The Fully Electric Mercedes-Benz GLC Is a Huge Step Forward

Mercedes's EQ-branded EV lineup is chock full of cars in few shapes and many sizes. But the most important variant, from a pure sales-and-popularity standpoint, is missing: an electric GLC. Fear not, that missing piece is arriving, courtesy of what Mercedes tells us to call "the GLC with EQ Technology." We'll pass on that—let's just call this the GLC EV for the sake of both brevity and clarity.

The GLC EV is the first Benz product riding on a new electric platform, this one called MB.EA. The hope is that the new architecture will allow Mercedes to catch up with rivals, including Porsche, Hyundai, and Kia, all of which offer faster charging technology than Mercedes does today. Like the punchiest systems currently available, MB.EA uses an 800-volt electrical architecture and is claimed to support DC fast-charging at more than 320 kW under optimal conditions. Range on the optimistic WLTP cycle is estimated at just over 400 miles, so expect a number closer to 300 in EPA testing.

Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4MATIC with EQ Technology

The GLC EV will be sold alongside the regular gas-powered GLC, despite the two cars sitting on different platforms with completely different underpinnings.

Both single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive models are under development, with my drive of a prototype taking place in the GLC 400 AWD version, which will carry 4Matic branding. Output is a mighty 483 hp, which is available any time you put your foot to the floor and is not blocked out behind certain drive modes.

To no one's surprise, the EV is quick—though not so quick as to trouble gas-powered performance variants like the GLC 63 AMG, as the new car's weight slightly dulls the anticipatory excitement of the near-500-hp figure. The one novel aspect of the powertrain is the new rear motor's two-speed transmission that aims to accomplish the same goal as it does in the Porsche Taycan or the Audi E-Tron GT: increase efficiency and optimize performance.

Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4MATIC with EQ Technology

This GLC EV's platform prioritizes space between the wheels for a large 94.5-kWh battery pack, giving the vehicle a surprisingly long 117-inch wheelbase for its class. All of this extra space goes straight to rear-seat passenger room, making it closer to an EQE SUV from a practicality standpoint. The roof is on the low side, inhibiting maximum cargo space, though the sheer length of the car helps it make up for utility lost in the vertical direction. Plus, unlike other Mercedes-EQ models, this one has a frunk. The GLC EV is wieldy for something its size too, with rear-wheel steering adding up to 4.5 degrees of angle and cutting the turning circle to under 37 feet, smaller than that of the gas-powered GLC.

Mercedes's air-suspension technology is set to be an option on the GLC EV, and on the prototype I drove, this helped make it feel more supple than the gas-powered car. Some of the improved ride quality can be attributed to the EV's extended wheelbase, but the air suspension does great work to keep things settled without feeling too floaty. Mercedes engineers told me the car is around 80 percent complete from a calibration standpoint, so ride and handling should improve further beyond this drive in a prototype.

Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4MATIC with EQ Technology

The re-created mountain road simulation on Mercedes's Immendingen proving ground revealed this GLC to be competent and dynamically familiar to other GLC models. There was enough shove from the more potent rear motor to encourage some slip angle on hairpin corner exits. But there was also a little roll and slop when pushing along quicker than normal, revealing the suspension definitely prioritizes comfort. That's probably as it should be in a non-AMG Mercedes product, leaving plenty of overhead for Mercedes to tauten things up later.

Engineers have paid special attention to braking in the GLC EV, implementing new hardware that brings the brake booster, master cylinder, and electronic stability control into a single module. Mercedes claims this unified system is better able to provide a consistent brake-pedal feel as it switches between regenerative and friction braking, which is exactly what I felt in the prototype.

Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4MATIC with EQ Technology

Gone is the gelatin-like pedal sensation of other Mercedes EQ models, replaced with an unerringly smooth pedal no matter if you're just barely pressing it to come to a gentle stop or getting on it hard to scrub speed in time for a sharp corner. It's a huge upgrade in drivability and predictability in every situation, even the one-pedal mode that offers strong enough stopping power that you'll likely never need to get on the brake pedal outside of unexpected, sudden slowdowns.

The goal, Mercedes engineers tell us, was to create an EV that's familiar and similar to drive as the current GLC to provide an easy transition for folks making the switch to electric. So far, mission accomplished, and Mercedes has done so with electric-car tech that improves on many of the shortcomings seen in other EQ products.

Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4MATIC with EQ Technology

We can't see past the camouflage yet, but the exterior design is already looking far more alluring than the egglike first-generation EQ models. Even the interior is giving hope that Mercedes has heard the cries and complaints about going too far down the road of big screens and touch interfaces. For example, the GLC EV's steering wheel features a physical scroll wheel for volume control and a toggle for cruise-control adjustment instead of the touch controls found on most current Mercs. The same goes for seat controls, which transition away from the odd and immovable buttons to ones that rock when you push them.

When queried, engineers simply tell us the new, physical switchgear is present as a response to customer feedback, which sounds like a victory for common sense. Based on this limited first impression, the electric GLC seems set to be a fine EV.