Mercedes-Benz EQC

All-electric soft-roader is based on the new GLC – and makes as compelling a case as we’ve yet to hear for making the switch away from traditional fuels

Mercedes was one of the first premium carmakers to start building SUVs. The original M-Class was a bit of a blunt instrument, but since then the company has created a platform for itself as a maker of 4x4s that are sharp, stylish, brilliantly made, classy to drive and if you want them to be, disarmingly capable off-road.

Now you can add ‘electric’ to that list. The EQC isn’t one of those self-consciously electric vehicles that bash you over the head with their futuristic stylish and quasi space-age materials. It’s a Mercedes SUV, like any other Mercedes SUV – only, it’s an electric one.

Mercs are very good at winning you over the moment you climb aboard. The ECQ mimics the company’s other latest-generation SUVs with a beautifully modern cabin design featuring a stunning combined dash and infotainment screen – it’s one large, long display stretching out to something like two feet along the top of the facia, with every function picked out in absolutely pin-sharp graphic detail. It really does need to be seen to be fully appreciated.

The dash surfaces are quite hard to the touch but feel superbly well made, with beautiful tones and textures. There’s no trace of a creak from the facia or floor console, and every part of it looks as good as it feels. It’s a game-changer.