/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25413855/pre_media_24c0076_005.jpg?w=1536&resize=1536,0&ssl=1 "The Mercedes G-Wagen, the final word off-road standing image, goes electrical")
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For individuals who want to grind gravel and sure over boulders whereas surrounded by luxurious napa leather-based — and might’t think about emitting even a single molecule of carbon dioxide whereas doing so — the absolutely electrical Mercedes G-Wagen is for you.
The very costly, boxy standing image is now even standing symbol-ier due to a 116 kWh battery and all-electric drive prepare, full with 4 individually managed motors with a most whole output of 432 kW — or the equal of about 580 horsepower — and a max torque of 1,164 Newton-meters.
“I lately joked that it is just like the Birkin bag of Mercedes,” Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius stated on the Decoder podcast again in 2022. “Everyone desires one, and the ready time is absolutely lengthy. It might even be essentially the most fascinating automotive in our portfolio.”
However with nice energy comes nice expense. The Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ expertise (an ungainly title for an unique EV, however I will enable it) will begin at €142,621.50 ($152,184.27), whereas the primary version trim goes for €192,524.15 ($205,432.89). That is a premium over the gasoline fashions, which usually begin at round $143,000. At launch, the Version One trim can be unique to the US market and can arrive at dealerships within the second half of 2024.
The G 580, or EQG if you’ll, can be constructed on a ladder body idea, which the automaker says is key to its off-roading. Like its gas-powered equivalents, the ladder body contains an impartial entrance suspension with double wishbones, in addition to a newly developed inflexible rear axle for a decrease middle of gravity. The battery will propel the EQG to an estimated 473 km (293 miles) on the WLTP customary, which can possible be even lowered when primarily based on the much less optimistic EPA ranking.
The electrical G-Wagen will include an entire caravan of nifty circus methods, together with a tank flip (which Mercedes has branded its G-Flip) for sharper, on-axis rotations. G-Flip will work on free, unpaved roads and trails and solely at low speeds. And a three-speed clever off-road crawl operate will hold the electrical SUV on the optimum velocity whereas touring over uneven surfaces. And Mercedes boasts that the EQG will stay secure on slopes as much as 35 levels and has a most fording depth of 850 millimeters (33 inches).
In fact, all that off-roading requires additional safety for the battery, which is saved within the flooring of the automobile for that low middle of gravity. Each grain of gravel is a possible hazard while you’re driving round with a two-tiered lithium-ion battery with 216 cells put in in 12 cell modules between three cooling ranges beneath your toes.
The underbody skid plate, which is exclusive to the electrical G-Class, is made out of “an clever materials combine” that features carbon, which “will increase rigidity in comparison with alternate options made out of metal or aluminum,” the corporate says. It additionally ensures long-lasting corrosion safety and saves weight. The plate is 26 millimeters thick, weighs 57.6 kilograms, and is connected to the ladder body with greater than 50 metal screws.
And in what’s turning into an more and more regular factor to do with new EVs, Mercedes has determined to present its electrical G-Wagen a faux engine noise, branded right here as G-Roar. Impressed by the gasoline lineup’s “emotional V8 sounds,” the G-Roar will use exterior audio system to emit a sound that simulates the “deep bass and sonorous tones” of its fuel-sipping sibling. The sounds can change when switching between drive modes: Consolation produces a extra restrained faux engine noise, whereas Sport will hit you proper within the emotions (Mercedes additionally describes it as “emotional”).
Even with an emphasis on off-roading over efficiency, the G 580 with EQ expertise (nope, nonetheless ungainly, going again to EQG) is not any slouch on the pavement. The electrical SUV can speed up from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and can be electronically restricted to a most velocity of 180 km/h (or 112 mph).
The outside is nearly an identical to the present mannequin 12 months of gas-fueled G-Wagens. You’ll get illuminated accents on the grille, which will also be changed with an optionally available blacked-out entrance panel. The bonnet is barely raised, and the rear wheel wells embody air curtains for higher aerodynamic efficiency. There’s additionally a brand new A-pillar cladding and a spoiler lip on the roof. However in any other case, it might be tough to select the EV in an all-G-Class lineup.
A rear-mounted design field seems to be ultimate for a spare tire, however open it up and — shock! — it is charging cables and different optionally available goodies, like snow chains. In fact, if you wish to be a traditionalist, you’ll be able to completely stow your spare tire in there. No judgement.
Inside, the electrical G-Wagen is sticking to what works, protecting the passenger seize bar and surrounding the whole lot with carbon fiber. There are many bodily buttons, and the air vents are delightfully tactile and round. The pedals are coated in raised rivets as a result of, you realize, off-road. And the 12.3-inch digital show runs on Mercedes’ well-received MBUX infotainment system — but additionally helps Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Rear-seat passengers can take pleasure in quite a lot of media on their private 11.6-inch touchscreens which might be mounted on the again of the entrance seats. Content material could be moved from the rear to the entrance show — however video watching and web looking are reserved for parked mode solely.
The electrical G-Wagen first emerged in idea kind again in 2021 after which once more in 2022, regardless of the corporate’s lack of readability round manufacturing plans. (To compensate, Mercedes launched a ridiculously excessive idea promotional video set in a Seventies-era house opera with aliens.)
However since then, there have been loads of electrical off-roaders, together with the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado EV, Hummer EV, and Rivian R1T and R1S. Whether or not any of those automobiles truly spend a single second doing actual off-road stuff — versus selecting up grass fertilizer at The Dwelling Depot — is solely up for debate. The electrical G-Wagen will possible be no completely different, because the boxy SUV has all the time been seen extra steadily within the driveways of the über wealthy than on the paths in Moab.
Nonetheless, the EQG is an indication that whereas it has pulled again a few of its early predictions about electrification, Mercedes nonetheless understands that even its tremendous luxurious standing symbols might want to go electrical.
The Mercedes G-Wagen, the final word off-road standing image, goes electrical
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