Mercedes-Benz mints cash with the G-Class. At one level a late-Seventies leftover in its mannequin plan, the G has rocketed in standing to change into one in every of its bestselling and most worthwhile—and glitziest—Benz automobiles.
It stays its most succesful off-roader, no query: with three differential locks, 9 ahead gears, loads of inches of floor clearance, and tons of of pound-feet of torque it generates as a lot good bother because it has the power to extract itself from. And that makes it irresistible for athletes, reality-TV characters, and content material creators to be seen in a single.
It’s been an awesome success, and that universe can solely increase with the 2025 G 580 with EQ Expertise. With a hefty battery pack beneath, 4 motors, 579 hp, and heritage that shames Rivian, Hummer, and particularly the Cybertruck, the electrical G-Class guarantees freedom from pavement, all courtesy of battery energy.
It additionally proves out, Benz believes, the knowledge of its quest to ultimately electrify each traditional mannequin line it builds.
“If the G can go electrical,” Mercedes advertising vice chairman Bettina Fetzer informed a gaggle throughout a background session every week earlier than this take a look at drive, “any automobile can go electrical.”
I’ll by no means change into Web-famous for proudly owning one, not on the G’s starter-home costs, not for all of the lip filler in L.A. County. However I do have one step up on the celebs lining up for one now.
I’ve pushed it already.
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 550
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 550
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 550
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 550
Mercedes-Benz G 550: Ditching the ripping V-8 for a silky turbo-6
For the gas-powered Gs, this 12 months brings extra of a mid-life replace than a full rethink. It stays a ladder-framed, five-seat SUV that sits on the pinnacle of off-road functionality, due to every little thing that sits beneath its box-tastic physique.
Within the G 550, the previous twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 drops out, whereas a 3.0-liter turbo-6 drops in, teamed to a 9-speed computerized. With 443 hp, it’s 27 hp stronger than the outdated V-8 and due to a normal 48-volt mild-hybrid system, it could possibly prime that off with an extra 20-hp and 184 lb-ft of increase when it launches from a cease, or throughout different high-load conditions. The impartial entrance suspension and reside rear axle nonetheless undertake adaptive dampers. Floor clearance nonetheless posts up at 9.5 inches, at a minimal, and fording depth lets it trudge by way of as much as 27.6 inches of water.
Over a street course circling the city of Narbonne, France, the G-Class smoothed out its farm garments, revealing a automobile that’s not modified a lot dynamically since we drove the newly reinvigorated 2019 G-Class in the identical a part of the world. It’s been mildly up to date exterior with bits designed for the electrical G, together with aspect fairings and a windshield-header spoiler for higher airflow.
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 550
As for the inside, the dashboard will get illuminated air vents and a steering wheel with capacitive contact controls, and twin 12.3-inch screens that show gauges and infotainment—in addition to the Offroad Cockpit, which spreads details about automobile tire strain, altitude, steering angle, and differential locks throughout its mixed span. As well as, digicam views sew collectively to provide the motive force a view of what’s occurring beneath the entrance finish and by the wheels to assist navigation by way of tight, rocky trails. All else feels acquainted in feel and look.
On a reasonably difficult path laid out on an ascent towards power-producing windmills, the G 550 picked by way of grunky rubble in its typical steadfast means. Extremely easy and succesful, it inspired tapping the diff-lock buttons like piano keys, whereas the views from the Offroad Cockpit spun and lit like one of many extra stylish casinos. I leaned ahead within the seat to keep away from pistoning whereas we yumped over protruding rocks that hardly grazed the skid plates. The sturdy outfitting nearly places individuals out of labor: in one other off-road period, we’d have wanted a navigator, a spotter, and somebody to come back reel us in after we lower a tire sidewall on a rock.
There was a lot much less want for concern on the road loop that adopted. The turbo-6 spins up in whorled of extremely easy torque, whereas the G 550’s multi-contour seats pumped up their bolsters because the G’s weight shifted into the steeply curved roads that hyperlink the lakes and valleys of this nook of Occitanie. The ability supply’s not so completely different from the previous V-8, and neither is the way wherein the G 550 bounds over dodgy runs, leaning and bracing its passengers from harsh transitions.
2025 Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63
2025 Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63
2025 Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63
2025 Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63
Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG: The place the V-8 lives on
Not each gas-powered G-Class has an inline-6. The rorty twin-turbo V-8 lives on within the G 63, fleshed out with a vibrant and husky soundtrack to the tune of 585 hp, shifted by way of a 9-speed computerized. With the identical 48-volt mild-hybrid system because the G 550, the AMG G 63 may be barely extra environment friendly than earlier than, nevertheless it’s arduous to note because it lurches then rockets to 60 mph in as little as 4.3 seconds, stretching its legs towards a 149-mph prime finish.
