Mercedes-Benz EQC 4x4² review

Quite the simple verdict on the ownership prospect: you can’t. The EQC 4x4² is - at the moment - not a production vehicle. TopGear.com has it on good authority that if there were sufficient interest a small production cycle would be eminently possible, however. In fact, the ‘prototype’ is brilliantly finished and - apart from a few NVH and minor noise issues - could be used as a daily-driven car. Ok, so it’s a bit silly and you’d need a bit of space to actually use it, but it’s eminently more appropriate than the endless G63s seen kicking around Kensington. It charges in exactly the same way as the standard car, has all the same creature comforts and is otherwise spot-on.

The only issue is really where it would suit most. It’s exceptionally good at rock-crawls and mud-plugging, but dune-bashing would require a bit more squish in the suspension than the EQC 4x4² currently has. And as for the issue of charging when out in the wild, very few people actually ‘overland’ their adventure vehicles - it’s more of a fun day out kind of thing. At which it would excel. It’s also got a towbar for a trailer and an optional roofrack for an inflatable dinghy and roof tent. Though if you’re serious about going off-grid, you might want to make that trailer a three-phase generator, or a serious stack of photovoltaics…

Realistic facts and figures would be hard to come by, but it’ll cost a little bit more to run than a standard EQC, won’t get attacked for tax and will be as reliable - fewer moving parts than an ICE car, for a start. Plus, the limited - possible - availability will mean that if ‘Benz did put the Squared into a small series production, it’d probably hold its value as an oddity, if nothing else. It’d be one hell of a city car, I tell you that...