Audi e-tron vs Mercedes-Benz EQC

The Mercedes-Benz EQC costs £5,740 more than the Audi e-tron. For that premium it adds 50 miles more WLTP range, 70 kW more power and a 1.7s quicker 0-62mph time. The Audi e-tron is not just cheaper - it also offers 160 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Audi e-tron comes out ahead overall.

The Audi e-tron is £5,740 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £208 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Audi e-tron comes out roughly £5,620 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 174 miles for the Audi e-tron and 216 miles for the Mercedes-Benz EQC - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Mercedes-Benz EQC goes roughly 42 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 30 minutes in the Audi e-tron and 40 in the Mercedes-Benz EQC, so the Audi e-tron loses less time at each stop. So the Mercedes-Benz EQC stops less often while the Audi e-tron stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The Mercedes-Benz EQC is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 51 mm narrower than the Audi e-tron. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 516 mm of total clearance for the Mercedes-Benz EQC and about 465 mm of total clearance for the Audi e-tron. The Mercedes-Benz EQC also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Audi e-tron and 84% for the Mercedes-Benz EQC. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.