• Dashboard has a familiar Mercedes look
• Slick graphics, plenty of physical buttons
• MBUX system very easy to control

If you’ve been in a current Mercedes model – or read reviews of other models such as the A-Class, E-Class and GLB – the dual-screen set-up of the EQC looks very familiar.

In fact, save for some novel – more contemporary finishes in terms of colours and texture – the dashboard could be for any Mercedes. If you want a touchscreen-dominated dash with few physical buttons, the interior doesn’t have the same appeal as those of the Audi E-Tron and Jaguar I-Pace.

Nevertheless, the graphics are super-sharp and configurable to vary the looks of the digital dials, while the ambient colours from the LED mood lighting can be varied – and animated – through the complete rainbow of hues.

In a few areas, those physical buttons lack the solidity one might expect of a car wearing a Mercedes badge, but the touchpad controller for the MBUX multimedia system works very well.

Many of the controls are augmented by a hands-free personal assistant, similar in operation to a domestic Amazon Alexa set-up. You don’t even need to press a button to operate it – simply say ‘Hey Mercedes’ and it responds to your human  inputs – rather than rigid, robotic instructions.

Is the EQC comfy?

• Ride quality is a strong point
• Wide range of front seat adjustment
• High door panels make the interior feel snug

Sit in one of the EQC’s front seats and you’re treated to the kind of comfort experienced elsewhere in the Mercedes range.

First impressions are that the chairs are unyieldingly firm, but you soon appreciate that they support you superbly, with sufficient comfort to ensure you’re not wriggling around in your seat to relieve aches.

There’s plenty of electrical adjustment to so that you can fine-tune your driving position, with a manually extending cushion for those who prefer a longer seat base.

In the back, the outer two positions are fine in the sense of while they’re comfy, if you were going on a longer journey you wouldn’t opt to sit there. The middle of the rear bench is more of a short straw position.

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Ride quality is well-judged in that the EQC absorbs imperfections well, without the ride quality becoming so floaty as to induce nauseous sensations in passengers afflicted by such trouble. Doubtless, the EQC’s 2,495kg heft helps keep it planted, but because much of that weight is low down in its structure, it doesn’t list about like a yacht in a force 9 gale when you come to tackles a series of bends.

One curious sensation is that the EQC feels more snug inside than the very similar petrol- and diesel-engined GLC. The reason seems to be down to the elevated height of the top of the door panels, making the windows appear to be less deep while inside the car. On the outside you realise this is merely sleight of hand, with black foil at the base of the windows hiding the taller plastic mouldings.