The iconic G-Class from Mercedes will appear as a purely electric car in the coming year. Four motors, one per wheel, provide amazing off-road capabilities. But the boxy monster can also convince on solid roads.
No matter how well the Mercedes people camouflage their latest creation, you can tell at first glance which car is hiding behind the wild foil sticker with a purple fantasy pattern. The box-shaped passenger compartment, the steep tail at the back, the slightly sloping bonnet at the front with two circular headlight eyes. Only a car has looked like this for over four decades. Of course, the legendary G-Class from Mercedes, the epitome of what makes a robust, rough off-road vehicle in the luxury class. And above all is the promise: the icon will live on, the crawling animal will roll into the electric age.
This commitment is four years old. At the world premiere of a new, classically motorized G-Class collection in Detroit, the ardent fan Arnold Schwarzenegger lured the then Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche onto the stage and demanded an electric drive for his favorite car. Zetsche quickly promised: “The future electrification of all model series naturally also includes the G-Class.” The starting signal for the developers and engineers who only had to deliver.
The result is now waiting for the first passengers without a Mercedes house pass in the center of a remote off-road paradise near Perpignan on the French Mediterranean coast. Emmerich Schiller, head of the separate department for the G-Class, had previously revealed the secrets of the drive. “An uncompromising off-roader – precisely because of the electric drive,” he says. He mentions the ladder frame, the independent wheel suspension on the front axle and the newly developed rigid axle at the rear. Schiller promises: “With four electric motors close to the wheels that can be controlled individually, the vehicle will offer unique driving characteristics both on- and off-road.”
Not despite, but because of the electric drive, the electric “G” is a pure off-road vehicle. The proof follows in the narrow gorges, where deep rutted tracks lead steeply uphill. In order to then move down the valley just as breathtakingly, when more than two tons pulled by gravity can be safely maneuvered down. The electronic passenger brakes all by itself.
In contrast to its sister models with large diesel or petrol engines, the noble electric car does not require a second to remember the speed before it starts driving. It delivers full power from the first wheel rotation, carefully dosed by the on-board computer, which delicately coordinates the four engines. The power is present wherever it is needed. Sensors detect when a wheel tends to spin and transfer the torque in milliseconds to the 22-inch wheels, which still have a non-slip base under the rubber.
This helps when passing through muddy areas as well as traversing fairly deep streams and even small rivers. The battery embedded in the ladder frame is always well sealed and armored against moisture and sharp rocks, as is the underbody as a whole. When solid asphalt is reached, the EQG changes its character, becoming a comfortable long-distance vehicle, an energetic overtaker or a fast-paced athlete on the autobahn.
Thanks to its combination of all-wheel drive and electric power, the colossus can be wrapped around your finger on winding country roads and obediently follows steering commands. A stability whose immunity to body roll can also be experienced from the front passenger seat. The final exercise, on the other hand, raised a worm alarm: if the pair of wheels on the outside of the curve is programmed to rotate backwards and the colleagues on the other side move forward, the entire G-Class rotates like a “Leopard” tank on the spot. Helpful on narrow paths without turning hammer, prohibited on left lane of highway in traffic jam.
Many months before the market launch, Mercedes is not yet talking about the performance data of the newcomer, but wants to use the e-cars that are already available on the shelf. The noble EQS and its SUV variant are suitable as gene donors. Their electric motors deliver 484 kW/658 hp and a torque of 950 Newton meters. Whether the EQG, which will certainly cost more than 150,000 euros, will still be able to put its hand to the performance screw remains just as open as the question of range and battery capacity. Thanks to the 107.8 kWh battery, the elegant street electric vehicles have a range of a good 600 kilometers. A blueprint for the SUV?
The bottom line is that the EQG is good news for the army of classic fans who no longer have to tremble about the future of the iconic all-rounder. The electric version can do some things better than the combustion engines, and is hardly inferior to them in terms of performance and driving pleasure. But it’s not just charity for the customers that prompted Mercedes to build the EQG. The group needs electric models to reduce the average total consumption and thus the CO2 emissions of the entire star cluster.
