Unlike some of their sonorous V8 AMGs, the Mercedes
EQC didn’t disturb the wildlife in the Black Forest Mountains, where it was
recently spotted testing. That’s because it’s a fully-electric SUV, part of Merc’s new EQ
sub-brand, which is coming in the near future to take on the Jaguar I-Pace and
Tesla Model X.
Mercedes-Benz built some 200
prototypes of the EQC. Most of them were subjected to different environments
across the globe, from extreme sub-zero temperatures to boiling-hot weather, in
Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
During testing, the company’s engineers paid special
attention to some of the critical components of the zero-emission SUV,
including the electric powertrain and battery. They also had to make sure that
the air conditioning functions properly, and that the charging port isn’t
affected by anything Mother Nature might have in store.
Despite teasing it a few times, Mercedes-Benz has
yet to drop the camouflage off the EQC. Even so, it’s clear that its styling
has been toned down compared the Generation EQ Concept, which previewed the
production version some two years ago.
Info concerning the powertrain talk about an output
of “nearly 300kW”, or 408 PS, likely produced by two electric motors
powered by a battery that should allow it to travel for up to 500 km in
between charges. Mercedes-Benz is expected to launch the EQC in September.
