy readers might recall the Smart electric cars and also the electric A-Class launched more than a decade ago.

Yet, this will be the first time Mercedes-Benz does this properly and plans to sell such a car by the thousands.

EQ Brand Dedicated To Electrified Cars

The EQC is just the first attempt from a sub-brand of Mercedes-Benz, one that will focus exclusively on EVs. Just like BMW’s i Division or the Mercedes-AMG one, the EQ sub-brand will focus solely on electrified cars. The first one to come out happens to be in the shape of a Crossover with the size of a GLC. And that wasn’t a random pick either.

Look at the sales figures and you’ll soon realize cars of that exact size are best sellers today. The demand for SUVs and crossovers is at an all-time high and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Therefore, making an electric SUV is now a must for every car maker. BMW will bring their own electric SUV to the market this year – the iX3. The Audi E-Tron or the Jaguar i-Pace are some of the other offerings in the segment.

The Mercedes-Benz EQC has some strong headwinds to face, but it also has the right weapons to handle them. Driving down to Mercedes-Benz to pick it up, I was really curious to see whether this will be a similar story to the Porsche Taycan. Alas to see whether this EQC would actually feel like a proper Mercedes-Benz even though it doesn’t have an engine under the hood.

A Familiar Design

From the outside you’ll notice some familiar traits on this car. That’s not by mistake. The EQC is largely based on the same platform as the GLC and it shows. The design is similar in overall shape, but there are key differences between the two. The front-end has a totally different shape, one that carries a huge Mercedes badge on it, flanked by a lot of glossy black for a grille that would probably even put the new 7 Series to shame.

However, even though it’s big, the integration with the front fascia is quite nice. The headlights also have a distinct shape and blue accents on the very top end. An LED bar that goes from side to side completes the package and creates a powerful visual block, especially at night. There are two versions available for the front bumper, the Electric Art choice we had on our tester or the AMG Line one, with larger “air intakes” on the sides. I’m using quotes because they are fake intakes, to help out with the drag coefficient, which is low for an SUV, at just 0.28.

Move to the sides and you’ll notice the roofline is right between the standard GLC and the Coupe version. It is a bit sloping towards the back but I wouldn’t call this a Coupe SUV. There are also running boards on the sides which just get in the way, to be honest, as this SUV is not that high riding. However, according to Mercedes-Benz, they help out with the aerodynamic coefficient so I guess they are welcome. The EQC is also about 4 inches longer than the GLC but just by looking at it without another car to compare it to, you’d be hard pressed to figure that out.

There is a big difference on the rear-end though, where there’s a long LED strip going from taillight to taillight, creating a rather beautiful effect. The rear bumper also has a couple of interesting details on the lower side, which replicate a set of tailpipes.

A Beautifully Shaped Interior

Step inside and the similarities with the GLC simply vanish. The interior is absolutely stunning and has a fresh design, one that’s decorated with all sorts of materials that truly make you feel like you’re in Mercedes. There are some downsides too, like the huge pieces of piano black trims positioned on the center console that, unsurprisingly, creaked. That’s a problem all Mercedes-Benz models below the E-Class seem to have. Other than that, there’s really nothing I could complain about.

Our tester was a special 1886 Edition model which means it came with a certain color combo, mixing black and blue in a very interesting fashion. There was a new material used on the upper side of the door panels as well as on the dash. It felt like some sort of plastic fabric and I later learned it was made of recycled materials. It truly felt nice to the touch, especially the bit on the top of the door panel that reminded me of denim.

In other parts of the car there was what Mercedes calls ‘man-made leather’, which also felt rather nice to the touch, combined with Alcantara and the 1886 stitching on the seats. The vents had rose-gold inserts which could also be found on the doors, while aluminum completed the design on the door cards and went up over the dash, under the windscreen and all the way on the other side, creating a single visual block.

Simply stunning!

The EQC also comes with the latest version of the MBUX infotainment system but in a different scale. The screens come straight from the A-Class, along with all the functionality. Therefore, they are a bit smaller than the ones on the GLE 450. The functions remain the same though and the graphics as well and, apart from a special sub-menu dedicated to the EQ part of the car, everything’s the same.

