Mercedes EQC review

You wouldn’t expect to have any issues with front space in a car as large as the Mercedes EQC, and the good news is you won’t – not unless you're very tall, anyway. Good-sized door pockets, a lidded cubby (with integrated cupholders) beneath the air-con controls and further stowage space under the central armrest make it great for family life too.

There’s no doubt the Audi E-tron is altogether more accommodating for people sitting in the back. Indeed, leg and head room in the EQC are more restrictive than in the rival Jaguar I-Pace, but the Mercedes has more room for three across its rear bench seat than the Jaguar. We've only tried cars fitted with a sunroof, which reduces head room a little. If you want seven seats, you'll need to splash out more on a Tesla Model X as the EQC is a five-seater only.

The EQC also has a smaller boot than the E-tron, BMW iX3 and I-Pace. That's mainly because it’s quite shallow, but there is some underfloor storage space and the bulk of the load bay is a uniform shape, yet usefully wide near the entrance thanks to deep recesses. There's no annoying lip to heave heavy items over and it’s really easy to fold down the 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats. You just flick a switch and the seatbacks drop of their own accord, leaving a completely flat extended load area.