On the identical street loop, its V-8 remained very a lot a talker: it burbled and blatted suggestions from throttle inputs, muted if you’re on the within however with out subtlety for those who’re perched by its exhaust ideas. Watch it peel out of a car parking zone and listen to its Jurassic roar, and there’s little doubt which G-Class it’s.
Then, I dove into the valley loop with gusto. The G-Class’s new electrohydraulic Lively Experience Management suspension didn’t get fazed. Its channels of hydraulic fluid construct strain in opposition to physique lean the place a torsion bar usually would restrict motion; Mercedes says it’s quicker to reply, permits for wider spring tuning, and permits a softer experience. With three completely different ranges of actuation within the G-Class’s drive modes (which add two with Lively Experience Management), the system grants the AMG G 63 a lot improved physique management. A lot of the pinnacle toss I’ve felt in older G-Lessons has been filtered off, and it’s a lot simpler to drive rapidly when the situations enable it. Its electrical energy steering acts extra exactly because the suspension squares higher in opposition to the street, and whilst you’d most likely decide one thing higher suited to go quicker on skinnier roads, this one will do it.
Take it to a particular high-speed off-road loop, as I do after a gut-shaking demo lap from a professional Benz driver, and the G 63 turns into a maul that splits muck from rock at unimaginable speeds. The lap time’s pegged at about three minutes and my take a look at pilot hammers at it till we slide a 3rd of the way in which round on the rear. Whereas the trick suspension charms the bumps from the pavement, it additionally grants higher wheel articulation—whereas the G 63’s assortment of drive modes and features lets traction and stability management fade out of the image. Jouncing, flouncing, sliding, veering, bouncing, I find out how Samsonite baggage feels when it’s flung into planes now. It’s the perfect three minutes I’ve all week. For the second.
I’m laughing on the entire ridiculous concept of a 6,000-pound SUV doing all of this, or needing to do that, however not when it’s my flip to do that. Not when my co-pilot turns traction management all the way down to a 3, and the G 63 AMG wags its tail like a new child guppy by way of an off-camber descent. I slide by way of turns, wait a half-century for the wipers to clear the tidal wave of muck kicked onto the flat windshield, and peg it once more, then place it for a hillclimb.
The teacher says to step it as much as 80 kph (50 mph) for the subsequent crest. I’m a people-pleaser so I flick it as much as 90 kph (56 mph)—and we soar over a leap spot, airborne for a second, then contact down with a barely squirrely movement on the rear. Pigs could not be capable of fly, however the G 63 AMG can, to the gentle consternation of all.
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
Mercedes-Benz G-Class EV: Electrifying stunts, higher off-road too
But when it’s stunts you need, there’s no multi-trick pony on Earth that delivers what the brand new battery-powered G 580 with EQ Expertise can. Only a week prior, I had stood on the shore of the Beverly Hills reservoir when it bowed as Travis Scott rapped a half-hour set from the roof of the automobile whereas Bradley Cooper chilled on a banquette and George Russell stood a half-yard away. Now who’s spinning within the new electrical G-Class first?
Anybody fearful that battery energy would scale back the G-Class to a shrinking showpiece ought to test the board. Electrical energy offers it a brand new edge, not simply in quiet enjoyment of the world past the street, however within the neater strikes it could possibly execute to keep away from ruining that very same panorama.
With the identical physique and ladder body, the electrical G 580 folds in a 116-kw lithium-ion battery housed between ladder rails and coated by a thick carbon-infused plate. With 216 cells, 12 modules, two layers, and three cooling circuits, it pumps up the G-Class to roughly 6,800 kilos in comparison with about 5,500 kilos for a G 550 (there’s no tow hitch; any pulled automobile would put it into the identical weight class because the Hummer EV). U.S. EPA-rated vary ought to test in at about 240 miles, and with 200-kw charging it ought to take simply over a half-hour to refill from 20-80%. Mercedes doesn’t plan for a customized off-road charging community, however the electrical G will get a NACS charging port quickly.
A quartet of 108-kw electrical motors places out 579 hp and 859 lb-ft of torque, and every will get its personal transmission for a real low-range mode. The electrical motors additionally eradicate the necessity for locking differentials since every wheel’s torque may be managed individually. The specs find yourself in sync with the AMG 63: the G 580 hits 60 mph in lower than 4.7 seconds, although prime pace will get capped at 112 mph.
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
An hour’s avenue drive warms the impression of the battery swap. It’s hushed, after all, and the heft of the pack works in live performance with the suspension’s adaptive dampers and DeDion tube (swapped in for a inflexible axle hyperlink, to clear the rear motor) to mute much more swells within the pavement. It steps away strongly, and within the background, the so-called “G-Roar” subs in digital sounds that evoke however don’t mimic these of a V-8.
