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The ‘Birkin bag’ of the Mercedes portfolio has arrived
The Mercedes - Benz G - Class — the rugged off - route powerhouse that launched in 1979 and has since become a brutalist status symbolization — has gone galvanic . This is , in many slipway , Mercedes ’ most prestigious car , a example more prized for its mien and exclusivity than its power and capability . Going electric , then , is more than an historic moment for the iconic Geländewagen ; it is the swelled mental test yet for the company ’s recently scaled back electrification plans .
Mercedes ’ approach to electrify the honored SUV suggests the German automaker empathize the stake . The first electric version of the G - Class not only meet but also beats its internally combusted vis-a-vis in terms of force and off - route capability . What is surprising is the name .
Meet the Mercedes - Benz universal gravitational constant 580 with EQ Technology . That ’s good , not the EQG , break the pattern set out by all - galvanising predecessor like the EQS , EQE and EQB . Starting with the G - Class , all novel barrage fire galvanising Mercedes models will outfit into the company ’s traditional alphabetic taxonomy .
That ’s a significant variety from a branding stand , but it makes sentience when you look at the matter . The electric gm shares a material amount with its internally flip one’s wig predecessors . If Mercedes need to break that style and integrate the electron volt into the traditional model terminology , this is the place .
Nuts and bolts
Like the other Gs , the G 580 is still built on a traditional ladder skeletal frame , a common layout in truck and function - build off - roaders . Likewise , it still uses a self-colored axle out back , again favour by serious habitant of the trails . The electric G does make a yielding to modernness with an independent front dangling apparatus , but that ’s also just like the other current G - Class flavors .
Perhaps more significantly , it looks almost identical from the forthcoming 2025 refresh of the G - Class . Mercedes made a few subtle tweaks to the styling , most notable being a black grille plus some distinctive , EQ - single lighting . There are other change such as slightly rounded corners and the ilk to countenance this SUV ’s precipitous shape cut through the wind more cleanly , but they ’re near - impossible to spot .
Take one flavor , though , and it ’s easy to see that aeromechanics is not the precedence here . Off - route performance is , and Mercedes has go all - out , creating a bespoke drivetrain for the G - Class .
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A bet on off-roading
This is where affair get radically different from the various gasoline - power G - family models .
Like the high - spec models of Rivian’sR1TandR1S , the G - Class is driven by four electric motors — one for each wheel — mounted inboard on the SUV ’s form . Each of these motors even has its own two - pep pill transmission , a selectable reduction gearset that permit the EQ flavor of the G - Class to have a down - range manner , giving it extra torsion and ascendence in blue - grip scenarios .
A four - motor setup give accurate control over individual steering wheel swiftness , enable better adhesive friction management than a traditional locking differential apparatus could manage . It make the opportunity for some fun tricks , too .
The hallmark is what Mercedes shout the G - Turn . hydrant a few buttons on the center of attention console , retain either the left or right boat paddle on the steering wheel , and then step on the accelerator , and the G - Class spins about on its axis .
It ’ll do up to two stark rotations like this , just enough for a bit of showboating , but Mercedes says it ’s actually for making a quick going from out of the blue terminated trails , something again see earlier from Rivian .
Another , more practical feature of speech is called G - Cornering , where the G - Class can reduce the speed of the inner rearward wheel when turning . This will help the G - Class pilot tight , twisty trail far more efficiently than a typical off - roader with locking differentials .
Crucially , neither of these feature is available on the G - Class theoretical account with interior combustion engines . If you want them , you ’ll have to go electric . And the extra capacity do n’t terminate there .
The EQ G - Class can wade through water system 33.5 in deep , about six full column inch deeply than the other Gs . It also put up an special 0.3 inches of primer clearance and an extra degree of coming angle .
A hot EV in a tepid-demand world
If you ’re distressed about ruggedness , Mercedes - Benz says you should n’t be . The grand 580 with EQ Technology has metal and carbon fibre protection around the 116 - kilowatt - time of day battery pack . It ’s also fully isolate from pee , grease and whatever other muck you run it through . It ’s not , however , made using the atomic number 14 - anode applied science fromMercedes ’ partnership with Sila . Those are due to arrive in a “ range - extended ” adaptation of the electric one thousand within the next few years , according to a Mercedes - Benz representative .
It may prove to be a desirable selection . Despite offering 16 kWh greater electrical capacity than aModel X , for example , the galvanic G wo n’t go nearly as far on a direction as the Tesla . Mercedes say it ’ll do 473 kilometre on the European WLTP cycle , which should equate to roughly 250 mi on the American EPA test , far short of the Model X ’s 335 - mile EPA rating .
Despite the range , the electric G - Class sounds like an telling package , enough to woo any true fan of carrying into action away from the manakin with internal burning . Tragically , it launches at a meter of cool interestingness for EVs in general .
Mercedes - Benz recently walk back its2030 goalof being an EV - only manufacturing business , blame difficultmarket condition .
Ahead of the G 580 ’s unveiling , Britta Seeger , member of the Board of Management of Mercedes - Benz Group AG , said that pastime in EVs is heavily varying base on region in Europe . Adoption has late taken a huge hit thanks to the sudden remotion of EV - related incentives , she add together .
This has have “ a piddling moment of doubt ” among the brand ’s customers . “ And obviously , if you turn off incentive , it has an contiguous impact , ” Seeger continued .
In Europe , Mercedes has covered this by practice its own incentives , with “ promising ” resultant , concord to Seeger . In the U.S. the “ lease loophole ” means many of the marque ’s EVs still incur the $ 7,500 federal inducement so long as they are rent , while monger here are often piling on steep discounts of their own .
“ For the U.S. , we do see mass who are very much interested , but I would say the majority are more hesitant . ”
She aver the company is sticking to its electrification plan but refuse to set any specific sales targets for the G 580 with EQ Technology versus the other G - Class trims with inner combustion . “ We are prepared for everything . … We have complete tractableness in respond to client needs , ” she enounce .
In other word , we ’ll have to wait and see how much of a broker the G 580 with EQ Technology is in the overall spread of G - family sales . Unless it ’s a total bust , though , it ’s fair to gestate more .
Mercedes has thus far made higher - horsepower , higher - price AMG - branded versions of its galvanizing EQE and EQS models . In the U.S. , the AMG rendering of the traditional G - Class outsell its lower - monetary value version , despite carry a virtually $ 200,000 starting terms — plus whatever exorbitant adaptation your local bargainer wants to use .
That is why Mercedes - Benz CEO Ola Källenius calls the G - Class “ theBirkin bagof our merchandise portfolio . ” Will the Modern EQ smack asseverate its cachet ? It sure as shooting looks ready to drive circle around its predecessor off - road , but whether that ’s enough to woo the fickle thou herd remain to be seen .
