Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends / Digital Trends
American cable car buyer mostly know Mercedes - Benz as a luxury brand . But for decades , the auto manufacturer has also produced the hard , tough G - Class ( also do it as the Geländewagen or G - Wagen ) , an SUV not afraid to get its leather upholstery muddy . And now , this iconic Mercedes is going electric .
The 2025 Mercedes - Benz G580 with EQ Technology — the terminal name of the SUV previously know as the EQG — is n’t the first electric off - roader . TheRivian R1SandR1Tand GMC Hummer EV have demonstrate that electric powertrains and off - roading are a great combination . But the electric G - Wagen is different because it ’s ground on an inner - combustion good example — and a very traditional one at that .
Stephen Edelstein/Digital Trends / Digital Trends
customer wait a G - Wagen to look like a G - Wagen , so the design has n’t change much since the first version set out traipse along trail in 1979 . Those customer are also uncoerced to yield a insurance premium for that expression , with current gasoline G - Class good example priced well into six figures . So while Mercedes had n’t announced pricing for the electric G - Wagen at insistency time , do n’t look it to be a bargain .
Design
Mercedes took some styling risks with itsEQSandEQEmodels , but it go away in the diametric direction with the galvanic G - Class . You wo n’t receive a dedicated EV political platform here ; Mercedes or else conform EV powertrain portion to fit within the G - Wagen ’s sometime - school ladder frame . A 116 - kilowatt - hour battery pack uses the same cells as Mercedes ’ other galvanizing models , for example , but they ’re stacked in two bed to fit between the skeletal system runway .
ride on top of the systema skeletale is a softly modified version of the instantly placeable body from gasoline G - Class models . Small outlet on the rear fender flares , a raised hood , and a mostly blanked - off grillwork are the principal indicant that this G - Class is power by electrical energy rather than gasoline . Everything else is the same , including healthy doors that feel more appropriate for a house than a car . Mercedes prioritized aeromechanics with its other EQ models , but making sure the G580 look like a straight G - Class assume case law here . Mission accomplished .
similarity with gasolene G - Class theoretical account carry through to the Interior Department . A G - Class may look tough and militaristic on the exterior , but on the interior it ’s as luxurious as any other well - equip Mercedes . It also has the same pattern esthetical , with vainglorious rotund airwave vents , 64 - colour ambient kindling , and shiny metallic trim that make for an leftover contrast with the chunky splashboard snap handle and prominent splashboard buttons for the G580 ’s various off - road features .
Making the G580 count like a dependable G - Class took case law here .
Because it apply an inner - burning - derived platform , the G580 also has the same retro driving position as gasoline G - Class models . You sit much more unsloped than in most other mod SUVs , with the steering wheel placed at an slant that produce a relaxed seating spatial relation even more unmanageable . This also intend headroom in both row is generous , but legroom less so , while load blank space is merely adequate for a vehicle of this size . Still , the national layout is as much a part of the G - Class experience as the styling , and the electric simulation does n’t mess with it .
Tech
The G580 comes received with a interlingual rendition of the Mercedes - Benz User Experience ( MBUX ) infotainment system used in the automaker ’s other vehicles . In this display case , it ’s teamed with dual 12.3 - column inch displays , one serving as the instrument cluster and one serving as the main touchscreen . WirelessApple CarPlayandAndroid Autoand a Burmester three-D surround sound system with Dolby Atmos are standard , while a dashcam and rear - seat entertainment scheme with dual 11.6 - in screenland are optional .
The substance abuser experience is standardized to other Mercedes models , with a few pinch specific to the G - Wagen ’s off - road deputation . The graphics for both the touchscreen and instrument cluster show a bit more creativity than is the display case with other lavishness brands , and they even blend quite nicely with the physical constituent of the interior . For G - Class models , Mercedes also provides an off - road screen door that shows things like an dip circle and the movement of the abeyance . Like other MBUX - equipped models , excellent voice control also decrease reliance on the touchscreen and the slightly confusing touchpad controller on the center cabinet .
Graphics show a bit more creativity than is the case with other sumptuousness brands .
Like many new vehicles , the G580 is equipped with a 360 - level camera arrangement that stitches together flow from multiple cameras to create a surround view . But it also leverage the built - in cameras for a “ transparent hood ” view that shows what ’s directly in front of the fomite . That comes in handy when draw close steep inclines , or for spotting rocks and other potentially tyre - damaging detritus that might be hiding below the level of the windscreen .
Expected driver - help features like adaptative sail control , automatonlike emergency braking , lane keep assist , blind spot monitoring , and automated lane center are standard as well , along with park assist , a number one wood aid admonisher , traffic planetary house recognition , and Pre - Safe , which is designed to assist protect resident in the case of an impending hit . It even play a special sound to protect against hearing loss in a clang .
Driving experience
The G580 has a quad - motor powertrain with two motor per each axle get a unite 579 HP and 859 pound - feet of torque . Mercedes quotes zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds , while the top speed is electronically limited to 112 miles per hour .
