2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUVOTY Review: Suave, Sophisticated, and Super Satisfying
The G-Wagen is an icon, and now it’s even better. Is it enough to earn it an SUV of the Year trophy?
Pros
- Literally an icon
- Built like a vault
- Better driving than ever
Cons
- Money, money, money, money
- Rear-seat screens suck
- We already said it’s expensive, yeah?
There was a bit of handwringing when Mercedes-Benz announced the engine in its entry-level G-Class SUV would only have six cylinders. Gone is the old G550’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, now replaced by a 3.0-liter supercharged and inline-six. Like most things on the internet these days, those fears were almost totally unfounded. Power with the mild-hybrid I-6 is up to 443 hp from 416, though torque is down to 413 lb-ft from 450. Sure, everyone (supposedly) wants a V-8, but as buyer’s guide director Zach Gale pointed out: “There will come a day when the owners won’t have a V-8 reference point. They may just see it as noise and vibration.”
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Handling is quite improved compared to previous G-Wagens we’ve driven, almost as if taking more than 100 pounds off the front end pays dividends. But we believe there’s more to it than that. “I’m blown away how well the stability control system is programmed,” features editor Scott Evans said. “You go around a corner with a little too much speed, and it very carefully brakes the correct wheel to stabilize the vehicle but doesn’t just cut power and throw out the anchor as many systems do. This one almost feels like it’s helping the truck handle better and tuck into the corner.”
Looking at our six key criteria, the refreshed G550 scores excellent against five of them. In terms of advancement in design, having the restraint not to change something is indeed great design, Evans noted. Why mess with an actual icon? More to the point, the interior receives a much-needed upgrade, where ye olde COMAND scroll wheel has finally been replaced by a big MBUX touchscreen. “This is an undeniably beautiful interior,” technical director Frank Markus said, “especially given its military roots—deep and distant as they may be at this point.”
On the next two—engineering excellence and performance of intended function—the G550 is essentially off the charts. “Drives like greased money” was among the best notes we wrote. Efficiency is up thanks to the dropping of two cylinders, and even though vehicles this expensive never get crash tested, you have to imagine G-Wagens are inherently safe. As in, it literally resembles a safe. The above was enough to pull the Mercedes-Benz G550 through as a finalist.
Value is the one area where the big G struggled. It’s not that it’s overpriced, per se; it’s just nearly $150K to start, barely avoiding our price cap. The lineup is so expensive we couldn’t even allow the all-electric G580 to participate in our program. As much as we sounded like a collection of broken records, we just kept coming back to the cost. “What is there to even fault on this truck besides its egregious price?” Evans asked. Yup, that’s where we are. “Even then,” Evans continued, “customers have made it clear that they’ll happily pay it, so how mad can you really get?” Not mad, not mad at all.
This review was conducted as part of our 2024 SUV of the Year (SUVOTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.