I really don’t mind having smaller screens inside the car, to be honest, so I did find this refreshing. The EQ menu shows you the battery range, what motor is used at a certain moment and charging times as well as the energy consumption for various intervals. All of it related to the electric character of the car.

A Refreshing Driving Experience

And that electric character was what worried me the most setting off. I was – unjustified as it turned out – worried that the character of the car would be different than a regular Mercedes just because there was no internal combustion engine under the hood. I was wrong.

The EQC uses two electric motors, each good for 150 kW, one for the front axle, one for the rear. While they have the same power output (204 HP) they work differently. The one above the front axle, working the front wheels, is set up to be more efficient, while the one on the rear axle is supposed to offer a sportier feeling.

Basically, the front motor has a less tightly wound stator than the rear one, which has greater torque. Together, they can deliver up to 408 HP and 760 Nm (564 lb-ft) of torque. The latter is delivered, of course, instantly. And that frightened me at first, thinking that this would just be another brutal EV that hurts your neck when setting off. To put things into perspective, the current BMW M8 has a bit less torque than this car and not from the moment the engine/motor starts spinning.

However, Mercedes worked its magic on the EQC because is very well damped and the power delivery was set up to mimic what you would find in a ‘normal’ Mercedes-Benz. Therefore, when accelerating hard from standstill you wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the torque. Instead you get a feeling that you’re being rushed somewhere but without any sort of panic. It’s all set up to be soothing and well calculated.

Don’t get me wrong, the car is fast, doing 62 mph from standstill in 5 seconds flat, but it never feels brutal when launching. As a matter of fact, it’s more brutal when you mash the go faster pedal while on the move, especially at speeds up to 60 mph.

All that goes to show that this car was set up to be a true Mercedes. But despite the engineers’ greatest efforts, there is an issue at play here: the weight. Some have accused Mercedes of being ‘lazy’ for not developing a bespoke chassis for its first EV and that’s the main reason why the car is so heavy. There are a couple others at play here as well though.

First of all, the 80-kWh battery pack weighs no less than 700 kilos (1,543 lbs) and that’s basically a small car you carry around all the time. The EQC could’ve been lighter, but Mercedes-Benz decided to make it a bit safer instead. For example, there’s about 4 inches of space on each side of the battery, between it and the side sills. That was done on purpose so that there’s a buffer available in case of a crash.

Furthermore, the engineers say the car has steel-tube replicas of the engine block and gearbox housing inside it, to make sure it behaves the same way an internal combustion car would in case of crash. Removing those alone would’ve shaved some 150 kilos. And that’s why the hood doesn’t open and you don’t get a frunk.

Therefore, the car tips the scale at about 2.5 tons. So yeah, it’s pretty heavy. And it feels heavy and massive when you drive it. Even when you close the doors you feel like you’re inside a vault, by the way they sound. Its suspension also works very well and gives you the impression that you’re driving a very comfy tank.

When you set off, you immediately notice that the driving experience is natural and just a tiny bit different than a ‘regular’ car as it lacks the NVH elements. Even so, visibility is great all around and the car is easy to live with. Around town, the bumps and potholes are dealt with impeccably while going a bit faster will reveal its limitations.

There are several driving modes available, from Comfort which is the standard one, to Sport, Individual, Eco or Maximum Range. Sport doesn’t help out that much in dealing with the heft of the car but an interesting mention goes to Maximum Range. Using this mode will make the EQC feel like it’s limping home. As a matter of fact, it makes it feel like you’re in Limp Home mode, if you’ve ever experienced that.

The throttle doesn’t seem to want to respond and you’re dead slow in doing… anything! I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. There’s also an adjustable regenerative braking system, using the paddles on the steering wheel. Using the one on the right eases off the regen braking, allowing you to coast. Using the left side paddle, you can increase the harshness and recuperate more energy. According to Mercedes-Benz, this is where the extra weight of the car comes in handy, as it will generate more energy upon slowing down.

The Driving Range

So how much energy does it require to go around town then? Well, during my time with the car, in heavy city traffic, I saw an average of 27 kWh/100 km covered. That means you could do about 290 kilometers on a single charge. A bit far off from the 400 km claimed by Mercedes-Benz. However, the testing conditions were harsh, with heavy traffic, the AC running all the time, along with the wiper and lights and the tester was on winter tires. As I mentioned before, most of the time, the car will use the front motor alone, the rear one intervening when it’s necessary.

