Awaiting an EQC

[Cleck]

As suggested, I thought I'd start a thread to fill you in on the experience of getting (as a company car) an ECQ 400.

I've mentioned the test drive on the other thread and I have to say I'm looking forward to it. One of the reasons I've changed my car so often is the fact that I enjoy a change, hence I've only once changed a car and bought the same marque. That was to change my 2011 E220 AMG Line for a 2015 E220 SE, the 19" wheels and lowered suspension made for a hard ride, I thought, and the SE solved that.

The EQC should provide 'different' in spades and the cabin is very much a mice Mercedes place to be, although being 2 1/2 tonnes might make it a hard ride but it'll be worth it, I'm sure.

Now the planning has to start before delivery late next month. Firstly I need to arrange chargers both at work and at home and that looks interesting. I've been in touch with one or two of them, Pod-point for work and BP Pulse for home, so we'll see how that pans out. I'm also exploring the possibility of just buying a fast charger and get a local sparky to install it at work.

For home, I'm thinking a smart charger makes sense so that I can take advantage of a speciality EV tariff and get cheap KW/h's overnight. Not sure about this yet though, as I imagine these tariffs are loaded elsewhere to level it out.

The next thing I'm exploring is free rapid chargers in municipal car parks so I can get an 80% charge in 40 minutes while I nip for a loaf.

 

[Blobcat]

Looking forward to the updates - I've moved your thread into our new EQ and Hybrid Forum section

 

[Cleck]

No problem, I saw this forum, but thought it would be of interest to everybody on the main chat forum. Will they only see it here if they come looking?

 

[Blobcat]

No problem, I saw this forum, but thought it would be of interest to everybody on the main chat forum. Will they only see it here if they come looking?

It's all searchable, the general section gets very crowded and threads drop off very quickly. As more drivers dip their toe in the electric waters I can see this section and thread getting a lot of hits and views.

 

[Cleck]

Fair enough, ta.

 

[Cleck]

Well, the Eqc was eventually delivered last week (almost three months late) and the W212 has now gone.

First off, the E Class went to WBAC as I couldn't be bothered dealing with tyre-kickers. Long story short, their first offer was £10k and after discussing damage to two alloys and numerous stone chips etc, we agreed on £9,400 and I left quite happy with the experience.

Now the EQC. First impressions after a week are that it is magnificent. The power & torque are something I've never experienced before, it takes off like a stabbed rat and for a 2.5 tonne car it is amazingly quick. Once you get over that and settle into driving it normally, it's brilliant. The seats are very comfortable and adjustable in all the usual ways including lumber support (something lacking in the E Class SE). The digital dashboard is impressive and no doubt I'll barely touch the surface of the stuff you can do. On the road it handles very well for a car of its size and the suspension is firm but fair, I'd say it rides the bumps better than the E Class, which surprised me, although speed humps need to be taken steadily to prevent the shockers bottoming on exiting the longer humps.

Range hasn't yet been a problem as I've driven no more than 50 or so miles in a day and I have a charger at home. I tried one of the Engie chargers which have been installed all over West Yorkshire and are free to use until the end of October and that gave me a quick and painless 100 miles of charge while I picked up a few groceries. I'll be interested to see how I get on when I have to do longer journeys, but they are few and far between these days, so we'll see. On a full charge it's showing 235 miles and the miles I do seem to correspond fairly closely with how that comes down.

In all, I'm chuffed to bits with the car and have no regrets at changing, even though I was more than happy with the E Class for the 3 or 4 years I had it.

 

[Tony Dyson]

Well, the Eqc was eventually delivered last week (almost three months late) and the W212 has now gone.

First off, the E Class went to WBAC as I couldn't be bothered dealing with tyre-kickers. Long story short, their first offer was £10k and after discussing damage to two alloys and numerous stone chips etc, we agreed on £9,400 and I left quite happy with the experience.

Now the EQC. First impressions after a week are that it is magnificent. The power & torque are something I've never experienced before, it takes off like a stabbed rat and for a 2.5 tonne car it is amazingly quick. Once you get over that and settle into driving it normally, it's brilliant. The seats are very comfortable and adjustable in all the usual ways including lumber support (something lacking in the E Class SE). The digital dashboard is impressive and no doubt I'll barely touch the surface of the stuff you can do. On the road it handles very well for a car of its size and the suspension is firm but fair, I'd say it rides the bumps better than the E Class, which surprised me, although speed humps need to be taken steadily to prevent the shockers bottoming on exiting the longer humps.

