Drive: New Mercedes G-Wagen, The Rugged Cubic Icon

May 18, 2021

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Drive: New Mercedes G-Wagen, The Rugged Cubic Icon

The G-Wagen comes with a curious story. In the 1970s, the last Shah of Iran asked Mercedes-Benz to build him a unique military-grade 4×4. The German carmaker accepted the challenge, got together with the Austrian military vehicle maker Steyr-Daimler-Punch to create the Gelandewagen — German for cross-country vehicle. The rugged G-Wagen (or Wagon), as it became known, took a while to complete. Built at the Graz factory, the development program saw the vehicle travel to the Arctic Circle, then off to the Sahara Desert for extreme testing before finally unveiling in 1979. Alas the king never got to drive his G-Wagen. The Revolution that year forced him off the throne and to exile in Egypt where he passed away shortly after.

The G-Class (as it is officially called), though, lived on to become a bit of an icon for Mercedes. In fact, it is one of the longest produced cars in the marque’s history. When it first went on sale, customers could choose a short or long wheelbase, in a two-door cloth-top and four door fixed roof format or as a windowless two-door van. In 1981 Mercedes introduced an automatic box and air conditioning, then more comfortable seats and electric windows. To celebrate its tenth birthday, the G-Wagen got four-wheel drive and the interior a sprinkling of motoring luxury. Then in 2004, the marque’s performance arm, AMG, got involved adding a supercharged V8 and later a 6.0 liter twin-turbo V12 to the mix.

Today I’m driving the latest model which looks remarkably like the original with its clear cubic form. The design is familiar, but this car has grown in size to be 53 mm longer and 121 mm wider than the previous generation. At 159 cm, I certainly don’t require extra head or leg room. If anything, I look positively comical onboard this cubic giant. The view from the driver and front passenger is an enormous flat rectangular glass structure that hasn’t changed in design much since the 1980s. It gives the car that rugged military vibe and helps you feel not in control, but rather in command of the road. Getting in and out of the G-Wagen is a bit of a pull-and-hop effort, while the weighty doors need some human strength to close, as does the side-swinging trunk — all of which adds to the car’s eccentric charms.

The model on test is the entry-level G350 d, powered by a 3.0 liter six-cylinder diesel engine, with an output of 286-horsepower and 600 Nm of torque. It is the most powerful diesel engine to be fitted to a G-Class, although I can’t help thinking why invest in diesel technology in our climate-conscious times. At the top of the range sits the much flasher AMG 63 flagship which comes with its own hand-built 4.0 liter 585-horsepower V8 petrol engine.

The G-Wagen remains a fully functioning off-roader. In 2018 Mercedes re-engineered these cars to offer independent front suspension so the steering now feels connected to the front wheels which makes navigating regular roads much easier. Driving this beast around London though is not an easy task. The roads here are narrow and congested and filled with so many modes of transport with motor cars, buses, vans, motorbikes, electric scooters, bicycles… all moving in a maze. But out of town, the G-Wagen is a blast.

In theory, I ought to dislike the G-Wagen. Its imposing shape and size and un-ecological properties feel so wrong in today’s landscape. Yet, I cannot help but like this tank of a car. Unlike its AMG 63 sibling, this G350 doesn’t appear at all brash. If anything, the vehicle’s stripped back aesthetics, its lack of refinement, lends it a utilitarian timelessness — a sort of giant functional cubic mass. Speaking with the creative chief, Gorden Wagener, a little whole ago, he told me the G-Wagen is “the most iconic car that we have at Mercedes-Benz” and I’m inclined to agree. I wonder what the deposed monarch would make of this fidelity to history and echo my warm sentiments.