190Efan

I guess check with your local MB dealer to see what they know about the upgrade and what your options might be?

Natroth

A rare EQC400 deep in the Australian wilderness, almost 4WDriving

mickhoog

The photo is epic.
Happy Motoring.

Egonvdv

was also wondering what to do after my lease is up (august this year)

Looked at the EQc but it's much more expensive then the w213 so a bit out of my budget.

also the range of 400km doesn't do it for me .

so for now will once again get a w213 and will see again in 4 years...

the hybrids can drive upto 50 km on electric, which would be perfect for going to work (50km each way)

with this in mind, I'm hesitating between diesel and petrol. i drive about 33.000 kms a year, but 26.000kms of that is work

parkwood

Brit in France here again though am now a Franco brittanique having been granted french citizenship which also puts me back in the European fold but I digress. The 213 choice in France has been restricted a lot in part I think as a reaction to the governments clamp down on polluting cars so getting a 4matic with air suspension is restricted to 2 models the 220d all terrain with no hybride or 48 volt option or the E400 which incurs a painful one off penalty tax of 14,000 euro! Even the all terrain attracts a 3000 euro penalty. So at the end of my lease I can go hybride but loose the 4matic and air suspension which feels like a downgrade☹️ 4wheel drive capability is important for me as I live in the country and the roads are often muddy having good grip is essential. The EQC is an SUV and I prefer an estate, break T model, station wagon body so it is not a choice I am relishing. However I am test driving an EQC next week and all the reviews apart from one seem to rate it as the best luxury SUV in the round. We have only 1 model an AMG line.it is pricey like the hybrids around 6k more than a hybride which given it is a c class segment seems unreasonable but maybe not if the quality is what everyone says. Hate the black gloss centre panel though and the fact it cannot be changed. Range is no problem for me as 400km will cover my day to day needs fine and on long journeys there is the infrastructure now though on touring trips off the motorways charge times might be slow as most village charge points are early models and I think do not offer any fast charging. Will report back after my test drive but this thread has been very helpful thank you. Keeping my current car is an option but am cautious about plummeting resale values and there is no hint that Mercedes will be making an estate all electric eclass in the near to medium future☹️So I might as well make the change now. We shall see.

parkwood

Hi fellow Eu Citizen😉 which model have you ordered? Where they offering reasonable discounts and how did the lease cost work out in comparison ie better worse or similar?

parkwood

Hi fellow EU citizen (still so happy to get mine back&#128521)which model did you go for and how do the leasing costs compare better worse or similar?

Egonvdv

hi @parkwood , i believe yo already replied to me on that here ?

question about the lenght of hybrid plug (lid) - MBWorld.org Forums

parkwood

Yes you did sorry should stop coming onto the forum late at night🙄 will post here on my thoughts re the EQC and go back to the eclass discussion for thoughts re the hybride.

Natroth

Hi All,

Sorry for going silent, I was a bit career focussed for a period.

In Australia, EV's are not flavour of the day which cascades to scarce charging stations. Nothing has changed in a year....... This pic from Bathurst shows one charger for me and six for Tesla


One CCS2, one J1772 and six Tesla superchargers!


Executive Summary

The EQC400 won "Car of the Year" in Australia because of its "crushing completeness, surprising suppleness and ripping refinement" My driving experience matches this statement ....... BUT...... there are some small issues that come with the early adoption of new technology. My father always told me to NEVER buy the first release new model of anything; wait a year or two. As a typical son, I ignored this so now live with some of the compromises that the EQC400 brings. My father has already said, "I told you so".

Buying an EV at this time makes you an "early adopter". For the next 10 years or so EV's will continue to improve, extend range and expand on driver comfort features. One day EV charging stations will outnumber petrol stations but not quite yet. There is not going to be a right time to dive in and buy an EV when you have one eye on your bank balance, one eye on your choice of coffin and one eye on your next car ))))) Just do it! and start the adventure.

