A new “G-Mode” setting activates when you select low range or lock any differential via the familiar metal dash buttons, and adjusts the steering, throttle, adaptive dampers and transmission accordingly.Īs brutally tested on the Schöckl-the local mountain near the G-Glass factory in Graz, Austria-the G-Wagen can easily climb or descend a 50-degree incline, or a more gut-wrenching (to me) 35-degree sideways slope. Ground clearance actually rises, including 10.6 inches beneath the lifted, newly independent front axle approach, departure and breakover angles are improved and the 4x4 crawling mode gets an even-lower gear ratio. Unsurprisingly, more than half of G-Glass buyers have opted for mega-dollar AMG ones-a higher percentage than for any other Mercedes car or SUV.Īnd though I didn’t get a chance to go four-wheeling during my week with the Benz, the G-Class hasn’t sacrificed any off-road chops it still offers a steel ladder frame, low-range four-wheel-drive, three locking differentials, and soaring suspension travel at all four corners. Of course, you also buy it because you can: For too many people, a G-Wagen is purely about badge status or spending a ton of cash, as evidenced by super-frivolous versions, including an all-new AMG G63 (starting from $148,495) that supplies 577 horsepower through a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, good for a 4.4-second assault from 0-60 mph. As The Drive contributor Brett Berk aptly noted, a G-Class is like a vintage Macintosh tube amp or a Purdey shotgun (I’ll add Patek Philippe watches to that list): It’s something you buy because of what that product says about you, or the way its authentic design and analog function speaks to you. But gray market sales at six-figure price tags and that pillbox-on-wheels style had already made it a favorite among Americans who happily overpay for handmade designer goods with a great backstory. Design studies for the G-Wagen go back even further, to wooden (rather than clay) models in 1973 that envisioned a militaristic off-roader that adventurous civilians might also favor.
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Even a Corvette, at its complacent peak, only went 14 years between full redesigns (1968-1982). This famously right-angled SUV replaces a model whose basic parts trace back 40 years. Take note, everyone reading this: The 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, née Geländewagen, sets a record that will surely never be broken among modern automobiles.