Outside the city limits, the faster you go, the more energy it will need. At average speeds close to 80 km/h (50 mph) I saw the indicator showing 21 kWh/100 km which would get close to the 400 km of range advertised. On the highway, at an average of 77 mph that number went up to 30 kWh/100 km, dropping the range to about 250 km.

Recharging the batteries is yet another important topic. Mercedes-Benz says that the EQC can take in up to 112 kW using a fast charger, which is pretty good and should allow you to recharge the car’s battery pack in under 1 hour. However, you will be depending on the infrastructure. You won’t find such fast chargers just about anywhere.

More common 50 kW CCS stations are easier to find and they will get the job done in about 2 hours. From here on down you can do the math for 11 kW, 7.4 kW or 3.7 kW chargers. If you want to charge this car at home, you’re looking at the 3.7- or 7.4-kW chargers most of the time, the latter requiring a wallbox. Once again, you need to take into account how you’re going to use this car and whether it is right for you.

There’s no sound or vibrations coming inside from the engine bay. Therefore, the atmosphere inside is serene, as one would expect. Only in the EQC things are even better than I expected. This car is even quieter than the Taycan I drove not long ago. Combine the refined suspension, the heavy, solid feel of the car, luxurious and beautiful interior and the utter quietness you get inside and you truly feel like you’re inside a Mercedes-Benz.

The character of the Stuttgart-based company is right there with you. And that, for me, was great news.

Not An AMG-GT, And That’s Okay

Sure, some might say that the EQC is not sporty enough and I agree. The weight of it simply can’t be masked in any way. It’s a heavy car and, even though the weight hangs low, you can still feel it working against you whenever you’re taking turns in rapid succession or changing direction on the fly.

At the same time, nobody really expects the EQC to behave like an AMG GT and I also think the car was set up to be luxurious, comfortable and silent more than anything else. On those three topics, there aren’t many cars that can challenge it today. What the EQC showed me is that the future of electric cars is shaping up rather nicely. Just like in the case of the Taycan, the EQC feels like a product made by the company behind the logo on its boot.

That may very well mean that, while we will be missing internal combustion engines in the future, not all electric cars will be bland, quiet, boring models with nothing to separate them from anything else on the street. It looks like car makers are working extra hard to give their products a personality and that is incredibly good news.

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Obviously, we can’t compare how these cars drive, as we haven’t driven either; the EQC is difficult to test and the iX3 hasn’t even been officially revealed yet. However, we can compare their styling which, let’s face it, is going to do 90-percent of the selling of these two cars anyway. So let’s break it down.

Up front, it’s the Mercedes-Benz EQC that looks more like an EV, something from the future, thanks to its all-new front end design. While it’s based off of the GLC-Class, the EQC’s face is all new and looks slick. Having said that, I personally think the iX3 looks better, even if it’s a bit too similar to the standard X3. It’s still a handsome looking thing and its new grille design looks good.

Out back, it’s a bit similar. The Mercedes-Benz EQC has a more futuristic looking rear end, thanks to its use of slim, horizontal taillight bar and more minimalist approach. However, the EQC has seems to look a bit dumpy at the back, like its drooping, a problem that many modern Mercedes-Benz sedans and SUVs have. While the iX3 looks almost identical to a standard X3, with only its lack of exhausts giving it away, it’s a bit more handsome than its Stuttgart rival.

I will say that the EQC looks a bit better in profile, especially on the wheels in these photos, as it’s sleeker and seems more like an EV SUV. While the BMW iX3 is a good looking car, it just seems too pedestrian for a proper electric crossover. Its new aerodynamic wheels are sweet, though.

Overall, I think the BMW iX3 is the better looking car but it’s not by a huge margin. BMW seems to have played it a bit too safe when designing the iX3, while Mercedes-Benz seems to have taken a few more chances, with varying degrees of success. While the EQC is a bit odd looking in areas, Mercedes-Benz deserves credit for making it stand out from the GLC on which it’s based.

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