Hyundai IONIQ 5 N vs Mercedes-Benz EQC

The Mercedes-Benz EQC is £160 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £208 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the two land within £160 of each other - effectively the same to own. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 232 miles for the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N and 216 miles for the Mercedes-Benz EQC - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Hyundai IONIQ 5 N goes roughly 16 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 27 minutes in the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N and 40 in the Mercedes-Benz EQC, so the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N loses less time at each stop. That makes the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N the stronger long-distance car.

The Mercedes-Benz EQC is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 56 mm narrower than the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 516 mm of total clearance for the Mercedes-Benz EQC and about 460 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 89% battery health for the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N and 84% for the Mercedes-Benz EQC. That gives the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.