A wise regenerative braking setup gathers details about cornering angle and pace to redirect vitality again into the battery throughout deceleration; paddle controls flip that Auto mode right into a D+ mode that delivers minimal regen, whereas Regular and D- and D- – modes increase it successively, although they arrive up shy of full one-pedal driving. The friction brakes have hydraulic help, and together with 265/60R18 tires and a Regular drive mode, the G 580 has a really SUV-like turning radius of 44.6 ft.
The important thing specs, although, inform a promising story: Floor clearance between the axles of the G 580 EQ stands at the very least at 9.8 inches. It provides a breakover angle of 20.3 levels, an strategy angle of 32.0 levels, and a departure angle of 30.7 levels.
The priorities get clear when the electrical G-Class heads for trails. Open its home windows and luxuriate in some silence. It’s so quiet, I can hear nearly three ft of water splursh up in opposition to its door panels whereas we cruise by way of the aftermuck of heavy spring rains. It may ford greater than 33 inches of water, higher than the usual G, and it bounds across the identical trails that the gas-powered fashions deal with with ease, unworried over the occasional impacts in opposition to its carbon underside.
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
Drive modes, G-Steering and G-Turns
A lot of the electrical G’s conduct will get ruled by drive modes tuned by in depth prep work on the identical paths as the opposite fashions. It’s been examined on the identical mountain trails at Austria’s Schöckl as the usual G-Class, and there and right here, the electrical G’s off-road cruise management units it up for low, variable, and quick off-road crawl functionality of as much as 5 mph, all engineered by way of exact motor management. It’s undeterred by scarring stones that crop up into the trail, and the cruise modes enable off-road driving to principally be watched over by the motive force with a flick or three of the paddles.
The same old on-road Consolation, Sport, and Particular person drive modes be part of with Path and Rock packages, and it’s the latter one which engages with the G 580’s most crafty stunts. Rock mode permits Low mode, which reduces every wheel’s gear ratio to 2:1 and limits pace to about 53 mph. From there, G-Steering takes simply the faucet of a button. Come to a decent bend within the path with no place for a Okay-turn? Flick it on, and the all-wheel-steering system slashes turning radius so long as the floor isn’t too grippy. I slid round a tree trunk caught within the neck of the street, whereas a gas-powered observe automobile needed to decide across the bend rigorously. Ithen whipped it by way of a coned slalom by making sloppy full-lock cranks on the wheel and letting it pivot itself by way of knots. It’s a machine that begs to slip the place it appears prefer it shouldn’t.
Then I attain the open filth area the place I can provide one remaining spin—a literal 360, or 720, in fact. On low-friction stage surfaces the G 580 indicators off on electrical superiority with G-Flip. Rivian’s related Tank Flip characteristic was canceled resulting from environmental issues, whereas the GMC Hummer EV and the associated Sierra EV have a CrabWalk setup for diagonal driving. G-Flip outspins them. In D, with Rock and Low modes chosen, a full crank of the steering wheel and a press on the accelerator pivots the SUV in a decent circle, nearly like a skid-steer, allowing two full revolutions.
2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Expertise electrical SUV
In a second and with out a lot prep in any respect, I put the SUV into G-Flip mode and centrifuge myself right into a spasm of snickers. I’ve slid round vehicles on ice earlier than, however nothing ready me for the dizzying loops that occur with out fuss. I maintain down the paddle, then mat the accelerator, and it skid-steers round in an almost good circle, two full rotations earlier than it locks down the system. It’s a vehicular get together trick for the ages, and one which merely underscores how succesful the battery-electric G is.
It’s nothing much less within the luxurious division, both. Driving on a 113.8-inch wheelbase, at 182.0 inches lengthy, 76.0 inches extensive, and 78.2 inches tall, the G EQ ladles on the electronica amongst its typical energy options, open-pore wooden and leather-based trim, and ambient lighting. It lights up a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen for infotainment, with customary Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Normal security options embody adaptive cruise management, lively lane management, lively steering with blind-spot displays, and computerized parking. Its digital structure doesn’t help Degree 3 Drive Pilot, nevertheless. Add on Burmester sound, twin 11.6-inch rear-seat shows, a dashcam, and a wi-fi charging pad for those who like, or 20-inch wheels, operating boards, and a bundle that lights the star emblem, the mannequin identify, and the EQ badge.
The electrical G-Class arrives at sellers late this 12 months. Costs haven’t been confirmed, nevertheless it’s probably the G 580 with EQ Expertise will value greater than $150,000—probably as a lot as $200,000 primarily based on European costs already introduced, or perhaps a quarter-million as soon as it’s upfitted and customised as many will likely be.
Certainly few of its drivers will object to the value. Sticker shock is for different individuals. 1 / 4-million for what’s positive to change into one of the vital coveted movie star vehicles in historical past? Perhaps a quarter-million isn’t sufficient.
Mercedes-Benz paid for journey bills so we may spin ourselves foolish within the G 580 and get our New Balances caught in muck.
