2020 Mercedes-Benz EQ C electric crossover spied nearly production-ready

Mercedes-Benz  has talked quite a lot about its plans for electric vehicles, especially the upcoming EQ C electric crossover SUV. But beyond heavily covered prototypes and a glitzy concept, we haven't had a particularly clear picture of the vehicle. Until now, that is. One of our spy photographers caught a prototype of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz EQ C with the bare minimum for camouflage, a body-hugging vinyl wrap.

The most interesting part of the crossover is the front fascia, which is a significant departure from current Mercedes-Benz styling. The grille is upswept, unlike the frowning shapes of other recent Mercs, and it extends all the way to the headlights. There's no body-color section dividing them. The headlights themselves are a unique shape that starts thin at the edges and sweeps downward toward the inside. Looking closely, a body panel appears to wrap around the bottom of the grille and match up with the shape of the headlights. It will likely be painted a contrasting color, possibly black. All of these cues are pulled from the concept shown in 2016.

The rest of the EQ C appears to be fairly conventional, as Mercedes-Benz cars are concerned. It has a profile and wheel placement of a traditional internal-combustion, rear-drive car with a long nose and plenty of space between the front axle and the A-pillar. It's an interesting design decision considering that such a layout is likely unnecessary. The lines are smooth, curvy and organic. The windows and taillights wouldn't be out-of-place on any other Mercedes crossover. The back end is quite bulbous, though, almost looking like an even more rounded Land Rover Velar tail. The wheels are also noteworthy, as the design is based on the concept's wheels, just made more simple. And inside, it has a typical Mercedes interior with giant dual screens for instruments and infotainment.

The Mercedes-Benz EQ C is slated to go on sale by 2020. While powertrain details haven't formally been revealed, the concept that spawned this crossover had dual motors, one at each end, providing 402 horsepower to all four wheels. It also had a range of between 250 and 300 miles. If these specifications translate to the production model, it will be aimed squarely at the Tesla Model X, Jaguar I-Pace and Audi E-Tron. That also means that a base price in the $70,000 range, or even a little more, is likely.