Ah EQ… we will not miss you. The Mercedes-Benz EV always ended up disappointing somehow, either design, interior, design... something was never right. Enough that EQ failed. And this almost failed too, I have a conspiracy theory that the iconic design was super last minute from Mercedes. Because if you go back to early prototypes of this car, it looked completely different. Much more EQ. Much more… forgettable. Which is why I have a bit of a conspiracy theory here — that this new “Iconic” #Mercedes design language was a very late decision. A reset, and if that’s true… it might be the best decision they’ve made in years. Because in a lot of ways… this might actually be the best daily Mercedes on sale right now.
Because this is the new Mercedes-Benz GLC Electric — built on a completely new MB.EA 800V platform, with 489HP, 800Nm, 0–60 in 4.3 seconds, and up to 405 miles of range - and a level of tech that makes this feel like one of the most advanced cars they’ve ever built.
In today’s video, we take the GLC 400 4MATIC Electric out for a full first drive, and break down exactly what this car is — and more importantly, why it feels so different to everything that came before it.
We’ll cover:
Full walkaround and the new “Iconic” design direction
MB.EA platform deep dive and what it enables
Powertrain, performance and that two-speed rear gearbox
800V charging, battery tech and real-world range
Interior, screens and whether it’s actually better than S-Class
Pricing, trims and full spec breakdown
GLC 300+ vs GLC 400 4MATIC differences
And the drive: comfort, speed, handling and refinement
On paper, it’s already impressive:
But what really matters is how it all comes together. Because this car doesn’t just feel fast — it feels Mercedes. The ride quality, the refinement, the way the systems work together, even the way the tech is integrated… this finally feels like a complete Mercedes product, not an experiment.
There’s serious engineering here too — from the two-speed rear transmission, to the one-box braking system, to a fully centralised computing architecture running four liquid-cooled high-performance computers managing everything from driving to infotainment.
And when you start comparing it to rivals like the BMW iX3 Neue Klasse, things get interesting — because Mercedes has taken a very different approach to how this car drives and performs.
