If youโve never heard of the iconic and historic Mercedes-Benz G Wagen, you really need to spend more time on Instagram. Or, alternatively, just ask a teenager.
The G Wagen โ essentially a giant bush-bashing Benz thatโs tough as nails and has been an off-road weapon since 1970 โ has become a firm favourite with celebrities, rappers, and gangsters the world over. Possibly because itโs so over the top, in terms of its style (rough and ready outside, properly Mercedes inside), as well as its price โ you can pay more than $400,000 for one, if you really wanted to.
Traditionally powered by noisy and thirsty engines, Mercedes has now launched this new and very amusing fully electric version of the classic: the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology.
So whatโs the story behind the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology?
If youโre wondering why an off-road, outback-mastering machine can work with the limited range that electric vehicles are famous for, donโt be so silly. Almost no-one ever takes a G Wagen out of the city these days.
Itโs a fashion statement, a bank balance advertisement on wheels, and the electric one is the latest/greatest version, thus making it a must-have for a certain segment of the population.
Oh, and it can spin around on the spot, thanks to the fact that it has an electric motor in each wheel. Meaning it can send those wheels in opposite directions, which will look very, very cool on Instagram.
Whoโs the buyer?
I donโt want to say โposeursโโฆ but Iโm going to.
Mercedes likes to say that the G580 will be bought by serious off-roaders who appreciate the fact that the stupendous torque and power available in a machine โ with effectively a small carโs worth of grunt in each of its four wheels โ make the damn thing even more capable in the rough stuff than a traditional G Wagen.
To that, I would say that this car costs almost $250,000, and no one whoโs spending that kind of money is going to dare risk damaging it by driving through a river.
Tell us about your first impressions.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about this new G Wagen is how much it looks like the old one. But then again, thatโs very much the G Wagen design approach: it hasnโt really changed in 50 years, and that solid, square, old-school look is what people love. So why mess with it?
Usually, car designers like to give visual cues that a car is electric rather than combustion-powered. In this case, however, Mercedes-Benz seem to have gone to the other extreme, leaving almost no clues as to the fact that this G Glass is not like the others.
Climbing inside, it felt even more familiarly G-Wagen. At least until I put my foot down in it, and everything went blurry.
Give us the top lines on performance and/or efficiency/range. Whatโs it like to drive?
The electric G-Wagen โ or E-Wagen, as they probably should have called it โ is an almost alarmingly overpowered machine.
Despite weighing three tonnes, it accelerates in a way that makes your stomach hurt and your eyes water. I found it impossible not to groan in pain while hurling along a windy bit of road, but I also did laugh out loud.
The idea of putting an electric motor in each wheel sounds a bit mad, because it is. The combined power from all of those motors (and a 1,16kWh battery) is a properly ridiculous 432kW, with an even more bonkers 1,164Nm of torque.
Keep in mind that EVs deliver all of their torque all at once from zero rpm, so if you put your foot down, youโre getting a Newton Kilometre, and a bit of shove, and on the roadโฆ this is quite intimidating.
Off road, Iโm sure all that torque would be very handy, say, if you needed to drive up Everest, or through a wall. Though itโs almost too much, at times, in the real world. Itโs also a bit of a hard-riding beast, but you get that in off-road trucks.
As amusing as it is hitting 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds with something the size of a small house, the biggest laughs come from its party tricks: G-Turn and G-Steer.
If youโre wondering why you might want a car that can spin through 720 degrees on its axis, Mercedes helpfully explains that off-roaders sometimes get stuck in tight spots and need to perform tricky reversing moves. But with G-Turn, they wonโt want to.
Sure, that explains why spinning through 180 degrees might be very handy, and hugely cool to watch. The fact that the car allows you to spin around completely twice, however, is pure showing off. It also looks like the kind of thing that would make you feel quite sick from the driverโs seat.
Weโll be the first to admit itโs actually hugely fun, and rather than making you sick, it just makes you laugh. And then do it again. No other car offers anything like it (so far).
Because the G 580 can effectively run in one-wheel drive, it can also offer G-Steer, which allows you to drift this big bus around obstacles like a tree in an extremely cool rally-style way.
Tech & connectivity โ whatโs the word?
Thereโs a lovely dual 12.3-inch driver instrument and central media display, offering Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wirelessly, all kinds of ambient lighting, plus a Burmester 3D Surround Sound stereo system as standard.
And the lowdown on safety?
On top of a hefty 11 airbags, youโll also score crash-avoiding technology like Active Steering Assist, AEB, traffic sign recognition, Active Cruise Control, lane-keeping assist, driver fatigue monitoring, and a 360-degree camera.
The most memorable โ or heartbreaking โ thing about your drive?
Obviously, itโs hard to go past the unique thrill of performing a G-Turn, over and over again. Though in all honesty, the most memorable thing was a blast along a winding, enjoyable road and crushing my insides with its savage acceleration between each bend. The way the G 580 held on to the road was also surprisingly impressive.
One thing you should know before a test drive?
This SUV will quite likely scare you. For years, weโve been promised EV supercars with a motor in each wheel for mad power delivery. Mercedes has delivered.
Tell โem the price, son!
Being expensive seems to be one of the biggest selling points of the G Wagen, and buyers who want to spend big on something big wonโt be disappointed, given the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology starts at $249,900.
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