After one year;
The car is very very fast and regularly returns 450km range in a warm Australian climate
The car handles speed and corners well once you acclimatise to its weight
The semi air suspension rides as well as my previous S-Class
The car is very very comfortable over long distances and charging is handled by my iPhone app "Chargepoint" which I use through Apple Play
The family (2 mid-teens) are very comfortable in the back seat, no complaints


This a best driving range, spirited driving drops the range to 420ish


Small things can also be big things
My first annual service was interesting. When I arrived at MB, the service manager said "Wow!, first one I've seen" This did not inspire me. When I asked what a service included he answered that he had no idea, with a smile on his face as he handed me the loan car and told me to go to work "I will look after your car" he said. My heart greyed a bit more.

My list of "first world" issues

1. The brakes squeal in the last moments of coming to a halt. MB answer: "They all do it" I have AMG brakes that are not being driven hard enough so they squeal. No solution

2. The MBUX Augmented reality screen is "foggy" because the forward-facing camera on the windscreen fogs up when the air conditioning is on. MB answer: "This is a known problem and a new camera will take several months to arrive in Australia". No immediate solution

3. The list of loaded charging stations in the MBUX is mainly for NISSAN EV's (WHY?) which are incompatible with MB EV's. This means that the GPS cannot navigate me to correct chargers when travelling long distances. MB answer: "MB Europe loaded the Australian charging stations as part of the MB mapping and this cannot be changed, Don't you use the Chargefox app?" I bought the car so I would not have to stick my iPhone on the windscreen OMG!OMG!OMG!

4. The maps in my car are 2019 (as shipped from Europe) and do not have all the new Sydney motor tunnels. MB answer: "All Mercedes maps are usually 12-18 months old and are updated annually at best, we have updated your maps to 2020 and turned off your auto speed monitoring to stop your car braking suddenly in tunnels that are not mapped". The effect of this further labotomises the technology of the car and with outdated maps being provided by MB, there will be no solution.

5. Rotate my tyres. MB answer: " Your tyres are different sizes from front to rear so cannot be rotated" Woops, missed that one!

First service complete with not many solutions, but the issues are minor!


With regard to the versatility of the EQC, I regularly throw my racing bike (Large) into the back with no problem, roof racks not required. I have also put a dishwasher and clothes dryer in the back, together, and not scraping the sides or roof. My sons two surfboards also fit with the split seat so they can still sit in the back.




I am not enamoured with my MB dealer or MB but I do enjoy EV driving and the EQC. I have driven the Tesla S and recently the Audi E-Tron 55 and still believe the EQC400 is the better all-round choice.

I will buy another one in a few years when MB release a 100% EV based SUV/station wagon


In a few years this colourful look may be considered a bit gaudy


Natroth is offline

jcapotos

Very nice write up. The EQC was on my short list along with Audi ETron. When USA was dropped for EQC, I went for the Audi. EVs are wonderful. Just a side note on the MBUX Augmented fogging, I have the same issue on my other car, a 2020 GLE 450. It doesn’t happen too often, so I just live with it. Sometimes the cure is worse than the illness. Lol

rey_winslow

Nice wheels on the bike! Can't make out the frame. A bit of cross chaining, sorry.

Natroth

Specialized S-Works Venge with ENVE 65 clinchers. 5.5kg. It's a fast bike, pity about the rider

rey_winslow

I hear you on the rider part.

parkwood

Your summary seems to capture the feel of the car well. After test driving one for 2 days I am totally smitten and am close to signing on the dotted line. Not had time to write up my experience will try to do tomorrow but thanks for sharing your experience helped nudge me to try one out.

Pete1977

"I wanted a towbar"

This mob has a towbar for the EQC - quite a cut is required though:
https://etowbars.com/au/Towbars/Merc...nz-EQC-towbars

parkwood

Have specified the factory fit on mine which comes out from under the car and locks electrically into place and retracts the same way. The cut out is awful I wish they had designed it like the tow bar covers in the bumpers ie with a removable cover which clips in and out. Have to say I have had a tow bar as shown in the video link it was an absolute pain to fit ok to take it off but assembling was hit and miss.

