Mercedes-Benz G580 electric: the iconic G-Wagon goes green while maintaining its legendary capability

Name any vehicle that was built almost 50 years ago, is still in production and is instantly recognisable by virtually the entire world.

There aren’t many, right? 

Unless, of course, it’s the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon or, more correctly, the Geländewagen.

First introduced in 1979 as a military vehicle and later that year as a civilian option, the G-Wagon has stayed true to its box-like shape and incredible offroad ability whether it’s a modern diesel G450d or the fire-breathing AMG G63 that’s much loved by rappers, gangsters, soccer players and the rich and famous social types.

Who knew, though, that an electric G580 would be as good, possibly better, than anything that has preceded it?

I suppose it was inevitable given the way mobility is moving, but as an offroad enthusiast, when it was first announced, I had a good laugh.

But after experiencing it first hand at the AMG Driving Experience Centre at Zwartkops, I must tilt my cap to what the engineers have managed to conjure up.

Same exterior but a different powertrain

We don’t have to go into the exterior details simply because it’s a G-Wagon, and not much has changed over the years.

Interestingly, it hasn’t changed its ladder chassis and body-on-frame design either, the German manufacturer preferring instead to stick to the fundamentals of what the G-Class is about.

The chassis houses a 116kWh lithium-ion battery pack that’s waterproof and protected from the elements by a torsion-resistant casing and underbody protection, including carbon-fibre reinforced materials, that they say can carry up to three times the weight of the car, should you get hung up on a rock and gives you a wading depth of 850mm.

The battery powers four two-speed electric motors on each wheel that produce 108kW and 291Nm, providing a total of 432kW and 1 164Nm of torque.

It will charge via an 11kW AC charger or a 200kW DC charger, giving it a WLTP-rated range of 473 kilometers when fully charged.

This makes it incredibly fast and steady on tar and gravel, as we found out, and despite its shape, there’s very little wind noise, so it’s eerily quiet inside except when you floor it, and the piped G63 V8 noise accompanies it.

Any good offroad?

But the G is renowned for its offroad prowess, so we put it through its paces on a relatively tough course that included some steep muddy and concrete inclines, axle twisters and rocky sections.

The G580 has 250mm of ground clearance, a 35-degree rollover angle, 32-degree approach angle, 30.7-degree departure angle and a breakover angle of 20.3 degrees.

Apart from comfort, sport and individual modes, it gets two offroad modes: trail and rock.

You have to forget about the traditional 4x4 settings, clunking gearboxes, driveshafts and transfer cases but instead think of it as a fully electric set-up that allows the electronic brain to recalibrate and adjust how it reacts to the terrain.

Think of Trail as 4H (despite the G580 being all-wheel-drive) and Rock as 4L. 

It has the usual G-Wagon differential locks, but they’re virtual, which takes some getting used to.

Suffice it to say that all the electronic wizardry works well.

You can essentially allow the car to think for itself in every obstacle. It will calculate how much throttle is needed and which motor to send the power over the axle twisters, on a muddy slope it will crawl up and send power away from the spinning wheel to where there is traction and if it can’t get that right, gentle input from the driver and some momentum gets the job done.

My driving partner managed to get us properly stuck in a muddy boghole that seemed like we might need to be recovered.

All four wheels were merrily churning up the mud, and we were going nowhere.

With some recovery guidance from the side and gently rocking the vehicle back and forth in rock and trail mode, we eventually managed to exit the hole with only our egos bruised. 

What made it more remarkable was that it was fitted with road tyres that had become slick in the mud at road driving pressure.

Party trick

It had one more trick up its sleeve in the form of G-Steer.

In rock mode, using the feature, it will pivot around itself like a tank for two rotations before it disengages. 

It’s impressive to see, but it needs a relatively flat wet, muddy or snowy surface.

I doubt it will be used often in real-life situations, but on the odd chance that you’re at a dead end in the bush, you’ll impress your friends no end.  

Only for the very well-heeled 

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class has always tipped the scales on the far end of expensive, and it’s no different here with the G580 with EQ Technology coming in at R3 823 457 and the G580 Edition one with AMG Line and Night Package at R4 647 456.

The traditional petrol G63 is still shoved forward by AMG’s 430kW and 850Nm 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 that’s now been fitted with a 48-volt mild hybrid system adding an extra 15kW and 200Nm for short bursts. It now also comes with AMG Active Ride Control suspension for when you have to push it to the limit.

It’s yours for R4 415 916, and both versions come with a five-year/100 000km PremiumDrive Comfort Care Service and Maintenance Plan.