This isnot the first quick G - Class , and it shares the same problem as its predecessors , namely that it ’s still a laborious fomite with a high center of solemnity that ’s designed for assail steep side and clay bogs — not corners . manipulation and drive timbre are both retrograde , although that ’s a common G - Class trait . The electric G580 was n’t any worse to push than the gasolene G550 that was also on hand for this first drive . And the EV ’s regenerative braking — with intensity selectable through steer wheel paddle — at least lets you put its girth to ferment at recover energy .
Any G - Class — gasoline or electric — is built to go off - route .
The G - Class ’ tall , vertical body has always made reducing disturbance to Mercedes - like spirit level a challenge for railroad engineer , and that ’s doubly unfeigned for the G580 and its silent electric powertrain . Mercedes point to some subtle variety to the Greco-Roman G - Class physical body — such as reshaped front roof pillar with more streamlined trim piece — that help to reduce interference across the circuit board , but the G580 also trust on an artificial soundtrack call off G - Roar to mask unpleasant sounds like wind rushing around the mirrors or the echo of the tires . However , G - Roar is n’t peculiarly pleasant either . It ’s in an aural preternatural vale , sounding more or less like an engine , but not quite the same .
All of this can be let off , though , because any G - Class — gasoline or electric — is build to go off - route . Mercedes ’ insisting on never modify the styling is n’t just about aesthetics . little overhang and a track that ’s narrow-minded enough for the G - Class to easy fit on lead , but wide enough for stability mean this SUV fears no obstacle . The G580 adds the flexible torque speech of electric motors , allowing it to creep along at low speeds or gobble up hills without losing traction . And because there are no mechanically skillful differentials ( as in a petrol G - Class , ) you have few options to keep track of . Mercedes does include humbled - range gearing like more traditional off - roaders , as well as a selection of drive modes .
The G580 can be drive just like a conventional G - Class as a result , but Mercedes also threw in some EV - only gimmicks . G - Turn allows the G580 to twirl around in a Mexican valium on loose surfaces , similar to Rivian ’s discarded Tank Turn feature . With the machine in its Rock crusade modal value with abject range selected and the bracken on , you depress the bracken treadle , pull a steering wheel paddle ( left or right-hand , to ascertain the guidance of the turn ) , hold the direction rack , and strike the accelerator . The G580 will then do two concluded turns automatically . Mercedes claims this is helpful for sprain around in mean spaces , but the fact that we were instructed to judge G - Turn in a panoptic receptive patch of filth smack of a serious automaker strain to rationalize an inherently cockamamie feature .
Much more utilitarian is G - Steering . This embroil the inner rearward bike when turning ( again , on loose surfaces ) , vastly reducing the turning radius and let you scud the G - Wagen around sharp corner . It ’s a bit like pulling the handbrake , except it requires much less coordination . but press a button on the splashboard and the car does the repose . The steering itself even feels quite natural ; the car just happens to be turning in tight rotary .
Range and charging
Mercedes figure around 240 miles of range , which is n’t that impressive for such a large electric battery camp . The G - Class has never been a model of efficiency , though , and despite this rig ’s off - road potentiality , most of its wealthy owner will likely never venture too far from a charge station . A front - axle gulf may also advance real - earthly concern efficiency , and the navigation system can also incorporate charging block into a design route .
When it is sentence to reload , 200 - kW DC flying charging should allow the G580 to complete a 10 % to 80 % charge in 32 minutes , according to Mercedes , which is well within the accepted range . For home charging , an 11.5 - kilowatt AC onboard charger takes 13.5 hours to complete a full charge . Mercedesis in the processof sweep up the Tesla North American Charging Standard ( NACS ) connector , but the G580 will launch with the current Combined Charging Standard ( CCS ) connector .
How DT would configure this car
away from personalization options like paint colors and internal trim , the G580 with EQ Technology is sold in fundamentally one spec . It ’s consider just one variant within the broader G - Class range , rather than a distinct model like the Mercedes EQE or EQS SUVs , for model .
That leaves the question of whether to bribe a G580 or one of the two gasoline G - Class contour usable for 2025 . Aside from the logistics of range and charging , we encounter the G580 to be pretty much standardized with the six - piston chamber G550 . They drove equally well on the road and were equally subject off it . Mercedes also offers a sporty AMG G63 gas theoretical account with a sinewy V8 engine and more sophisticated suspension that did feel like a step up in capability — bear you ’re OK with burning tons of hydrocarbons .
The G580 is a noteworthy achievement plainly for applying an electric powertrain to one of the most custom - bound nameplate in the auto industry without compromise . It also split up the difference between the forward - lookingRivian R1Sand the cartoonish GMC Hummer EV SUV , offer some of the latter ’s strut with a healthy dose of the former ’s practicality . Like the gasoline models that amount before it , the G580 stands out from other off - roaders and sumptuousness sport utility vehicle by doing thing in its own unequaled style .