Range hasn't yet been a problem as I've driven no more than 50 or so miles in a day and I have a charger at home. I tried one of the Engie chargers which have been installed all over West Yorkshire and are free to use until the end of October and that gave me a quick and painless 100 miles of charge while I picked up a few groceries. I'll be interested to see how I get on when I have to do longer journeys, but they are few and far between these days, so we'll see. On a full charge it's showing 235 miles and the miles I do seem to correspond fairly closely with how that comes down.

In all, I'm chuffed to bits with the car and have no regrets at changing, even though I was more than happy with the E Class for the 3 or 4 years I had it.

Congratulations, being satisfied that your new 'toy' has met all your expectations is all that matters, on a personal level I currently find the whole EV market very confusing as over the Years the different manufacturers have invented their own technical descriptions and variations on the theme of EV's, too numerous to list and their very different performance specifications which makes choosing the right vehicle in the very first instance a very complicated process and I think a lot of the complaints of charging times and longevity are down to the perceived expectations of the purchaser and not enough due diligence before parting with their hard earned! and I guess that this confusion is going to continue as battery technology continues to evolve until the ultimate goal of volume, weight, charge time, battery lifetime and capacity targets have been achieved where I'm sure the numerous offerings will all boil down to a few basic options such as with or without an on-board generator for back-up emergency situations? Who knows?

 

[Parkwood]

Am jealous. ordered my EQC in April del date was 24th July and as yet no idea when it might arrive. Totally agree it was a lovely car to drive. It does feel a bit less luxurious than my current e in certain areas of trim but the semi air suspension was ok in comparison to the full air suspension I have. my lease is up soon so not at all sure what is going to happen. when the e was delivered 3mths late the garage lent me a car I am expecting the same again but it is frustrating having to wait solong a second time.

 

[mioba]

Without pics, it does not exist

 

[Parkwood]

can you tell me has the car got all the electronic assistance like the parking assist both forwards/backwards into a space and parralell? also has it been delivered with the lte module and mercedes me fully working? there was a lot of discssion about cars not arriving with the parking assist as expected and it seems at the moment mercedes are saying some cars will be delivered without the lte module so no e call or mercedes me

 

[Parkwood]

Called into my dealer today when passing to be given the very good news my car left the factory at lunchtime and it should be with the dealer in 10 to 15 days. saves me and them a lot of hassle given my lease is up soon. apparently it has the LTE module and all the equipment specified though it remains to be seen whether it is the full parking and driver assistance system currently installed in the e class. will report back once i have taken delivery. having had the charger now for 2 months it will finally be tested!

 

[Frontstep]

How much are the lease deals for the EQC and EQS?

 

[Chrishazle]

Big write-up on the EQC400 in today's Telegraph Saturday motoring section - only 1 version available in UK from launch, priced at £98k upwards!!

 

[eman]

Big write-up on the EQC400 in today's Telegraph Saturday motoring section - only 1 version available in UK from launch, priced at £98k upwards!!

Should that be EQS

 

[Chrishazle]

Dunno - I'm more interested in cars powered by V6 and V8 petrols than Duracells!!

 

[Cleck]

Apologies, I've been incommunicado for a while since my last post. The car does indeed have active park assist, although I've only tried it once into a bay and it needed two attempts! Is the lte module for the moble internet connectivity? If so, then yes it's there, but the car suggests I need a mobile data contract in order to use it as a hotspot, which I don't need. Mercedes me is connected and working.

 

[kotecki]

I was surprised when you said how you would get a 'local sparky' to install your charger. I had to jump through a few hoops to get ours fitted although we took advantage of the grant that is available. I did ask a local electrician but he stated he was not qualified?? Was that technical talk for saying they were too busy?

A photograph was not good enough for the installer and someone from our electricity company came round to check the amps of the main fuse. My knowledge of amps is non-existent but I think that is what they said.

What is the costs for your road fund licence please? Our hybrid is in excess of £500!!! The local roads are in what I will tactfully describe as being in a poor state of repair. I wonder how they compare to the roads around Buckingham Palace or that other nearby palace... The Palace of Westminster. I wonder how many pot-holes our Prime Minister has to negotiate? Where does my £500 go?? Nah, I'm not really bovvered

Even the acceleration of our hybrid is impressive, your vehicle is in a totally different league but I can still relate to your description.

 

[eman]

All home chargers have to have forms filled out and sent to the local DNO. You cannot just install a charger.

 

[kotecki]

All home chargers have to have forms filled out and sent to the local DNO. You cannot just install a charger.

You are 100% correct but just to clarify, the charger that comes with the car simply plugs into the mains. No issues with no wiring required.

 

[eman]

Yes sir plug straight into your house socket. But will take a longer time to charge than having a home charger. Was talking to a dno engineer who has a Tesla 3. Done 2000 miles and cost him £27. Charging at home. Using octopus energy. Which i don’t have