2025 Mercedes-Benz G550 Prototype Drive: A First Taste of the Best G-Wagen Yet

Funny story: More than a decade ago, Justin Bell and I drove a Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG from Copenhagen, Denmark to Arjeplog, Sweden, in the dead of winter. It was an epic quest, but the amusing part was that Mercedes at first didn't want us to do it. See, the G-Wagen was infamously conceived as a military vehicle by request of the Shah of Iran, and while it had and has many positive attributes—off-road prowess, vault-like construction, stackable like pallets on big planes, instantly recognizable/great looks—those same good points cursed it with lousy fuel efficiency. Especially the preposterously lovable V-12 version, the twin-turbo G65. Hence, the three-pointed-star people weren't all that keen to send two goofballs on a frozen, 1,200-mile journey and then listen to us bellyache about gas mileage. I made team Mercedes a promise: I wouldn't even mention it. Until now.

The New Era

Fast forward to March 2024 and I'm once again in Scandinavia, about to embark on another snowy G-Wagen adventure. Instead of Copenhagen's colorful streets, I'm standing in front of a hotel in Saltstraumen, Norway, a stark, arctic estuary famous for having massive tidal whirlpools that result in water flowing between two fjords. In front of the main lobby are four camouflaged new G-Wagens, and they have but 12 cylinders between them. One is the refreshed 2025 Mercedes-Benz G500 (known to Americans as the G550), its engine having been downsized from a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 to a 48-volt mild-hybrid inline-six turbo. Another is the new G350D, replete with the diesel version of Mercedes' mild hybrid inline turbo-six. That vehicle is not coming to the U.S. I'm among the first journalists, and the first American, to drive the new Mercedes-Benz G500/G550.

There are also two all-electric G-Class vehicles here as well, known as the new G580. One is an old mule, the one that first demonstrated G-Turns all those months ago. It's completed hundreds of thousands of miles of testing. The other is a newer G580 that's mechanically and software-wise identical to the older mule, but with a fraction of the miles under its belt. The good news is that four journalists, four Graz, Austria-based engineers, and a smattering of PR, camera-operator types, and logistics people are to trek east from Norway, across the Swedish boarder and then slightly south to Arjeplog, a winter wonderland of frozen lakes that serves as the cold-weather testing location for many European carmakers. The same town that Bell and I visited 10 years previously. The bad news is that while us journo types are permitted to drive the gasoline powered Gs, we'll only be able to check out the all-electric Gs from the passenger seat.

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Going forward, all Mercedes G-Class vehicles will be at least partially electrified, and this includes the still-top-of-the-heap Mercedes-AMG G63. Counter to rumors running around social media, the big V-8-powered version is not being sent to the big Schöckl Mountain in the sky. No, the unofficial car of Beverly Hills soldiers on with its 577 hp, 627 lb-ft V-8 intact, only now it's joined by a 48-volt mild hybrid system that adds an electric motor good for an extra 20 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque. The baddest G (for now) also adds a fancy hydraulic suspension system called Active Ride Control, which not only does away with the anti-roll bars, but controls compression and rebound hydraulicly via separate lines. Mercedes says ARC improves both agility and ride comfort, though no word on whether it bounces. There are two new G63-specific off-road modes, Traction Pro and Active Balance Control. The former uses individual wheel braking and variable torque split of the center differential, while Active Balance Control allows for three-stage roll-stiffness control.

All the new G-Wagens get the latest version of Mercedes' MBUX infotainment system, meaning goodbye scroll wheel, hello touchscreen! When launched in 2019, the W463-series G-Class was the final Mercedes product to ship without a touchscreen, and anecdotally I've talked to a few potential customers who passed on the things because they didn't like the scroll wheel. Crazy, but true. So the new W465 Gs will have touchscreens. All G-Wagens also get modified, rounded A-pillars, as well as a little curved lip where the top of the windscreen meets the roof. Both mods came about for range purposes, as Mercedes needed to make the electric G-Wagen as slippery as a four-wheeled brick can be. The engineers realized these two changes would not only help all Gs in terms of efficiency, but also help reduce wind noise, a persistent annoyance with the model. The new Mercedes G580 also has a different hood and little air skirts on the front-edge of the rear fender flares.

Shot of Electricity

Our party set off from Saltstraumen and I found myself in the passenger seat of the high-mileage, all-electric G580. Mercedes is embargoing my passenger experience until later, so let me dance around that limitation and do some speculating. Reading into the naming a little bit, a couple of things become obvious. One is that Mercedes is about to do away with its confusing EQ naming convention. Officially called the Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ technology, I'm happy we can drop the EQ stuff. (Attention Cadillac: Regarding your even worse IQ naming strategy, take note.) While no one on this trip confirmed it (though there were at least two denials), naming the electric version G580 means that it will (probably) slot in between the G550 and G63 in terms of price and positioning. This leaves the door open for a range topping AMG variant, which could very well be called G65. How cool would that be?

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There's room for a more potent version. Looking at the power output, the G580 makes 579 horsepower, whereas the G63 makes 577 but does have an additional 20 horses from the hybrid motor. The G580 does make more torque than the G63 (859 lb-ft versus 627+148, though remember that hybrid torque numbers are not straight addition), and I get the feeling the G580's power is being throttled-down intentionally to protect the G63's crown. This makes even more sense when you realize the electric G's competitors (Rivan R1S quad-motor, Tesla Cyberbeast, Hummer EV) all make way more power. I spent a lot of the drive asking the engineers what vehicles they benchmarked when developing the G580, and while there were a few, they all individually told me they were most impressed by the 835-hp, 908 lb-ft Rivian. In fact, Rivian admiration (both theirs and mine) was a constant theme throughout the journey.

