Coty – And The Winner Is…

We unveil the COTY champ for 2020. Some decisions are easier than others

- Alex Inwood

Mercedes-Benz EQC

CRUSHING COMPLETENESS, SURPRISING SUPPLENESS AND RIPPING REFINEMENT SEAL STUTTGART’S FIRST COTY GONG IN 12 YEARS

REALLY, WE SHOULD have known. After all, the writing was on the wall 12 months ago when the Jaguar I-Pace rocketed to the front of the pack during COTY 2019. The Jaguar’s advantage was so clear at the end of round one that deputy editor Andy Enright asked if we should all just go home.

“Do we really need another four days of testing?” he mused, only half-jokingly. “I just can’t see how the I-Pace can lose.”

But lose the Jaguar did. Issues with its real-world range, various technical gremlins, plus packaging shortfalls saw the I-Pace’s seemingly unassailable lead cut away at the knees. But the stage was set. Any manufacturer who could field a comparable EV in a more complete package would surely be a shoo-in…

Enter the Mercedes-Benz EQC.

Weirdly, however, the Merc’s COTY journey couldn’t have been more different. Where the Jaguar swooshed silently and confidently onto the center stage from day one (only to wilt spectacularly under harsher scrutiny) the EQC arrived at Lang Lang carrying no such expectations. The early money was on the BMW 3 Series, Toyota RAV4 and Tesla Model 3, leaving the relatively plain-looking EQC to fade into the background. It was easy to see why.

Compared to its clearest rivals – the genre-busting and bravely designed I-Pace and Tesla Model X – the Mercedes is remarkably unadventurous. Only its subtly honed proportions, eye-catching wheel designs and unique LED light signatures distinguish it from Mercedes’ conventionally powered SUV range. And on paper, the EQC’s basic formula doesn’t exactly scream “ground-breaking innovator”, either.