MERCEDES-BENZ EQC
We ride shotgun in Benz’s Tesla-tormentor
THE LANDSCAPE is Spaghetti Western, and so is the scenario. Southeast Spain was a location for famed films like The Good, the
Bad and the Ugly. And we’re here for a Sergio Leone-style long-lens glimpse of the distant stranger heading for town...
The Mercedes-benz EQC is still a long way off. While production of the battery-powered SUV will not begin until sometime around the middle of 2019, right after launching it will drive straight into a shootout with the Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-pace.
Will the German be able to outgun the Yank and the Brit? Might it achieve Clint Eastwood-grade stardom? Or is it more likely the EQC will be the corpse lying in the dust when the bullets stop flying?
Mercedes-benz has already revealed some key EQC specifications. It will have two electric motors, one for each axle, a big battery pack beneath its cabin floor, sub 5.0-second 0-100km/h acceleration and a driving range of up to 500km.
EQC drivetrain project leader Martin Hermsen adds some detail to the picture as he pilots the camouflage-clad prototype. The vehicle’s 600kg battery pack is made up of modules containing multiple lithium-ion pouch cells. It can store “more than 70kwh” of electrical energy, delivered at 400 volts.
The EQC will have an on-board AC charger with a maximum 7.5kw capacity. This is enough for overnight or workday recharging from a wallbox. The Mercedes will also have fast DC charging capability at a rate of 100kwplus, for quick top-ups on longer journeys. Both AC and DC charging is via a CCS (Combined Charging System) plug, a standard supported by Europe’s car makers, plus GM, Ford, FCA, Hyundai and others.
Hermsen says the EQC weighs roughly 2300kg, distributed equally between front and rear axles. It has identical 150kw front and rear motors, making it AWD, for a combined max power figure of 300kw. The software controlling the drivetrain mostly uses the front motor, only adding rear motor power when maximum performance is demanded or to ensure vehicle stability and traction when needed.
Testing the entire drive system in stressfully hot conditions is the main reason Mercedes-benz has bought EQC prototypes to Spain. The performance of the cooling systems for the battery pack, motor control units and motors themselves has to be checked, as well as the cabin air-con.
These prototypes were made using prototype EQC body stamping tools. All their drivetrain hardware is basically productionspec says Hermsen. But there’s still a lot of work left to do on drivetrain calibration and system control software. The engineer estimates the job is around 80 percent complete.
Though we’re not allowed to drive this work in progress, there’s a lot to be learned about the EQC while sitting beside and behind