Electric Mercedes-Benz G Wagen tested
Though it may look old on the outside, this modern classic is arguably the most advanced electric car on sale today.
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Restomods are all the rage nowadays and it’s easy to see why.
Blending timeless styling with modern mechanicals is a dreamy recipe, but sadly most are either hideously expensive, like the Singer Porsche, or leave a sour taste with their unreliability and dubious safety.
A far better option is the Mercedes G-Class that looks like it rolled off the production line back in 1979 but actually harnesses Benz’s cutting-edge tech.
This must-have automotive fashion accessory for the rich and famous has gone under the knife.
But unlike those who drive them, there hasn’t been a collagen implant in sight.
Instead, the G has undergone the slightest of tweaks to the front pillars, a minor nip and tuck at the top of the windscreen screen, a smoother new grille has been introduced and a pair of revised bumpers slapped on.
Most won’t spot the changes, unless it’s at night when you’ll be blinded by its new LED matrix headlamps.
It’s another story beneath the skin.
For the first time in its 45-year history there’s an electric version, and it’s no token effort.
Forget single or dual-motors, the G 580e bags four – a single motor for each wheel, with the compact pancake-shaped motors delivering an incredible 108kW a piece.
Combined, the G 580e musters out an astonishing 463kW and 1164Nm – 3kW more than its V8-powered G 63 sibling, with lots more torque – although it needs all that might as it tips the scales at an obese 3085kg.
Not that you can tell with 0-100km/h taking just 4.7 seconds – but that’s not the beauty of the new G.
It’s most attractive attribute is its uncanny ability of never getting stuck when you go off-road.
Show it a mountain and it just climbs, especially with its new Off-road Crawl cruise control engaged that takes care of the throttle and braking leaving you to simply try not to accidentally steer yourself off a cliff face.
Other new tech includes a useful G-Steering feature that brakes the inside wheels for an umbrella-round-a-lamp post pivot turn, plus a more dramatic G-Turn tank turn that rotates the entire car on a six pence, that will be starring on your TikTok soon.
Capable of wading deeper than ever before the electric G is surprisingly efficient in the dirt with the EV capable of running for 1.5 days off-road on Benz’s test track compared to just half-a-day in the thirsty V8 – but with Australia’s patchy infrastructure you’d be braver than me to drive out to the bush in one.
Almost undoing all its good work is not the 473km range – which is fine – but the fact the big Benz can only be topped up at a rate of 200kW, meaning a 10-80 per cent charge takes a tardy 32 minutes, not good in a world where 350kW top ups are becoming the norm.
Back on the road the G 580e is fast, quiet and refined but still a bit of lumbering beast.
It’s here the petrol-powered version claws back an advantage with the G 63 feeling transformed by the addition of new body roll-cancelling tech lifted from the latest AMG GT supercar.
Leaning less than before, as well as better to drive, the V8 is even more capable in the dirt and still sounds pretty wonderful, courtesy of its side-exit pipes.
Inside, from the carriage train clunk of the door as its slammed to the rifle-shot sound of the central-locking self-locking, there’s nothing quite like being perched high in the leather-lined luxurious cabin of a G-Wagen.
And with fit and finish on par with an S-Class you can almost justify the outrageous $360,000+ that’s expected to be charged for either the V8 or electric one.
Which would we choose?
Until we drove the V8 version we were pretty sold by the allure of silent effortless EV, but once behind the wheel of G 63 we remembered just what we were missing.
MERCEDES-BENZ G 580e
PRICE: About $360,000 (estimated)
MOTOR: Four electric, 463kW/1164Nm, 116kWh battery
WARRANTY/SERVICING: Five years/unlimited km, tbc
SAFETY: Ten airbags, auto emergency braking, lane-keep assist, speed limit assist, active steering assist, blind spot assist, exit warning function, a 360-degree camera, transparent bonnet and adaptive cruise.
RANGE: 473km
LUGGAGE: 640 litres
SPARE: Full-size
Originally published as Electric Mercedes-Benz G Wagen tested
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