Most people do not know just how amazing electric vehicles are going to be. I realized this when I was 300-ish feet up a towering, windblown dune in the Mojave Desert, in a vehicle canted at roughly 30 degrees. I was in a Mercedes-Benz GLC EV prototype that was sliding sideways, nose at the sky, maintaining a four-wheel high-incline drift with its limitless electric torque.
I looked at distant mountains through the now-sideways panoramic sunroof, while the car showered itself in sun-sparkled sand, and my stomach drifted toward the center console. I felt frozen. It felt impossible. The other prototypes at ground level looked to be a million miles away, obeying a different gravity.
I was somewhere up the far side of this dune.
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
All this was happening in a compact luxury crossover, the kind of vehicle that typically pretends to be an SUV but can’t usually do SUV-things like this. There’s no six-figure secret here, no impossible engine or trick suspension. This is what you can do with 596 lb-ft of torque and some good motor control. And it’s only going to get better from here.
(Full Disclosure: Mercedes invited me to come along for a development drive of the new GLC with EQ Technology outside of Las Vegas. The company put the journalists up in a swanky hotel and gave us food.)
What Is It?
The electric GLC—or more formally, the GLC With EQ Technology—is another do-over EV for Mercedes. As you can tell, the company still hasn’t learned how to name a product, but at least the EQ-names and bubbly styling are gone.
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Source: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
The company is relaunching its EV efforts with two new tip-of-the-spear models. The CLA EV will introduce its new 800-volt architecture and software-defined platform for smaller vehicles, while the GLC is the first SUV on Mercedes’ new larger EV architecture, which is closely related.
2027 Mercedes GLC EV: Prototype Drive
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
The “software-defined platform” verbiage may sound like marketing speak, but it’s arguably the most important thing going on here. While “legacy” car companies have typically farmed out much of their software development to suppliers, companies like Tesla and Rivian proved that you could make cars simpler, lighter and more reliable by centralizing computing power and designing your own software stack.
That helped Mercedes drive down weight, increase efficiency, reduce complexity and offer what it claims is a fully upgraded software stack (which was not production-ready during this demo).
The GLC applies a lot of those lessons to make a smarter, more over-the-air-upgradeable car that’s lighter, more efficient and, in my brief experience, simpler and smoother.
I drove the dual-motor version, inexplicably dubbed the GLC 400 4MATIC with EQ Technology, in the Dumont Dunes in California. While it was a brief prototype drive, I walked away excited about how well-rounded and fun a proper software-defined, dual-motor EV can be.
2027 Mercedes GLC EV: Prototype Drive
Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
Of course, that won’t be the only option. Mercedes will offer the GLC in two flavors: rear-wheel-drive GLC 300+ will have over 400 miles of range, 369 horsepower and 371 pound-feet of torque. But I was in the desert to drive the Mercedes GLC 400 4Matic with EQ Technology.
We often couldn’t see out of the side windows due to the sheer volume of sand being kicked up by the rapidly spinning front tires.
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
How Did It Do On The Dunes?
The “400” in that PowerPoint presentation of a name means that this is the more powerful version, at least of the initial lot. Expect a tire-shredding AMG model in the future. For now, you’ll have to make do with just 483 horsepower and 596 lb-ft of torque.
2027 Mercedes GLC EV: Prototype Drive
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
That’s more torque than you got in the Mercedes SLR McLaren supercar 20 years ago, and it’ll rip the GLC to 60 in 4.2 seconds. And remember, this is not the fastest version.
Numbers have also gotten so big that it’s hard to remember what they practically mean. Here is my attempt to resolve that: With 596 lb-ft of torque, a 5,291-pound car has enough twist to maintain a four-wheel donut in deep snow indefinitely. Ruts, rocks, and 30-degree inclines do not seem to dissuade it. You put your foot down with stability control off, and the car lights up all four tires instantly, and in perfect sync.
My favorite shot of the GLC.
Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
Now, on a loose surface, most luxury SUVs have enough power to break traction. But what separates EVs is how they can maintain and control their slides. A gas GLC will be trying to keep its over-stressed four-cylinder in the meaty part of its torque curve as speed and throttle position change.
When it dips out of its power band, even for a second, the wheels regain purchase and then need a bigger shove to break traction again. In practice, that means you get a chugging, surging sensation that feels horrible.
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
But the power in an EV is different. It is immovable, perfect, somehow. You put your foot into it to break the car loose and, as long as you don’t let off, it’ll just drift, and drift, and drift. It’ll slide up the side of mountains and directly across deep ruts from its own tires. Even when we were on such steep sand that the rear end was sliding out behind the car, the Mercedes test engineer just kept his foot in it, and the car surged up the hill that was collapsing underneath it.
What an incredible machine.
2027 Mercedes GLC EV: Prototype Drive
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
Practically, it’s not an insane accomplishment that this is possible. A 1,000-horsepower Rivian R1T or Hummer EV would surely be even more of a romp in the dunes. But what’s amazing is that this is actually practical; You don’t need a six-figure supertruck to have limitless torque and the ability to safely deploy it on any terrain. You just need some decent suspension and throttle calibration.
Watching a GLC throwing rooster tails in the desert, I was stunned by how normal it looked. This is not some far-flung science experiment. It’s just a normal, dual-motor EV designed by a company that’s learned a few hard lessons in EV design.
Mercedes GLC EV Prototype: Early, Early Verdict
The desert dunes are not the real-world environment in which you are likely to find a Mercedes GLC. This is a luxury car first, a fun-to-drive car second and a family car third. Off-road ability doesn’t really make it onto the list. But driving the car in extreme conditions, I was impressed by how overbuilt and capable modern electric crossovers are. With so much torque, you never have a moment of hesitation between your right foot going down and your eyes going back.
Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
In those everyday moments, when you have a gap in traffic or an empty backroad, the sensation of raw power and seamless control is likely to be a blast. Like all EVs, the GLC has to contend with a heavy curb weight. But my early experience proved that this is going to be an agile, fast, silent luxury SUV that’s tough enough for dirt-road abuse and confident enough to be fun.
2027 Mercedes GLC EV: Prototype Drive
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
It’s a reminder of why the electric future is exciting. You can get the power and controllability required for four-wheel drifts in a package primarily designed for hauling families around town. You get something that can outrun most pre-2010 sports cars to 60, drift like a WRC car and still commute in perfect silence.
Companies are still learning how to take advantage of these possibilities, as many EVs on sale today are effectively generation-one mass-market products. But as a drifty, silly drive in a Mercedes GLC proved to me, excellent all-around EVs are a lot closer than we think.
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com.
