Audi Q8 e-tron vs Mercedes-Benz GLC

The Audi Q8 e-tron costs £6,700 more than the Mercedes-Benz GLC. For that premium it adds a 1.3s quicker 0-62mph time. The Mercedes-Benz GLC is not just cheaper - it also offers 124 miles more WLTP range, 180 kW faster peak rapid charging and 110 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Mercedes-Benz GLC comes out ahead overall.

The Mercedes-Benz GLC is £6,700 cheaper to buy. The Mercedes-Benz GLC is cheaper to charge, roughly £176 a year versus £232 for the Audi Q8 e-tron, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Mercedes-Benz GLC comes out roughly £6,980 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 234 miles for the Audi Q8 e-tron and 297 miles for the Mercedes-Benz GLC - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Mercedes-Benz GLC goes roughly 63 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 31 minutes in the Audi Q8 e-tron and 22 in the Mercedes-Benz GLC, so the Mercedes-Benz GLC loses less time at each stop. That makes the Mercedes-Benz GLC the stronger long-distance car.

The two are within 24 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 487 mm of total clearance for the Mercedes-Benz GLC and about 463 mm of total clearance for the Audi Q8 e-tron.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Audi Q8 e-tron and 84% for the Mercedes-Benz GLC. 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.