The G-Class going electric confirms that the world we grew up in is moving on but this report is about how the latest iteration of this icon moves.
Story: Joshua Varghese
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
There are some things that are best left unchanged because they command a certain admiration and nostalgia in our hearts. One would be heartbroken to revisit an old school only to find that they replaced the football field with a wing for teaching AI. Given the rate at which the world is changing, it is not entirely unexpected, but the G-Class going electric just feels blasphemous. The G is one of our favourite cars because it has stood the test of time; quietly becoming more capable with each iteration without compromising on any of the traits that have made it a timeless icon. Having experienced the creamy six-cylinder diesel and the boisterous AMG V8, a battery and four motors fail to inspire the same sense of admiration, at least on paper.
The G-Class is the Merc that is eager to get dirty; the sport utility vehicle (SUV) of choice when the going gets tough. However, over the past decade, like many other legendary SUVs, the G has also evolved into a luxury item and a status symbol. The most off-roading they do is climb the slopes of basement car parks. That is, perhaps, why Mercedes developed the G EV because most of their current clientele use the G as a city car. For the mundane everyday run, the quick and quiet electric powertrain offers several advantages over its ICE counterparts.
Speculation apart, the electric G is here and the good news is that they have left most of the styling unchanged, which is surprising. The boxy silhouette of the G gives it as much aerodynamic efficiency as an apartment block on wheels, which is among the reasons why we never expected it to be conducive to the design demands of an electric car. Mercedes have worked around it by making small changes in the grille and the bonnet lip. They have even smoothed out the roof-windscreen junction and added slits in the rear wheel arch flares. A few elements around the rest of the car have been hand-picked from the AMG Line catalogue, including the wheels. The overall visual effect is that it is tough to tell this G does not have an engine. In some markets, the electric G is offered with a small box at the rear to hold the portable charger but the particular car we tested had a full-size spare wheel mounted at the back.
Most of the cabin was pleasantly familiar because the layout is near identical. The three switches in the centre console for locking the differentials have been replaced by an “Off-road Cockpit”. The quality of materials that we have come to expect from a G-Class remains intact. The doors lock and unlock with gunshot sounds and everything feels robust. It is easy to forget that one is driving an electric car because the experience is near identical to one of the ICE Gs. Although noticeably heavier, it moves like the ICE models and, to further supplement that effect, it also emits a V8 note inside the cabin, if needed.
One of the reasons this EV drives like its ICE brothers is because this one is also based on the ladder frame. Of course, significant revisions have been made to house the 116-kWh lithium-ion battery under the floor of the car. To fully utilize the G’s off-road abilities, the battery has to be secured against physical damage. Strong yet light armour made of a mix of materials, including carbon, keeps it safe and adds to the rigidity of the car at a weight that is roughly three times lighter than steel.
As an urban car, there is not much to fault with this G. It drives like an agile tank and offers a commanding road presence with the ability to accelerate like the Road Runner from Looney Tunes. There is one motor at each wheel and they develop a combined output of 432 kW (587 hp) and a peak torque of 1,164 Nm. That means 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds, which belies the size and heft of this SUV. The top speed is electronically limited to a reasonable 180 km/h.
There is a significant amount of roll in the corners. So, using the crisp and instant response of Sport mode to send this behemoth flying around the curves was too much of an exercise even though the adaptive damping did its best to keep the SUV flat. In my opinion, this EV only needs Comfort mode for the road. Power is available in a smooth and progressive manner and the suspension is set up in such a way that it isolates the cabin from the irregularities of the road. It is also interesting to note that in this mode, power is sent to one axle only, maximizing efficiency.
Although impressive on tarmac for the same reasons as the ICE Gs, it is the performance on the rough stuff that makes the electric G stand out. Four-wheel drive is offered in the most literal sense because there is one motor for each wheel. Furthermore, Mercedes have also simulated Low Range by equipping each of these motors with its own transmission; a 2:1 reduction ratio. The absence of locking differentials is easily overcome thanks to the fully variable distribution of drive among the wheels. Off-road mode feels like a more potent version of Comfort where power is sent to all the wheels. The delivery is controlled and linear, which allows one to be superbly precise with all the torque that is available instantly. To my surprise, it became evident that the electric G is more capable than its ICE siblings in the rough stuff and that is something I never thought I would say. For example, its wading depth is 850 millimetres, which is 150 mm more than that of the ICE cars. Furthermore, it is less likely to get stuck in places where traction is scarce because, in Rock mode, the G offers three crawling speeds, including an automatic one, and the way it pulls itself out of tricky spots with zero input from the driver beggars belief.
Then there are G-turn and G-steering: the off-road party tricks. The former is the trick that went viral on the Internet. Once in Off-road mode and low range, the car is capable of spinning around on the spot (almost) by rotating the wheels on either side in opposite directions. Having found a dry lake bed, I tried it a couple of times much to the amazement of a few children who were having a dip in the lake. It was amusing to think about the reactions they would elicit when they tried to explain what they saw. The G-turn’s application in real life is to turn this big SUV around on a trail if it is clear that no more progress can be made. Makes life a lot easier than reversing down the whole route. The G-steering helps one to tighten the turning radius by slowing down the rear wheel on the inside when making a tight turn.
At Rs 3.00 crore (ex-showroom), the electric G is priced between the previous iterations of the diesel and the AMG models. It is an easy sell as an urban SUV and definitely the easiest G-Class to drive off road. What we liked best about this G is that it was easy to forget that it is an EV because the driving experience was on a par with the ICE models. All said and done, while we have great respect for the engineering behind this SUV, it is yet to replace or supersede the traditional G-Class experience. However, time may prove us wrong. Most enthusiasts who swore by the manual transmission have quietly moved on to automatics for daily use. Similarly, time may ensure a place for this car even among its haters because, as a G-Class, it exceeds the expectations set by its predecessors.
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