We stopped for lunch and a quick charge at a gas station, where even up in the Arctic circle there are at least 10 EV chargers. Norway has the highest adoption of EVs in the world—in 2023, more than 90 percent of new vehicle registrations were for battery-electric vehicles. Better yet, both G580s plugged into Tesla chargers and began charging immediately. How about that? Did we need to charge? No, as our journey was only 165 miles and the G580s probably have a 275-mile range (470 kilometers on the European cycle, which is 292 miles, but it's not a simple conversion), but why not juice up since we'd be sitting and eating for 30 minutes? After a hearty meat and gravy heavy meal, I clamored into the G500 (the new G550 to us Yanks) and we set off.

The New Mercedes-Benz G550

You won't be shocked to learn the thing felt exactly like a G-Wagen. Sure, the engineers kept telling me how much more "responsive" the new -inline-six is than yee olde V-8, but it felt familiar to me. With the loss of two cylinders, Mercedes claims a curb weight of 5,478 pounds. The last G550 we weighed scaled in at 5,665 pounds. We'll have to see what the actual numbers are when we get our hands on one to test. But assuming Mercedes is close, I still couldn't notice a nearly 200-pound weight reduction. The inline-six gains power when compared to the V-8, 443 hp versus 416, but it loses torque, 413 lb-ft versus 450. I'd have to drive both off-roaders back-to-back to really learn anything, but I predict owners will like the new version just as much as the old. Most likely more, as fuel consumption and NOX production will drop. Speaking of weight, the 116-kWh battery in the G580 adds around 1,000 pounds, putting it right in line with the 6,600-pound Tesla Cybertruck, though perhaps a bit less.

I also drove the rather peppy diesel version, called the Mercedes-Benz G450D, and it also impressed me, especially its 750-mile range. A Mercedes engineer says the diesel version is the one to take if you want to go overlanding. But yeah, if you like how G-Wagens drive—imperious, militaristic, muscular—these refreshed versions don't disappoint. The Gs felt like Gs. In other news, water is wet.

The new touchscreen is a welcome improvement, however, much like BMW's latest iDrive, Mercedes' MBUX needs a major rethink in terms of organization. It's illogical. Need proof? I watched as two different engineers in two different Gs went to the same wrong screen to try and show me the same piece of info. These are the people who build the damn things. There aren't too many other interior changes, mostly things like red or yellow seatbelts, and leather trim that extends onto the roof because why not? We got to the stoic hotel in Arjeplog after about six hours of driving and packed it in for the night.

Innate Characteristics

The next morning, we set out to test the new Gs' dynamic capabilities. First, however, we had to make a quick pitstop and climb up a ski mountain so the boys could show off the electric G580's ridiculous G-Turn functionality where the truck spins in a circle on its own axis. Better known as a tank turn, and you've probably seen the videos, I'm not going to say anymore here because there's a separate G580 story coming. '

Down the mountain and onto the frozen lake we drove. It was time to have some fun. I started out in the 2025 Mercedes G550/G500 passenger seat so an engineer could show me the courses we were playing with. First up was a rather slippery winding track we tackled with the traction and stability control (Mercedes calls the combo ESP) fully on, and then reduced. With the transfer case in High mode, it never turns off fully.

Next up was a massive frozen skidpad, literally a huge donut carved into the lake's surface. The outer part is covered in snow, while the inner part is low-traction polished ice. We went around it with ESP on at about 55 mph and everything seemed hunky dory. Then the engineer turned it off and locked the front and rear diffs while still in High. Suddenly, we were fully drifting the circle at what seemed to be a ridiculous speed. I looked to my left and saw 127 kph, which is 79 mph. Yup, totally ludicrous! Had I not been sitting in the vehicle, I wouldn't believe you if you told me any G-Wagen, let alone the six-cylinder version, can drift around a frozen lake at basically 80 mph. He performed this party trick for around five full laps, too. Nucking futs, as the kids said a few years back. Sadly, due to (always it seems) antiquated U.S. laws, you can't lock the rear differential in High in our country. However, the G engineers figured out a sneaky workaround: You now can select Rock mode in High, and it uses the ESP system to approximate a locking rear diff. Not as good, but it's pretty close.

Finally, it's my turn to drive. The 2025 Mercedes-Benz G550 is as sure-footed as any vehicle I've ever driven on snow and ice. Yes, the winter tires help, but Mercedes has done a great job with the ESP system. It effectively lets you point the vehicle where you want, and whatever the ESP is up to (grabbing individual brakes, limiting power) is well hidden from the driver. However, on the slippery winding track (Arjeplog had warmed to above freezing and then refroze), I found the G550 more controllable with the ESP switched "off." That said, most customers probably won't try to go as fast as possible when trudging down a narrow, icy trail.

Next, we headed to the big ice donut. The new G550 was pleasantly stable with everything switched on. I had no trouble cruising in a counterclockwise circle at 55-60 mph. Then I switched ESP off, locked the two diffs, and after about three laps held and maintained an 80-mph opposite lock drift for half the big circle. I said to the engineer that if I had a few more hours, I'd be an expert like him. He politely lied that yes, I would. Why build a nearly three-ton lump to snow drift so well? Because they can. Color me impressed.

But not nearly as impressed as I was by the all-electric 2025 Mercedes-Benz G580. You'll get to read about that one in about four weeks. Until then, know that Mercedes knew what it was doing with this new G-Wagen lineup.