Mercedes debuts pricing for the electric 2020 EQC 400 4MATIC SUV in LA

We've experienced Mercedes-Benz ' first production EQ vehicle several times throughout its development, and we'll be damned if it wasn't good. Since driving it the last time, though, there's been a nagging question in the back of our minds: What will it cost?

Mercedes-Benz opted to finally drop that crucial bit of information on the world during the LA Auto Show on Wednesday, and frankly, it's nowhere near as bad as we were expecting.

So, before we get to that all-important number, let's take a look at some others. Namely, 402 and 561. That's the amount of horsepower and torque in pound-feet that the 2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC makes with its two electric drivetrains. Not bad, right?

Next, how about 80: That's the number of kilowatt-hours that the EQC 400's battery pack is good for. Mercedes is playing things close, so we don't have any official mileage estimate yet, but we'd bet it will be competitive with its chief rivals -- also known as the Audi E-Tron and the .

OK, now how much will all this cost you? Surprisingly -- at least to us -- Mercedes is planning to offer the EQC 400 at a starting price of $68,895 including destination and before any kind of federal, state or local tax incentives. The E-Tron, for comparison's sake, starts at $74,800. The cheapest I-Pace you can buy is $69,500 before any fees.

Not bad, right? The one caveat -- and this is kind of a big one -- is that we don't know precisely what is standard and what's optional on the EQC 400 4MATIC. We do know that Mercedes is going to offer it in three trims at launch -- Progressive, Premium and Advanced. Safety features such as Distronic aren't available on the most affordable Progressive trim level, so who knows what else made the cutting room floor to get the EQC's price where it is.

Still, we're excited for production EQCs to start hitting dealer showrooms early in 2020, especially since production has already begun at Mercedes' factory in Bremen, Germany.

The 2020 EQC is the Mercedes-Benz of EVs

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