Mercedes-Benz G-Class Review 2022 - Top Gear

AdvertisementClose advertisement

• Home
• Car Reviews
• Mercedes-Benz
• G Class

• Overview
• Driving
• Interior
• Buying
• Specs & Prices

Car ReviewMercedes-Benz G-Class reviewPrices from£136,690 - £184,890 8Top Gear TeamPublished: 03 Jan 2025

Read why you can trust our independent reviews

• Overview
• Driving
• Interior
• Buying
• Specs & Prices

Skip 29 photos in the image carousel and continue reading1 / 29Advertisement“Mercedes-Benz does enough to make the G-Wagen a strangely compelling product… even in 2024. You either get it, or you don’t”

Good stuff

Incredible off-road ability, G63 is an AMG GT on stilts, electric G580 is pointlessly fantastic

Bad stuff

Still hugely anachronistic, still not really efficient in any direction, massively expensive

Overview

What is it?

The latest generation of the venerable (try 45 years of consistent production) Geländewagen/G-Class/G-Wagen. Always a legend, a total overhaul back in 2018 saw it come to define the words “Luxury Off-Roader” perhaps more fully and competently than any other car, Range Rover included.

Other luxury SUVs might be capable off-road, but the G remains committed to the aesthetic as well as the ability. And there have been lots of tweaks to try and keep the G at least in touch with the modern world, if only by its technological fingertips.

Advertisement - Page continues below

What are you actually getting at?

Resolutely still a G-Wagen. So the same Etch-a-Sketch styling it’s had since 1979, barring the slight softening of the lines during the various facelifts and upgrades, the largest of which was the 2018 remodel which saw it gain a whole new chassis complete with independent front suspension. It’s still a five-seat luxury SUV, still features the full complement of diff-locks (front, middle and centre), still has the go-anywhere ability that makes it so appealing, even if it’s never used. Or very rarely, at any rate, judging by the gleaming cleanliness of the ones you see around glitzy bits of big cities.

There’s a new six-cylinder G500 (which replaces the lazier V8), a G63 with trick new suspension and genuinely surprising dynamic ability, a really rather lovely G450d diesel, and 48-volt hybrid systems lending a helping hand throughout. And that’s before we even mention the new G580 with EQ Technology, a fully-electric G-Wagen that runs purely on electrons. That’s a car that weighs in with quad electric motors, 116kWh of usable battery packed into that resolutely ladder-framed chassis and punting out about 280-miles of WLTP range; not that much for a huge battery.

Four motors and reduction gears for each unit enable both millimetric control and earthmover levels of torque, the need for traditional differential locks rendered obsolete by torque vectoring so fast it never spins a wheel. You can read more about that particular car here.

You’re still getting that ladder-frame, old-school chassis though. Even if it is solid as a rock. So this will never be the most dynamic of things. Although the new G63 might have something to say about that.

Advertisement - Page continues below

Interesting stuff. What else is new?

You can spot ‘new’ G by some subtle tells. The front bumpers are a tiny bit different, and there are new aerodynamic aids to try and help with the brick-tastic profiles; airflow tweaking mini-spoilers around the A-pillar and top of the windscreen (which try and hush some of the inevitable rustle of the upright windscreen as much as anything else), as well as a new slot in the rear wheelarch which probably does more than it looks like it does. All together they probably do make a measurable difference, but it’ll be marginal.

The G580 gets a different grille and the option of a squircle rear lock box for charging cables instead of a spare wheel, and the grilles on the ICE versions are dependent on spec and engine. You could probably learn to differentiate them, but no one ever really says what model of G-Class they drive. They just say ‘a G-Wagen’. Because it sounds cooler.

Anything been done inside?

Of course – it’s been refreshed across the range, with a decent new MBUX touchscreen in the middle of the dash, attached very nicely to the digital driver-information screen. To be honest, it’s mild upgrades on the inside. There are the usual many (cost) options from the Manufaktur Programme, and plenty of upscale choices to be made. All quite normal for a car that’s seen more as a chunky road car than a mud-plugger these days.

What does it cost?

File this under ‘if you have to ask…’. The cheapest model is the G450d, which starts at £136,690. And yes, although it’s a lot more powerful than rivals with similarly astonishing off-road capabilities such as the Toyota Land Cruiser LC250 and Ineos Grenadier, it is getting on for twice the price.

And that’s the cheap one. And also probably the best one (although the £146,095 G500 with its new turbocharged straight six is a sweeter drive than we expected). But the G-Class has real strength in depth – there isn’t really a duff model in the range, it’s just a question of what you want.

