Saturday, 12 December, 2020 - 07:47
The all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQC has won the prestigious 2020 New Zealand Car of the Year - the second year running for an electric vehicle.
The EQC is a notable vehicle not only in its own right, but also as the first member of the vitally important fully-electric Mercedes EQ range, which is set to expand to 10 new models of various shapes, sizes and configurations within the next three years.
The New Zealand Car of the Year is selected by members of the New Zealand Motoring Writers’ Guild, the professional body for motoring journalists and content creators from around the country. The guild’s two-dozen voting members test the vehicles in their home environment - important for providing a ‘real world’ result.
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Stuff Motoring also gave the EQC the nod as our Top Medium SUV for 2020. Richards said that the EQC was also an example of how electric vehicles are nearing price parity with their petrol and diesel counterparts in at least some segments. “If you look at where the EQC fits into the broader Mercedes-Benz range on size, specification and performance, its price is not out of place at all.” We here at Stuff Motoring thought the same thing when we gave the EQC our Top Medium SUV win, reasoning that the fact it was an EV was actually secondary to the fact it was an excellent mid-size SUV on par in terms of pricing, specification and performance with similar vehicles in its segment regardless of their form of propulsion.