First ride: Mercedes-Benz G500

Therapy lesson for the senses

It's like strapping a mountain hut onto an Apollo 5 moon rocket and then shooting it into space. The mountain hut in the orbit of the moon is likely to feel similar to the G-Class driver in everyday automotive life in modern times. A concept whose maturity one can grasp. Corners, edges, where there are usually blind spots and large, bulging arches today. With the G-Class, Mercedes has a car in its range that visually defends itself against any rejuvenation. Successful. The latest technology update, the facelift, or also called “MOPF” by the Stuttgart-based company, packs an extra portion of passion under the edge. 

Mercedes-Benz G500 in the driving report

sound therapy

2.6 tons empty weight, catapulted to 5.9 km / h in 100 seconds. The comparison with the Apollo 5 moon rocket comes back to mind. Except that the sound of the G500 sounds like music to the ears of V8 fans. At all. That sound. It starts with the full “thump” of the doors, it is the fat, powerful “zack-rum” of the central locking. Nothing about the G-Model sounds like a toy, nothing sounds as if the engineer had a controller in between. The “G” is an original. One of the last originals to build on. Offroad - and that's what the Stuttgarters mean seriously in the case of the angular friend. Not like with the SUV colleagues. The G is a “G off-road vehicle”, not an SUV. His abilities: A number that is convincing on every G-run.

With the G-Class, it pays to indulge in modesty and choose the “smallest” gasoline engine. The G500 is in the price list for € 105.035,35 and, in addition to a divine engine sound, has 422 hp. This new four-liter V8 not only has two turbos, it also creates a very special family bond. This engine was first presented in the new AMG GT. A little more powerful there. But no less quietly.

Whether it is due to the 36-year-old concept of the G-Class or the short stub tailpipes that appear as side pips below the rear doors? No matter - the G5oo is currently carrying the most beautiful sound carpet in the Mercedes family. A lower, a sovereign, a stimulating baritone accompanies this G-Class. It doesn't matter whether it goes to 5.9 in 100 seconds or with three locked differentials through the mud.

movement therapy

You don't need the 610 Nm of the V8 Bi-Turbo off-road. Here the rigid axles and the three manually lockable differentials are the ingredients for happiness. With the “Facelift” or MOPF, (optional) adaptive dampers came on board.

This means that the G-Class can now not only be convincingly ridden through the terrain, but also on level asphalt belts something like driving comfort returns to the frenzied moon hut. The roll tendency is also minimized in Sport mode. Become Hot-V eighties whips out of the AMG GT in the G, which steams away on an unbelievable pressure wave. A little more “roadholding” is not so stupid at all.

Ayurveda for automobiles

6o centimeters fording depth and electronically limited at 210 km / h. This combination is likely to be rather rare. The character head “G” combines these skills in a unique way. And in doing so, they have also reduced the consumption of the G-model at Daimler. 12.3 liters in the NEDC, so the announcement. But in neither of the two real dream worlds of the G does a drive with the goal of minimum consumption appear worthwhile.

In the field, the reins of the G are left under tension. Water fords, entanglements and muddy mountain slopes, there are no obstacles for the G. Its newly designed, but really only subtly redesigned bumper stands far enough off the ground. Slope angles, tipping angles and step strips to board the vehicle. Everything speaks the off-road language on the G.

Concentration on the maximum!

Ventilated seats, electrically adjustable. Alcantara in the sky and an extra list that offers heated steering wheels and stone guard grille for the headlights. There is only one thing you don't get for an extra charge: More space. The G-Class should be recognized by the distance between the shoulders and the door. Its original purpose as a “military jeep”, as a special vehicle for fire and rescue services. From the mountain rescue service to the Gobi desert, the G should be able to take it. Today the command system, reversing camera and rear entertainment have moved into the G-Class. And the basic gasoline engine is a sports car engine. There is probably no better way of summarizing the evolution of the G-Class.

The G-Class is also one of the best sellers in the AMG range. A good half of all G-Classes come off the assembly line in Graz as 63 or 65 today. The G63 has the 5.5 liter V8 turbo with 571 hp, the G65 comes as a V12 turbo with 630 hp. Unbelievable € 271.915 expensive!

At the completely different end, and then really to be understood as an entry into the G-Class world, the new G 350d. 245 hp and with 9.9 liters of diesel (NEDC) per 100 km the most economical G-Class of all time. Whereby Mercedes can pay the cult figure “G” as an entry-level diesel with 89.922,35 €.

G 500 - A car like a therapy session

No other car of current production has this story to offer. The G-Class is a cultural asset such as a Ford T-model or a VW Beetle, despite its fresh-air treatment and performance therapy. But a living one. One that has been improved by evolution. Every time again. And yet it still has the character of an automotive crosshead.

Beautiful!

The vehicle registration for the Mercedes-Benz G500