Mercedes G wagon
Is the Mercedes G wagon the best high-end luxury SUV that you can buy? That’s what we’re gonna find out.
We’re going to find out if it’s a better high-end luxury SUV to buy over something like a Range Rover or a Lexus LX.
We’ll find out whether, if you have the money, whether it makes sense to buy one. And I’m also going to explain why this is a way more special and a more unique vehicle than you might think.
Dont Buy
First things The G wagon, of course, is a vehicle that nobody really needs to buy. There’s no rational reason why someone would buy a G wagon or any vehicle, really, that’s this expensive. Mercedes G wagon
But it is a very special SUV, and it does have a lot of appealing qualities. And the demand for these SUVs is absolutely through the roof. It’s such an incredibly popular SUV, and yet the supply for these SUVs is quite limited.
All G wagons are manufactured in the same plant in Austria. And it’s a very intensive process. It takes over 100 hours to manufacture just one G wagon.
And because there’s so much customization and individualizing that goes into each one for every single customer, the supply for these is not the greatest.
And that supply demand situation creates the first reason why the G wagon might make a lot more sense than a lot of other high-end luxury suv.
And that is the surprisingly high resale value. Unlike other high end suv that are in this price range, that just plummet in value the second you buy them. That’s not really the case with the G wagon. Mercedes G wagon
These things are surprisingly good at holding their value over time. Even when they’re a few years old, they really don’t drop much in price when compared to what they cost brand new.
And back during the pandemic, it was very common to find dealerships selling them for way over MSRP.
And even though that’s not really happening anymore, it is nice to know that if you were to buy one of these brand new for MSRP, you’re realistically not going to lose a ton of money on it.
Design
If you decide to sell it after a few years, now after resale value, the second reason that makes the G wagon such a great suv is the iconic design.
Now, of course, there are going to be many consumers that buy one of these just because of the way it looks. Mercedes G wagon
The G wagon has become such a fashion icon and a status symbol that it really is a symbolism of somebody’s style.
And I find that to be really interesting, because the G wagon originally never used to be about being a status symbol. Its performance, its luxury, or the way it looks. Originally, this was a very utilitarian and rugged military vehicle.
In fact, not everyone will know this, but the G wagon was originally designed back in the 1970s, when the Shah of Iran actually commissioned Mercedes to design a vehicle for its military.
But by the time Mercedes had finished designing it and released it for 1979, there was a revolution in Iran and the shah was overthrown.
So that never happened. But the G wagon did go on to be a very popular military vehicle. And even to this day, they’re still used in the canadian army as a light utility vehicle. Mercedes G wagon
And it is pretty neat that after nearly 45 years, the design of the G wagon really hasn’t changed all that much, which is part of what makes it so iconic.
Build Quality
Now, the third thing that’s so great about the G wagon is just how rock solid it feels to drive.
Back in the 1970s and 80s, Mercedes was extremely well known for making really rock solid, high quality vehicles that had the best build quality in the industry.
But that’s not really the case today. Today, most brand new mercedes feel rather thin and flimsy and have a lot of creaky plastics.
And they just don’t have the same level of build quality that they had in the past. That is, except for the G wagon, which still has that very rock solid feel.
And that tank like construction that Mercedes always used to be really well known for. Mercedes G wagon
It has these super solid feeling doors that make this really nice thunk when you close them. And this really cool locking mechanism that has a rifle, bolt action.
All of it just adds to the character of this SUV.
And even though having that really cool locking mechanism means that the G Wagon doesn’t have intelligent, keyless entry where you can just touch the door handle to lock and unlock it, Mercedes was willing to make that sacrifice because they know how important these little details are to the G wagon.
Engine
And that brings me to the next thing that’s so great about the G wagon, which is how special and great it feels to drive. All G wagons for North America come with a twin turbo V8 engine.
But in the case of the G 63, it produces 577 HP & 627 pound Peak torque, which means, despite being a really big and heavy suv, it’s able to launch itself to highway speed in just around four and a half seconds, which is pretty incredible.
Now, of course, being a big truck based suv, it’s not going to handle anything like a sports car or even something like a Porsche Cayenne.
But the performance is still pretty incredible. And the G Wagon just gives you such a great feeling when you drive it. Mercedes G wagon
You have this really nice, high, commanding view of the road, even much higher than that of most other suvs around you. You have really nice tall windows all around for great visibility.
And even though this still is very much a truckish suv, it does have a jiggly ride and that typical truck feel. I wouldn’t call it an uncomfortable SUV.
It’s still more than comfortable enough to use every day, and the road noise is not too bad either. Mercedes G wagon
But make no mistake, because this was originally a military vehicle and it is built for offroading, this is still very much more like a truck than your typical crossover SUV.
Not only does it have a very strong ladder frame construction with really thick steel, but it also has a four wheel drive system with a two speed transfer case.
You have long travel suspension with nine and a half inches of ground clearance, and you even have lockable front, center and rear differentials with toggle switches on the center console, which is something that the G wagon has had for a really long time.
Now. It’s not as though anybody who actually buys a G wagon and spends this much money is really going to use any of those offroad features.
But I guess it’s nice to know that the G wagon is still a really capable off-road SUV if you want to use it for that. Now, capable is one thing, durable is something else.
Mercedes is not exactly known for having the best build quality or reliability. And I really wouldn’t expect the G wagon to be all that much different.
If you want a rugged, go anywhere off road suv that’s going to be super reliable and tolerate a lot of abuse, you would be a lot better off buying something like a Land Cruiser or a Lexus LX instead.
But like I said, when you’re spending this much money on an suv, I realistically don’t expect any buyers to take their G wagons off road.
Instead, they’re going to use them for everyday tasks, driving around commuting and enjoying the really luxurious interior and there’s no question the interior of the G Wagon is very impressive and uses top notch materials that you would expect to find in a vehicle at this price.
Everything is really nicely finished. You have some really nice details, like the multi contour seats that have different massage settings, plus are ventilated and heated.
And even though it’s now using a previous generation Mercedes user interface, the dual-screen infotainment system with the single piece of glass still looks really good and works very well.
But even though this is a very luxurious SUV, it is certainly not a very practical one for an SUV of this size. It has a surprisingly tight interior with not that much rear seat space.
And even though the cargo area is a pretty decent size, it is a little bit awkward to access with that really heavy sideswinging door. And the cargo area doesn’t give you a perfectly flat floor when you fold down the back seats either.
Pricing
The G Wagon certainly has its share of compromises, but without question, the biggest issue with it has to be the pricing.
The pricing for the G wagon ranges from around 140 to 180,000 us to start, or around 180 to 240,000 Canadians.
But when you load one up with options and customization, the pricing can go quite a bit higher than that.
So with all of that said, is it worth it to buy a Mercedes G Wagon? Well, from any rational method of analysis, the short answer is no. Absolutely not.
If you want to be somewhat rational and have a vehicle that’s very similar to the G Wagon, then what you really should be doing is going and buying yourself a brand new Lexus GX, which is realistically going to be able to do everything the G Wagon can do for one third of the price, while being a lot more reliable at the same time.
But let’s remember, when you’re buying a vehicle that’s this expensive, it’s not really about being rational.
It’s about buying what you like. And I think compared to most other SUVs that are in the same price range, the G wagon is still a better option.
Compared to something like a Range Rover that’s going to depreciate rapidly and be worthless after a few years. That’s not going to be the case with the G wagon.
And even though, because of its truck frame, it’s nowhere near as comfortable to drive as a lot of those other SUVs in this price range, I think the G Wagon is still a lot more special and also just a lot more exciting.