It’s difficult to overstate the importance of the (breathes) Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology.
It’s all in the long-winded name – this addition to the Mercedes-Benz lineup is the first of the three-pointed star’s new generation of electric vehicles.
The electric GLC debuts an all-new electric vehicle architecture dubbed MB.EA that will ultimately underpin electric versions of the next-generation C-Class, E-Class, and S-Class sedans, as well as electric GLE and GLS SUVs.
The highly flexible MB.EA toolkit includes more powerful and efficient e-motors developed in-house by Mercedes-Benz, an 800V electrical architecture that allows for hyper-fast charging, and new battery chemistries that promise lower cost and longer range.
MB.EA is a software-defined vehicle architecture, with Mercedes-Benz’s new MB.OS operating system overseeing all vehicle functions, and it can be equipped to deliver Level 3 autonomous driving capability.
Apart from its model name and market positioning, the electric-powered GLC shares little with its internal combustion-engined sibling.
Every exterior panel is different; the sportier roofline reportedly helping the Mercedes SUV achieve an impressively low drag co-efficient of just 0.24. The redesigned interior of the top-spec versions is dominated by a screen that stretches across the dash from A-pillar to A-pillar.
Though Benz insiders were tight-lipped on many of the finer details of the electric GLC prototype we drove on the snowy roads and tracks near Mercedes-Benz’s winter test centre in Arjeplog, Sweden, engineers confirmed to CarExpert its wheelbase is 129mm longer than that of its combustion-powered sibling. Having sat in the back seat, we can confirm most of that extra length has gone into rear passenger room – it’s very spacious back there.
Depending on market, the GLC EV will be available in single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive with system outputs of up to 670hp (500kW) – which co-incidentally matches the power produced by the insanely complex plug-in hybrid Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S E Performance.
Batteries range from a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) unit that’s likely to deliver a WLTP-rated range of just over 500km, to a 94.5kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery that boosts the WLTP range to more than 800km.
This battery’s highly efficient silicon carbide anodes and the 800V electrical architecture also allow charge rates of up to 320kW, which mean it can be topped up to give 400km more range in as little as 15 minutes.
The prototype we drove in Sweden was reasonably close to what is likely to be the top-spec, non-AMG GLC 4Matic with EQ Technology. Its dual-motor powertrain had a system output of 360kW, the 94.5kWh battery, air suspension, and rear-wheel steering riding on 20-inch wheels shod with Pirelli Winter 2 tires (235/50 front and 265/45 rear).
You expect electric vehicles to be quiet, but the electric GLC 4Matic wafts down the road like a limousine. It’s impressively silent – road and wind noise are very well suppressed, and there’s not even a hint of a whine from the e-motors. The steering is light and direct, enabling you to place the Benz on the road with effortless accuracy.
The GLC with EQ Technology has the new Mercedes-Benz digital brake control system, a sophisticated brake-by-wire setup which decouples the brake pedal from the mechanical brake system unless there’s an electronic glitch, in which case a valve enables full hydraulic braking.
As with most EV brake systems, braking up to 0.3g is done entirely by regen.
The handover from regen to mechanical braking under heavy braking utterly seamless, and the new brake system allows regen to occur even when the ABS kicks in. What’s more, the system’s software delivers a confident and consistent-feeling brake pedal under all circumstances.
Four levels of lift-off regen are available: D Auto, which lets the electric GLC’s software optimise regen levels; D+, which allows it to coast; D, which coasts like an internal combustion engine vehicle; and D-, which allows one-pedal driving and will even bring the Mercedes to a halt on an icy downhill. Toggling between regen modes is achieved by pushing or pulling the column-mounted gear selection lever.
The e-motors in the GLC EV are both permanently excited magnet units, the Mercedes-developed one at the rear axle equipped with a two-speed transmission that enables higher road speeds.
Some carmakers use less powerful magnet-free asynchronous motors on the front axle of their dual-motor powertrains because they spin more freely under light loads – Mercedes gets around this by actively decoupling the front e-motor when it’s not needed.
In Comfort mode, the rear wheels handle 100 per cent of the torque; a dog clutch engaging the front motor when the powertrain senses hard acceleration or a loss of traction, or when the front motor is needed for regen.
Selecting Sport mode, which is done via a button on the centre console that forces you to toggle through all the modes until you get the one you want, sets up a 33:67 front-rear torque split. Terrain mode ups that to 50:50 for better off-road traction.
It took a fraction of a second for the front wheels to hook up under hard acceleration on snowy roads in Comfort mode. In Sport mode, front axle response was immediate.
Regardless of mode, the GLC electric effortlessly tackled snowy mountain tracks, highlighting the speed and precision with which torque from e-motors can be modulated to deliver maximum traction. With 360kW on tap, it also felt pleasantly punchy on the road.
At first acquaintance, the Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology makes a better GLC than the current combustion-engined model, which last year was the best-selling Mercedes-Benz in the world. It’s much smoother and much quieter, roomier inside, and more effortlessly capable both on and off the road.
The production version of the GLC with EQ Technology will be officially unveiled at the IAA Mobility Show in Munich this September.
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