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Mercedes EQC Spied Testing at the Nurburgring, Looks Like a Tesla Killer

You have to wonder what Tesla thought when they made the Model X. I mean, it looks like a big minivan, not like an SUV at all. And that leaves plenty of room for the German automakers to jump in and steal away some of the EV market.
Mercedes EQC Spied Testing at the Nurburgring, Looks Like a Tesla Crusher 3 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Mercedes EQC Spied Testing at the Nurburgring, Looks Like a Tesla KillerMercedes EQC Spied Testing at the Nurburgring, Looks Like a Tesla Killer
So far, the Model S has been spanking regular luxury sedans like the S-Class and 7 Series. But we have a sneaking suspicion that the EQC, as well as the Audi e-tron, will outperform the Model X.

We're not talking about Ludicrous drag races, but about real luxury, the kind that makes you go "yes, I will spend more than $100,000 on this car." Track testing at the Nurburgring is something most European companies do for the sake of both handling and reliability. It could be the edge Mercedes is looking for.

The EQC was previewed by the EQ concept about two years ago, and it's going to be launching in 2019 but presented this fall. By 2022, Daimler says it's going to have ten fully electric models (3 from smart), so if you're looking for something bigger, you won't have to wait much longer.

What we're looking at here is still a sensible family car, but it will have two electric motors with 150 kW, each powering an axle. The total output should be around 400 horsepower, in line with both the Jaguar I-Pace and Audi e-tron quattro.

With a 0 to 100 km/h time of around 5 seconds, it's not going to give The P100D a run for its money. But if you look at the features Mercedes has, things become more interesting. Firstly, there's the stuff fitted to the MBUX on the A-Class, like voice commands and AI. Also, the EQC will have paddle shifters on the steering wheel to control how much regenerative braking is going on.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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