GavAus

Hi Pete,
Many thanks for your posting showing your new towbar.
Just a quick question - did the company who installed the towbar retain the cutout and incorporate some sort of provision to allow this to be re-inserted once the towbar neck has been removed.?

GavAus

Hi All,
I thought I'd share some images of my new car bra. I had one of these made for my X5 and found it worked really well. Great for country driving and it keeps the nose of the car well protected. Fitting and removal is pretty easy and the general fitment of the bra is really good. The bra has clear plastic over the lights and light bar. No issues with the parking sensors or radar.
I purchased this from Car Bra Australia - you'll note their label on the front RH side of the nose.

parkwood

Thought you might like this photo of a factory fit electric towbar showing the cut out. Not my car but the one I test drove. My dealer organised a custome event and had several cars on display inc this. As you can see it is quite a hole!

Wassaby

Just curios why you didn't install a 3M clear bra for protection?

GavAus

Hi Wassaby,
We have coarse chip roads here in Australia and I sustained an actual dent on the front curved part of a bonnet from a flying stone on a previous car I owned. I then purchased one of these car bras and had no issues - though the earlier dent could just have been bad luck.
The car bra vinyl is thicker than PPF and I think it would provide better protection against larger stones. It also keeps the actual nose of the car relatively clean even after really long journeys.
The car bra costs considerably less than PPF.
The bra requires effort to install every time (about 15 mins), but I only use it for extended journeys/holidays.

mickhoog

HI mate,
Have they fixed this yet?
As I understand it, that if you’re in location A and you put in location B which is further than the 400km your EQC can do, the MBUX doesn’t advise you where to stop on the way so you can’t maximise your journey?
Thanks.

Natroth

HI mate,
Have they fixed this yet?
As I understand it, that if you’re in location A and you put in location B which is further than the 400km your EQC can do, the MBUX doesn’t advise you where to stop on the way so you can’t maximise your journey?
Thanks.

Your understanding is correct, sadly. You need to be plan every longer drive using alternative technologies. That said, in Australia, nearly all of the charging outlets are way off the freeways so when it is time to recharge you need to leave the freeway to find them and then re-enter several kilometres down the track.

I eventually got to speak to an MBUX Technician at Melbourne MB Head Office. He confirmed that the "D-Auto" service will remain disabled for mapping in Australia and the MBUX charger location database is a mix of Nissan/Mercedes locations that cannot be sorted, also these are up to 18mths old. He then added that future models will move to Google mapping so the problem will become redundant. This means that MB has no interest in correcting this for current models. Once again, shortchanged by MB as they see fit. I now use an assortment of EV phone apps through carplay to overcome the MB MBUX shortcomings

Natroth

Wireless carplay and Internet in the EQC
So, I was suffering a tiny bit of Tesla envy about the fact that they can watch Netflix when sitting at chargers, or in the waiting line for chargers. I began to research ways to fix this in my EQC and found a solution. A little blue box called "MMB Android 9" does some nifty things when plugged into your car. Firstly, it makes carplay wireless which is very handy as I use it to access my EV apps in the car. Secondly, this amazing little box allows wireless internet access using your phone hotspot feature. This internet access includes Youtube and Netflix natively. All is not perfect though. MB has limited the screen size for apple car play to less than the full width of the screen in the EQC 400 which carries over to Netflix as well. This aside, I can now sit at the charger and watch Youtube or Netflix as I recharge and keep the family occupied. I know you can already do this on your phone or iPad but the combination of wireless carplay and the internet meets my need to amuse everyone in the car and overcome some MBUX shortcomings.

Setup is super simple but you do need to activate your hotspot each time you wish to use the internet features, a small issue.


Sorry, I am a Trekkie