Mercedes EQC SUV - Interior & comfort

Mercedes has produced some great interiors of late and the EQC benefits from its latest technology and features, as you'd expect at this price point. The three-pointed badge also brings certain quality expectations, and materials and build quality feel ahead of Tesla and Jaguar, while equal to Audi.

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Mercedes EQC dashboard

It's not perfect though because like the Audi, the EQC is closely based on a traditional model rather than being designed as an EV from the outset. To help differentiate it from the Mercedes GLC, a car with which the EQC shares many of its underpinnings, Mercedes has added details like dashboard trim that's meant to mimic the cooling fins of a hi-fi, blue ambient lighting and rose-gold air vents, but the result is a bit fussy.

We're big fans of the MBUX infotainment system, which uses a pair of 10.25-inch screens for the infotainment system and the digital instrument cluster. it features innovations like augmented navigation, which uses images from the windscreen-mounted camera with overlaid graphics to help point you in the right direction. The displays can provide almost too much information to digest at times, and some may also find the steering wheel can obscure part of the screen.

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Equipment

Costing as much as a Range Rover Sport, even the entry-level EQC Sport trim is well equipped with features like LED headlights, 19-inch alloy wheels, 64-colour ambient lighting, keyless entry and a rear-view camera. The seats are swathed in Artico man-made leather.

AMG Line is expected to be the most popular trim, and its black front grille, 20-inch wheels and aluminium running boards give the EQC a boost in the looks department. Here, Artico is replaced with leather for the sports seats, and there are AMG floor mats and stainless steel pedals.

Spend around £4,500 to upgrade to AMG Line Premium trim and the wheels grow again, a sunroof is added and you'll get a 360-degree camera and Parktronic. There's also a Burmester stereo, augmented reality sat-nav and wireless smartphone charging.

AMG Line Premium Plus costs just over £2,000 extra and brings memory seats, a head-up display and an Interior Assistant for the MBUX system.

Options

Extra cost options across the EQC model line-up consist of five metallic paint options starting from £685, to the ‘designo’ paint finishes starting at £895. Buyers can also opt for the ‘designo selenite grey magno’ finish, which costs £1,795.

A factory-fitted tow bar is also available for £750. You can also specify Mercedes’ Artico man-made leather trim in the entry-level EQC Sport trim as a no-cost option.

Mercedes’ Driving Assistance Plus package, which includes safety features such as blind spot assistance, active braking, steering assist and lane keeping assist is only available on AMG Line trim cars upwards, costing £1,695.