While we’d be perfectly happy with a G450d, we can equally see the appeal of both the all-electric G580, and the anything-but-electric G63. Both cost within a few thousand pounds of each other, the electric version listing at £180,860, the twin turbo V8 at £184,595. Rivals for those are thin on the ground – at least until the Land Rover Defender Octa shows up early next year.

Our choice from the range

MERCEDES-BENZG450d AMG Line Premium Plus 5dr 9G-Tronic£136,330See prices and specs

What's the verdict?

“The G-Wagen will never be a paragon of efficiency or parsimony, but it’s still an amazing and largely unique bit of kit”

There’s always been the feeling that the G-Wagen’s time would eventually come, and that it wouldn’t be able to keep up with modern needs and wants. That time has not yet arrived. Mercedes’ willingness to apply a bit of a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude to keeping the G identity on the road has stretched even further, and it’s a huge surprise that it’s been actually quite successful.

No, the G-Wagen will never be a paragon of efficiency or parsimony, but it’s still an amazing and largely unique, if anachronistic (and hugely expensive) bit of kit. It’s characterful, beautifully engineered throughout and far, far more capable than 99 per cent of buyers will ever discover. Plus, there seems to be a G for every occasion now, from the brash and exciting G63 to the fully electric G580, not to mention the sombre and useful G450d. A G for every taste.

9

Land Rover Range Rover

£115,750 - £204,600 7

BMW X5

£82,000 - £111,260 8

Porsche Cayenne

£77,500 - £140,600

Find another car review

Manufacturer296 Special Edition (2025)AbarthAlfa RomeoAlpinaAlpineArielAston MartinAtlasAudiBACBentleyBMWBrabhamBugattiBYDCadillacCaterhamChanganCheryChevroletChryslerCitroenCorollaCorvetteCupraDaciaDodgeDSEagleElementalFerrariFiatFiskerFordFrontlineGeelyGenesisGMCGordon Murray AutomotiveGWMGWM ORAHondaHyundaiIneosInfinitiIsuzuJaecooJaguarJeepJensenKGMKiaKimera AutomobiliKoenigseggKTMLamborghiniLanciaLand RoverLeapmotorLexusLincolnLockheed MartinLotusLucidMaseratiMazdaMcLarenMercedes-BenzMG Motor UKMiniMitsubishiMorganNioNissanNobleOmodaPaganiPeugeotPininfarinaPipistrelPolestarPorscheProdriveRadicalRAMRenaultRimacRivianRolls-RoyceSeatShelbySkodaSkywellSmartSoyuzSsangyongSubaruSuzukiTeslaThe Little Car CompanyTop Gear Technology CentreToyotaVauxhallVolkswagenVolvoXpengYukonZenvoModelCONTINUECONTINUEContinue reading: DrivingAdvertisement

F1 movie sequel confirmed, 'ultra realistic' plot to follow predictable one-team domination

Country lane stand-off between two stubborn drivers enters 19th hour

Thank you wave becomes legal requirement on UK roads

US to request five-year car history for foreign tourists

Advertisement

F1 movie sequel confirmed, 'ultra realistic' plot to follow predictable one-team domination

Country lane stand-off between two stubborn drivers enters 19th hour

Thank you wave becomes legal requirement on UK roads

US to request five-year car history for foreign tourists

F1 movie sequel confirmed, 'ultra realistic' plot to follow predictable one-team domination

Country lane stand-off between two stubborn drivers enters 19th hour

Thank you wave becomes legal requirement on UK roads

US to request five-year car history for foreign tourists

1. Top Gear Advice

   Here are 19 brilliant cars that are cheaper than you think

2. Business

   A new high-riding Polestar 4 estate is coming that finally gives it a rear window

3. Long Term Review

   We're living with a Toyota Prius: is it, dare we say... *desirable* now?

4. Retro

   These are the 50 greatest cars of the 1980s

5. Electric

   Want a good EV? Here are the 20 best electric cars on sale right now

6. Car Review

   MG Motor UK MG4

Subscribe to the Top Gear Newsletter

Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.

SuccessYour Email*Country*Please select your countryUnited KingdomAfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCaribbean NetherlandsCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongo (Brazzaville)Congo (Kinshasa)Cook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHondurasHong Kong S.A.R., ChinaHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacao S.A.R., ChinaMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorth KoreaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinian TerritoryPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint BarthélemySaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluU.S. Virgin IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVaticanVenezuelaVietnamWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

By clicking subscribe, you agree to receive news, promotions and offers by email from Top Gear and BBC Studios. Your information will be used in accordance with our privacy policy.

Sorry, something went wrong

Please try againSubscribemagazine

Subscribe to BBC Top Gear Magazine

find out more