FRANKFURT—The G-Wagon doesn’t look much different from its first edition 36 years ago – still a box on wheels, still highly capable, still hugely expensive.

It was Mercedes’ only SUV for the first half of its life, but now it’s just one of six different off-roaders in the line-up. This year, the G550 has a new engine and all three Canadian trims have a few tweaks here and there.

Prices aren’t yet official, but the least expensive G550 will cost about $123,000, the more expensive G63 AMG will be about $153,000, and the most expensive G65 AMG will be well north of even that.
Walkaround

There’s no mistaking the G-Class, with its tall profile and almost vertical windshield. It’s a German version of the old Land Rover, designed for utility first and foremost. Earlier this year, professional explorer Mike Horn drove a G-Class from Switzerland to the base camp of K2 in Pakistan; last year, Gunther Holtorf finally retired his G-Class after driving through more than 200 countries over 26 years, for 900,000 kilometres.

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Being a Mercedes, it’s also designed to be luxurious. One of its most popular markets is the Middle East, where locals call it a “sheikh-mobile”. It’ll take on both desert and the Dubai drag, so it will have no problem on the Trans-Canada Highway.

The G-Class is superbly finished, as any vehicle this expensive should be. In fact, it’s probably finished too well – you don’t really want to scratch those rims on any gnarly rocks, do you?

The new 2016 model has a slightly different front bumper, but that’s about the only outside difference to tell it from the previous generation.
Interior

Climb up into the G-Class and the luxurious interior seems almost out of place at first. The thick leather seats adjust every way you could want, including cinching tighter for better support through corners.

The dashboard is slightly revised for 2016, using what Mercedes calls a “two-tube instrument cluster with 11.4-cm multifunction display.” The differences are very subtle, however. I couldn’t see much difference with the previous generation, which also had a round tach and speedo on either side of a small display screen.

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There’s lots of headroom, which is hardly a surprise, and up to three passengers in the back seats sit a little higher than those in front. You’ll fight over the legroom, though: if the front seat passengers want to stretch their legs, the people in the back seat will be crushed, and vice versa.
Tech

The G-Wagon is all about power and off-road ability. I went for a drive on a challenging muddy course with a very calm professional trainer in the passenger seat and was astonished by what the big SUV could do. It climbed up and dropped down impossible hills, forded a stream almost a metre deep, and clambered over rocks that didn’t faze its 438 mm of ground clearance.

Suspension is retuned this year, but it’s still quite soft – at least the G550 comes this year with adaptive damping that allows a choice between Sport and Comfort and which limits body roll at speed. The G63 AMG does not. It has only one (firmer) setting that’s a compromise between highway and off-road. When I asked why this is so, Mercedes’ chief engineer could only shrug and explain that the G-Wagon is a 36-year-old vehicle.

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I got the same response when I asked why there is no available lane assist or similar driver’s aid – the windshield is too steeply raked for an effective camera, I was told. And then another shrug. “We’re working on it,” he said, “but this is a 36-year-old vehicle.”

For 2016, the G550 gets a new 4.0L V8 biturbo engine that makes 422 hp and 450 lbs.-ft. of torque. That’s a big improvement over the previous G550, which made 382 hp and 391 lbs.-ft.

The G63 AMG now creates 571 hp from its 5.5L biturbo V8, and 560 lbs.-ft. of torque. If that’s not enough, we’ll also now get the 12-cylinder G65 AMG, which is good for 630 hp and 738 lbs.-ft.
Driving

Climb K2? Piece of cake. Travel around the world 22 times? No problemo. Drive to the store or use your G-Class like a normal vehicle? Well, that’s a whole different issue.

The G-Wagon has a long list of faults that its owners probably think of as “quirks.” It’s loud, thanks to slamming into the wind like a slap to the face. Rear vision is compromised by the back-seat headrests and, if they’re removed, by the huge rear tire that fills a chunk of the back window.

Fuel consumption is awful, again thanks to the lack of aerodynamics and surplus of weight. Mercedes claims the new biturbo G550 is 17 per cent more efficient than before, but really, that’s not saying much. Its European combined rating is 12.3 L/100, and the G63 AMG is 13.8; I drove the G63 AMG for a couple of hours and saw an average of 22.9 L/100 km.

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My drive was partly in the city, partly on the Autobahn, and mostly in traffic, none of which helped consumption. The G63 is electronically limited to 210 km/h but I backed off at 180 on the Autobahn because the big truck felt too skittish at that kind of speed. This is due to its greatest fault: its steering is still through a recirculating ball – high-tech three decades ago but uncommon now.

The steering takes some getting used to because it’s extremely light. There’s almost no feedback from the road through the wheel, and turns take an extra twist of the arms to complete. This is great if you’re threading through the Indian jungle but not so good on the smooth highway.

The driver’s foot position is also not comfortable. The throttle pedal felt too close to the seat no matter how the seating position was adjusted. It was a relief to set the cruise and stretch my foot at every opportunity.
Value

As for value, it depends on how long you plan to own the vehicle. Most people keep their G-Wagons for ever, and with basic maintenance, it’s pretty much indestructible. There are very few available as used vehicles and so they hold their value well.

However, it’s a lot of money to spend for something so low-tech. You can get far more for far less, even within Mercedes’ own lineup of SUVs. The equivalent-powered GL full-size SUV, for example, is about two-thirds the price (though it’s about to be replaced by the GLS) and is far more comfortable, quiet and pleasant to drive.

But it’s not an icon.

Conclusion

The G-Wagon is, without a doubt, one of the most capable off-road vehicles available. It can duke it out for top spot with the Range Rover, which is also very expensive and luxurious. If you’re in the market for a vehicle like this, you’ll drive both and the final choice will be subjective.

But the G-Wagon is also very low-tech. It has few gizmos to help the driver and for a vehicle of this size and weight, it’s not that comfortable for stretching out.

None of this will matter much to G-Wagon owners, though. They’ll drive their boxy trucks and love them, whatever their quirks. After all, deep down, there’s a little sheikh in all of them.

Source: www.autofocus.ca

IMHO that car was ugly then, and is still ugly now.... the majority of high end 4x4 trucks look better than this eyesore.

The G Wagon was not built for aesthetics but for its ruggedness and raw performance capabilities.

A truck with up to 630 horse power cannot be pretty.

What pains me is when I see people who should be I. The know say things like the g wagon is the most advanced suv

i no know wetin people see for this ugly box,me i prefer my bmw x6m anytime