We just got back from our first drive of the refreshed 2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Watch along to see what we thought!
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00:07 What's boxy a Mercedes and dates back to the late '70s?
00:10 You get three guesses, and the first two don't count.
00:13 Yeah, that's right.
00:13 It's the beloved G-Wagon.
00:15 And we just got back from our first drive in the refreshed
00:17 2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
00:20 Here's what we thought.
00:22 The 2025 G-Wagon's big takeaway is there are now
00:25 three powertrains to choose from--
00:27 a 3-liter turbocharged inline 6, a 4-liter twin turbo V8,
00:31 both with mild hybrid power, and an all-electric version.
00:36 Look, the G-Wagon is an exercise in preservation.
00:39 All of them look basically the same.
00:40 So unsurprisingly, these new ones
00:42 also drive as G-Wagons should.
00:44 Both the G550 and G63 come equipped
00:47 with a 9-speed automatic four-wheel drive and three
00:50 locking diffs as standard.
00:52 On road, the 443 horsepower inline 6 G550
00:56 is incredibly smooth and quiet.
00:59 If you're getting ready to pour one out for the V8
01:01 it replaces, don't bother.
01:02 There's no turbo lag whatsoever because
01:04 of the integrated electric motor generator.
01:06 Likewise, the 577 horsepower G63 is also smooth,
01:12 but smooth in the way a right hook is.
01:14 It punches off the line.
01:16 And while the electric drive system is pretty imperceptible,
01:19 you can sense it's working in the background to fill the torque
01:22 curve.
01:22 This engine is turbocharged, but it sure
01:24 as hell doesn't feel like it.
01:26 And that's definitely because of the hybrid system.
01:28 Off road, the G550 works and works well.
01:32 This Beverly Hills mall crawler climbed mountains, man.
01:35 Its trio of locking differentials
01:37 make it pretty unstoppable.
01:38 So unstoppable, in fact, that we'd even
01:40 be comfortable comparing it to the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
01:44 and Ford Bronco.
01:45 You know, the class of SUVs with locking front and rear diffs.
01:49 As for the G63 off road, unreal.
01:52 There's a new hydraulically linked suspension
01:54 that lets it corner super flat and super fast.
01:57 It soaks up moderately sized bumps and dips
01:59 like they're child's play.
02:01 We even jumped it.
02:02 And the truck absorbed that shock
02:04 while keeping things comfortable in the cabin.
02:06 The cabin retains the same layout as the outgoing G-Wagon.
02:10 However, we'll note here that these small exterior
02:12 aerodynamic tweaks that Mercedes did,
02:14 along with additional sound deadening,
02:16 make this the quietest G-Wagon cabin ever.
02:19 You can actually have a conversation
02:21 with fellow passengers at highway speeds.
02:24 Mercedes did not announce pricing at this time,
02:26 but it's not like the G-Wagon is going to get cheaper.
02:29 You can expect things to start at over $140,000.
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