Before a new car arrives on the market, it is subject to several months, sometimes years, of rigorous tests in the world. Sweden often welcomes a large part of this trip, its northern cold expanses offering the perfect mixture of freezing temperatures and frozen surfaces.
This is where I myself was able to do a little test of the next EV to come from Mercedes-Benz. It is the GLC with EQ Technology, an electric version of one of the most popular SUVs in the company. With new batteries, new engines and a high -voltage loading system, it marks a significant difference and upgrading of the current EV offers of the company like The.
But could it be better to drive? This is the question that brought me to Sweden. I am generally quite comfortable driving on ice and snow. I have certainly done it long enough, living in the northeast of my whole life and my ice race for 20 years. But, put me behind the wheel of an invaluable prototype and built by hand and I usually take a few more minutes before I started to really push things.
This is not the case when I arrived behind the steering wheel of the Electric GLC SUV. In less than 30 seconds, I had my foot flat on the ground, and I, with a development engineer with wide -eyed eyes, I stole on a path covered with ice by having a birch support.
This is how good the new GLC traction and stability systems are good. Where most cars will simply reduce all the power in a slippery situation like this, especially those practical like a typical crossover SUV, GLC was much more given. When the handle was low on sections of dark glass ice, the system reduced the power application and prevented me from making a large dear bump in a snow bank.
When the handle was there, however, the GLC quickly went back to maximum acceleration, based on the power of its double electric motors and its holes to make us follow gently and properly between the trees. These engines and the intelligent who control them are all part of the new Mercedes-Benz platform, MB.EA. These are permanent magnet type engines, with the one before with physical disconnection to reduce your drag when it is not necessary.
The car also includes a new heat pump capable of absorbing thermal energy of the ambient air as well as the different internal systems of the car. Mercedes engineers said it would warm the cabin twice as quickly by using half of the energy than their current electric vehicles. Indeed, the interior of the GLC was quite comfortable despite the temperatures well below the frost.
Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the range of the vehicle under these conditions. This is just a pre-production prototype after all. However, I expect a substantial improvement compared to the 307 miles that the SUV EQE can manage on a load. GLC batteries are based on revised chemistry, supposed to reduce dependence while increasing energy density. This means more miles per battery book.
Another thing that contributes to extending the range is a revised regenerative braking system. The GLC will include several different rates of regenia, including a mode in a pedal that will put the SUV to a complete stop. However, when you opt for the brake pedal, you may notice that it seems a little weird.
It’s because walking on the pedal does nothing. Similar to A, the resistance here is simulated. You do not feel a hydraulic system by tightening pistons, just sprinkling springs.
It is a different feeling, but not a bad. The idea is that the car will give you a regular and consistent feeling, no matter what you do or how you drive. The car itself will determine the amount of deceleration desired can come from the regenerative power of electric motors. When he needs more than what they can provide, he perfectly calls the physical brakes for strengthening.
In practice, it works brilliantly. The car stops gently and properly, and there is no unequal occasional braking that you get when you get the stop pedal in an EV hard. The lack of feedback from the pedal when the ABS is a little disappointing, but I then heard that Pulse leads some people to lift the brake pedal, so maybe it’s for the best.
By trampling the other pedal, once again, the GLC accelerates strongly. It is fast enough to entertain drivers concerned with performance. However, given the low -cost nature of the roads and paths that I have covered, I cannot say how competent it will be.
I can say that the optional air suspension has done a sublime job on really terrible road conditions. Orns, washing boards, gel uprisings, you call it, the car soaked it happily, even increasing the suspension of an inch when deeper snow and ice required a little more clearance on the ground. On the slower roads, the GLC was all the little quiet limousine that you want a luxury EV. There was a little noise from the road to aggressive snow tires, but this thing should be a delicious cruiser on normal tires.
The only problem? We will have to be patient. The GLC should make its official debut in Germany in September, which means that it will probably not be in production before 2026. Mercedes-Benz has not yet set price for electric GLC. Given the state of the world at the moment, it is to assume that anyone who will look like the incentive / tariff situation for foreign electric vehicles, even those built in the United States as the current of Mercedes-Benz.
If it is the price, however, and if it does not seem too horrible once these camouflage stickers and the hidden protuberances are deleted, it should be a winner. I cannot already wait another go behind the wheel and another chance of becoming even more comfortable.
This article originally appeared on engadget to
