MERCEDES-AMG G63
Intro
There’s a new electric G-Class and the ICE versions, including this bombastic Mercedes-AMG 63, have been hybridised. Has Graz gone woke? Are pigs soaring over fields with Beezlebub ice skating beneath them?The short answer is no. The AMG has the mildest of mild hybrids (A 48v integrated starter generator) and reassuringly, it is still an ostentatious, in your face display of wealth, and opulence and a massive signal to the proletariat that you are better than them because you can afford to ignore tedious objectives such as price, interior space or mpg.As such, its rivals are hard to pinpoint. The Range Rover has a similar heritage, the Land Rover Defender V8 has the same off-roading ability and badass V8 soundtrack. While the Ineos Grenadier is similar in ethos, but is a bit more of a workhorse.Then there are performance SUVs, such as the Porsche Cayenne and Aston Martin DBX 707.Design
The car’s exterior styling has been widely acclaimed a shining example of how to perfectly update a look that depends so squarely on the design cachet of historical authenticity, which flows from both outline and detail alike.
The exposed door hinges, oversized door handles, ‘bug-eye’ indicators and exposed spare wheel all look like they belong entirely; and yet the tight panel fit and more integrated look of the bumpers and wheel arches speak of a designed-in build quality unknown to the car previously.
This latest model has largely the same suite of updates as the regular Mercedes G-Class. Which means a few nips and tucks to keep it feeling fresh, as well as a new lip to the A-pillar to aid drag coefficient.
It remains almost entirely hand-built, with 100 man hours of assembly and finishing going into each example.
Like a traditional off-roader, it has a body-on-frame construction with a ladder frame chassis underneath.
Interior
There’s a climb up to get inside of any G-Class, even for tall people. It’s not what you’d call claustrophobic, but considering the size there’s not an awful lot of elbow room. The view out is imperious and you can see for miles.
It’s the same for the rear. Leg room is much better in more traditional SUVs. The boot is tall and short, so you usually have to stack your possessions if you’re going away for a weekend.
Inside the G63 gains Merc’s latest MBUX infotainment. Which means twin 12.3-inch screens and, a first for the G, 3 adaptive cruise.
It retains physical heating controls, though, while also gaining keyless entry. It’s all pretty intuitive and you don’t end up spending much time looking away from the road.
Performance
AMG’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre petrol V8 with a 48V starter generator that produces 21bhp and 184lb ft, puts total output at 603bhp and 627lb ft.
Top speed is 137mph, though it is a 0-62mph of 4.3sec that widens the eyes. The engine operates through a Mercedes 9G-Tronic torque-converter transmission with quite outstanding aural pomposity, and while not quite as serrated as the 5.5-litre M157 unit, its more hulking tone matches the old boy for sheer volume.
Cruise anywhere remotely near a parallel structure and there’s no doubt the exhausts exit to the sides, and so for all its new-found sophistication, this is still a machine those of a retiring disposition will tire of quickly.
The introduction to the UK of the six-cylinder petrol G500 might make some potential Gelandewagen customers turn their heads. But they shouldn’t. Sensible drivers would, frankly, look elsewhere, and those even with a modicum of sensibleness will just buy the diesel.
Ride and handling
The biggest change is the new AMG Active Ride Control suspension system. Hydraulics replace torsion bar cross-stabilises, and the shock absorbers also gain hydraulic connections.
Essentially you can decrease stiffness for off-roading, and increase it to reduce roll while cornering on road.
It makes for the sweetest handling G ever. One of Merc’s engineers was perhaps damning it with faint praise when he said to me that you no longer have to steer three seconds before the corner on the Autobahn. But I get where he’s coming from and he’s completely right. It’s certainly no Cayenne. But there’s a fluidity and preciseness that no longer makes the 63 quite so cheek-clenching in the bends.
There’s still a lot of dead around the centre of the steering and blatting down a set of s bends is still a workout for the forearms. But it feels remarkably svelte and short considering how unsvetle and tall it is. It feels SUV-like, rather than truck-like.
Ride is mostly well contained depending on which driving mode you’re in. Comfort is relatively soft with a gait well suited to the motorway. Although wind noise is definitely still a thing at motorway speeds, as is buffeting.
Sport + provides pops and bangs from the exhaust and a very stiff set up. Roll is much more contained with the stiffer suspension, as you’d imagine, but it isn’t disastrous even with it set up in soft.
I imagine Merc’s clientele will make use of the Individual mode and turn the exhaust on full and the dampers down to squidgy.
Off road
Off-road it’s great. On a fast, rally-like section the sheer heft of the car makes weight transfer surprisingly easy and not scary considering the height. While at slow, speed rock-crawling is helped with the optional trick suspension and a Traction Pro driving mode, which is great for getting out of sand.
Verdict
The G63 is still a massive middle finger to sensibilites and the sensible. But it just so happens to be the sweetest handling G yet. Lovers off the old G63 will find this a natural progression. Haters, well, they'll still hate it.
Sure, top spec cars now start at more than £200,000 while V8 Defender 110s start from around £110,000. Different, granted. But makes you think.