2025 Mercedes G-Class First Drive: Updated G Wagen Gets Broader, Better

MotorTrend

We just got back from our first drive of the refreshed 2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Watch along to see what we thought!

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:07 What's boxy a Mercedes and dates back to the late '70s?

00:10 You get three guesses, and the first two don't count.

00:13 Yeah, that's right.

00:13 It's the beloved G-Wagon.

00:15 And we just got back from our first drive in the refreshed

00:17 2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

00:20 Here's what we thought.

00:22 The 2025 G-Wagon's big takeaway is there are now

00:25 three powertrains to choose from--

00:27 a 3-liter turbocharged inline 6, a 4-liter twin turbo V8,

00:31 both with mild hybrid power, and an all-electric version.

00:36 Look, the G-Wagon is an exercise in preservation.

00:39 All of them look basically the same.

00:40 So unsurprisingly, these new ones

00:42 also drive as G-Wagons should.

00:44 Both the G550 and G63 come equipped

00:47 with a 9-speed automatic four-wheel drive and three

00:50 locking diffs as standard.

00:52 On road, the 443 horsepower inline 6 G550

00:56 is incredibly smooth and quiet.

00:59 If you're getting ready to pour one out for the V8

01:01 it replaces, don't bother.

01:02 There's no turbo lag whatsoever because

01:04 of the integrated electric motor generator.

01:06 Likewise, the 577 horsepower G63 is also smooth,

01:12 but smooth in the way a right hook is.

01:14 It punches off the line.

01:16 And while the electric drive system is pretty imperceptible,

01:19 you can sense it's working in the background to fill the torque

01:22 curve.

01:22 This engine is turbocharged, but it sure

01:24 as hell doesn't feel like it.

01:26 And that's definitely because of the hybrid system.

01:28 Off road, the G550 works and works well.

01:32 This Beverly Hills mall crawler climbed mountains, man.

01:35 Its trio of locking differentials

01:37 make it pretty unstoppable.

01:38 So unstoppable, in fact, that we'd even

01:40 be comfortable comparing it to the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

01:44 and Ford Bronco.

01:45 You know, the class of SUVs with locking front and rear diffs.

01:49 As for the G63 off road, unreal.

01:52 There's a new hydraulically linked suspension

01:54 that lets it corner super flat and super fast.

01:57 It soaks up moderately sized bumps and dips

01:59 like they're child's play.

02:01 We even jumped it.

02:02 And the truck absorbed that shock

02:04 while keeping things comfortable in the cabin.

02:06 The cabin retains the same layout as the outgoing G-Wagon.

02:10 However, we'll note here that these small exterior

02:12 aerodynamic tweaks that Mercedes did,

02:14 along with additional sound deadening,

02:16 make this the quietest G-Wagon cabin ever.

02:19 You can actually have a conversation

02:21 with fellow passengers at highway speeds.

02:24 Mercedes did not announce pricing at this time,

02:26 but it's not like the G-Wagon is going to get cheaper.

02:29 You can expect things to start at over $140,000.

02:32 [MUSIC PLAYING]

Category

Transcript

Recommended