There are not many vehicles still being made today that would be barely indistinguishable from a design that first hit the road over thirty years ago. Any car buff could point out a 30 year old MINI, Range Rover or 911 but each of those have evolved into shapes that merely hint at what they looked like at the beginning of their production lives.
There are a few exceptions, however, and most notably the LR Defender and Mercedes G-Wagen stand proud as being largely unaltered from their original designs. A little bit of eye-shadow and mascara here and there have kept these two battle-wagons relatively fresh-looking plus the inevitable engine tweaks, modifications and upgrades have taken place over the years but essentially any time-traveller from the 1970’s could name both of these cars today from a mile off.
And so we are presented with the latest generation G-Class that from the casual observer’s point of view looks pretty much like the car that Mercedes launched back in 1979 except then it was know as a ‘G-Wagen’. Well ‘Class’ does sound a bit more erm…classy we guess and after all ‘Wagen’ sounds a little down-market when comparing notes with Range Rover owners at those trendy dinner-parties.
Mercedes refers to the latest generation of the G-Class as having upgraded enhancements to its drivetrain, comfort, safety technologies and wait for it…’subtle visual changes’. You basically get a new grille element and LED daytime running lights. Any owners of previous generation G-Wagen (Class or otherwise) need not panic – a trip to Halfords will soon turn your ancient MB into a 2012 model with some after-market strap-on LED’s and a tin of spray paint to modify your grille. Job done and a mighty amount of money saved in the process because the latest G-Class range starts off at £82945 up to a breathtaking £123115 – just had to look twice at that figure to make sure it wasn’t a misprint. No wonder the ‘Wagen’ badge was dropped!
So what do you get for the sort of money that will slide your derriere quite compfortably into a well-specified Cayenne or Range Rover Vogue? Certainly the G-Wagen has always been a competent off-road workhorse and the permanent four-wheel-drive, fully engageable differential locks, four wheel Electronic Traction System (4ETS) and low-range gear reduction suggest that this is a vehicle that will compete with the best on any off-road slalom.
The standard spec on the V6-engined G350 Blue TEC model now includes COMAND (Online), Parktronic, heated front and rear seats, 18″ five-spoke alloy wheels, electric folding and heated mirrors plus a decent Harmon Kardon sound system.
Performance is not something that the typical buyer of a G-Class would consider a high priority but there is now a model in the range that will make 911 drivers blink hard when they see this great square-sided slab of metal hurtling towards them in their rear-view mirrors and no matter how hard they accelerate it will still be chasing their tails. Enter the new G63 AMG.
Mercedes has yet to quote official performance figures but the company has revealed that this version of the G-Class sports a mighty AMG-tuned 5.5 litre bi-turbo V8 that whips 544 horses into action – now that is interesting.
The AMG version works hard at differentiating itself from the poverty models and the usual AMG muscle-building imagery has been applied to the G-Class so that wheel-arch extensions, black mesh grille, sports exhaust (which should sound mental), chrome tailpipes and 20″ rims all mean that this G-Class will look the business.
The interior of the G63 AMG has been treated to Designo leather trim, loads of AMG logos and a DAB radio so you won’t feel so bad about spending the kid’s inheritance on buying your new toy. The Chrome Package and Exterior Styling Package come as standard on the G63 AMG but you will pay £756 and £1515 to add these options to a new G350 BlueTEC.
Production starts in September this year so presumably the first cars will be available on UK roads before the end of the year.
For further details on the new G-Class range or any other Mercedes Benz model please call The Car Spy on 01732 760699 or email sales@thecarspy.net
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