Mercedes-Benz has brought its all-electric “GLC with EQ Technology” to the ongoing IAA Mobility Expo in Munich. The crossover will phase out the poorly selling EQC model.
The show car is a 400 4Matic spec featuring a 489-PS (482-hp / 360-kW) dual-motor powertrain. Although advertised as a flagship right now, Mercedes says it will later be displaced by a superior spec (there will be five specs to choose from in total).
The rear motor drives the wheels through a two-speed reducer, while the front motor can be set up to disengage when cruising to maximize battery range. The battery itself is lithium-ion and 94 kilowatt-hours large. Mercedes reckons it can deliver up to 713 km (443 miles) of range per charge. Charging from a 330kW source will replenish enough for 300 km (186 miles) of driving in just 10 minutes.
Drivers can switch among five drive modes, including Eco, Comfort, Sport, Custom and Terrain (for dirt roads). The latter is made easier thanks to a transparent hood feature and adaptive headlights. Last but not least, there are four regenerative brake settings to choose from depending on the situation.
Paying a premium unlocks innovative suspension features. For one, you can outfit the new GLC EV with adaptive shock absorbers and height-adjustable air springs borrowed from the S-Class shelf. The on-board electronics can auto-adjust clearance and damping based on the data received from other Mercedes vehicles in the area using the manufacturer’s Car-to-X network interface. As long as one car experiences a rough ride through an area, that area will be marked for the rest of the fleet as a potentially problematic one. The data is stored in a cloud service and is also accessed by the sat-nav apps on board.
The GLC also supports RWS, which means it can turn its rear wheels up to 4.5 degrees in the direction opposite to the turn direction, as well as up to 2.5 degrees in the same direction. Among other things, this has a beneficial effect on the turn radius – you only need 11.2 meters (36.75 feet) to make a U-turn, 90 centimeters or approximately 3 feet less than the same car would need without RWS.
Size-wise, the GLC with EQ Technology is similar to the gas-powered GLC, but has a wheelbase 2,972 mm (116.1 inches) long. That’s 84 mm (3.3 inches) longer than its ICE counterpart.
