BMW iX vs Mercedes-Benz GLC

The BMW iX costs £17,305 more than the Mercedes-Benz GLC. For that premium it adds 40 kW more power and a 2.3s quicker 0-62mph time. The Mercedes-Benz GLC is not just cheaper - it also offers 135 kW faster peak rapid charging. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the BMW iX comes out ahead overall.

The Mercedes-Benz GLC is £17,305 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £152 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Mercedes-Benz GLC comes out roughly £17,185 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 355 miles for the BMW iX 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 BMW iX goes roughly 58 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 35 minutes in the BMW iX and 22 in the Mercedes-Benz GLC, so the Mercedes-Benz GLC loses less time at each stop. So the BMW iX stops less often while the Mercedes-Benz GLC stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The Mercedes-Benz GLC is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 57 mm narrower than the BMW iX. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 487 mm of total clearance for the Mercedes-Benz GLC and about 430 mm of total clearance for the BMW iX. The Mercedes-Benz GLC also turns in a 0.7 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 BMW iX 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.