Driving The Electric Mercedes-Benz G580 G-Wagen

The G580 has the same character of the G63 gas burner, the same retro brick-inspired exterior look, the same interior, if somewhat updated, it even almost sounds the same with the V8 inspired mumbly grumbly soundtrack that can be mistaken for the real thing. I’m actually sold on this artificial sound. It gives you genuinely useful audio feedback about what is happening. I turned it on, I turned it off, I turned it back on… That’s a first for me!

This ‘First Edition’ I’m driving is the first of the electric G series, and it’s got a couple of beautiful features, such as blue-laced carbon trim that matches around the cabin. It sports a back-door mounted spare-free ‘wheel-box’ for looks and storage. You can swap it for a wheel if you want, but if you’re not going off-road, you might keep it as is. This press vehicle sports a remarkably attractive Polar-white semi-matte exterior – officially MANUFAKTUR opalite white magno. It’s somewhere between gloss and matte, and the more tactile among us will be touching it admiringly.

The white is a rather cute contrasting offset in this wildly appealing yet paradoxical vehicle. Yes, it’s probably the foremost off-roader that money can buy, but it’s got the delicate beauty of this paint job. Yes, it weighs over three tons, but it has an ‘eco’ display to help you mitigate your environmental impact. It doesn’t have an eco mode though; that would be going too far. Yes, it has the dynamics, yes, the aerodynamics of an apartment building combined with one or two flanges and flares for efficiency. Yes, it’s got a 25 cm ride height, class-leading approach and descent angles, and a class-leading wading depth. Yet the interior is fitted out like a limousine, and the rims are optimized for aero efficiency. Yes, it’s a glorious combination of things that don’t make sense, and that’s probably what makes everyone love it so much. I don’t think this is going to be idolised by the gangster rap crowd in the same way that the ‘63 is, even though it’s virtually got all the bling.

The G-Wagen is a big seller for Mercedes, and I don’t see any reason why this electric version won’t carry on for something that’s been at the heart of their offering for 40 years now. And this is the thing with the electric monster: it’s very good to drive. It drives more like a station wagon than an SUV. Its steering is remarkably good. It’s really got all the good driving characteristics of its angry AMG brother and with that side-pipe inspired electric grumble, it’s virtually indistinguishable. It even goes as fast, which is something to say. An acceleration of 4.7s 0-100 is supercar material, and this thing weighs over three tons. Weigh that you’re constantly aware of – it’s a big boy. And when you accelerate hard, corner, or brake, you know that you’re pushing the electronics to the limit, but the point is that it does handle well. The seats might be the most high tech I’ve ever experienced, and they actively adjust the side bolsters to support you based on your cornering – sensational.

Much of the internal layout is the same as its angrier brother such that I don’t need to cover them again; just read that recent article. Something that has changed is the off-road panel. It’s still one click to get to the display, which is fabulous. And with the push of a button, you can see through the car to what’s underneath and which rocks you’re going to scrape the underbody protector over. Single button for traction control. Yes, that’s all the same. You’ll even be familiar with a button for low range, but while the gas G have an impressive variety of diff lock options, the Electric-G has new and fancy things. One is the G-Turn, which spins the wheels on opposite sides of the car in opposite directions, enabling you to spin around on the spot. The second is G-steer, where it will brake the inside wheels and accelerate the outside wheels to allow you to turn much tighter in off-road situations.

Sadly I did not get time (or the location) to test these innovations out. But reports are that while the G-turn is entertaining, and the G-Steer is genuinely useful in compromised situations. No diff locks, you say? That’s right, because this puppy does not have differentials. It has four separate electric motors to deliver more power and torque than anything in the range has ever delivered – this is the most powerful G-Wagen with 432 kW and a mind boggling 1164 Nm torque. That’s more than the G63! Now, what happens when you’ve got four independent electric motors is that you can do genuine four-wheel torque vectoring, and that means the wheels can actually go at the speed you need them to, it’s really only truly possible if you’ve got one motor per wheel, and that’s exactly what G580 has got.

Under the bodywork, this has created the need for more of a rethink than you might imagine. No engine up front, no gearbox, no diffs, no axles! G-Wagens traditionally have a live rear axle and independent front. That live rear axle has stayed, which actually makes for a harder job getting two motors into one axle at the back, but they’ve done it. So it maintains that familiar, hardcore off-road suspension layout, but with ridiculously sophisticated individual wheel control.

So yes, while the body has barely changed in 40 years, under the hood, nothing stays the same. There is nothing, no engine, not even a frunk, just various mechanical gubbins and battery bits to make the monster fly. Better, battery recuperation is adjustable from off through to maximum, and then an intelligent mode – you can use the pedals almost like a downshift, and they’re not as precise as the scalpel, like nine-speed in the G 63 yet it’s a useful aid to driving the perfect corner. An eco display rolls backwards and forwards like a glowing green to red marble, plus a star rating. Out of five, I never managed over three.

Electric makes sense for a few things, and off-roading is actually one of them, because you don’t have to worry about aerodynamic efficiency, something that the G-Wagen has never been particularly worried about. But having individual control over your wheels, now that’s a highlight. And the torquey nature of the electric offering is perfect for the demands of super slow speed, in compromised traction conditions. I didn’t have time to take the electric G off-road more than a paddock or two, but I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be the best performing of the G series and probably the entire off-road market, given that it meets or exceeds the specs on just about everything in the market. I can’t wait to take that off-road trip though… watch this space. When these vehicles are a little less rare, I will have the opportunity to get it properly dirty. I’ll just have to worry about that pretty as a cherry blossom paint job.