Mercedes-Benz G-Class Review 2023

Nobody - and we mean absolutely nobody - really needs a twin turbo powered V8 petrol luxury SUV with 585PS, side exiting exhausts and the breadth of ability that’ll allow it to both climb up mountains and blast down autobahns at ridiculous speeds. 

Just because you don’t need it, doesn’t mean you don’t want it. While we could all argue that the Mercedes-Benz G-Class shouldn’t exist, the sales figures underline that it should. We’re unapologetic here in liking it, it’s no less ridiculous than the supercars it so often shares company with, in concept though, we do concede that the G 63 is more than a little bit silly. 

The G 350 d is the best one to have, if only to save you from stopping to fuel it up quite so often. What’s the saying though? If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly, and the G63 is the grizzly, and some. Do it. 

The best, or the one you want? Quantifiably, the G 350 d is the best Mercedes-Benz G-Class, as it’s the most faithful to the original’s concept. The AMG has to concede to its diesel relation off-road (only a bit, though) thanks to suspension designed to help it contain its huge power, and the consumption is a bit punishing, even for those with pockets deeper than the Mariana Trench. In truth, as much as we, and many buyers, are seduced by the lunacy of the G63, it’s the G 350 d that’s the one to have. 

In truth, the G 350 d is quick enough, 7.4 seconds to 62mph is plenty fast in something this size and weight, and it’ll tow better, go further off-road, carry more and be a little bit easier to justify should the environmental activists, or your conscience, come knocking. Oh, go on, just by the G 63 and go and enjoy it, you’ve worked hard for this.

The most obvious rival to the Mercedes-Benz G-Class is Land Rover’s Range Rover, which also has a rich off-road heritage and retained ability, even if it’s unlikely ever to require it as it’s morphed through time, convincingly, into a luxury vehicle. 

Other big premium SUVs include BMW’s X7, Audi’s Q8 and a host of others, but none, not even that of Range Rover, exude the sort of old-school charm, yet breadth of ability of the G-Class. You could pitch the new Land Rover Defender against the Mercedes G-Class, but its renewal, while impressive, doesn’t come close to the G-Class’ abundant cool, though, likewise, neither does the Brit’s price tag. 

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is at the very top of Mercedes-Benz’s model series, attracting the sort of buyers who lost count of the zeros on their bank balances many decades previously, and who are used to having exactly what they want. Given its relative volume then, the level of personalisation on offer is remarkable, Mercedes-Benz offering a huge number of trim choices to suit all tastes, and budgets. 

It’s all finished very well inside, too, the odd bit of cheap plastic, sitting uncomfortably in the cabin of something like an AMG GT or Mercedes-Benz S-Class from elsewhere in the Mercedes-Benz range, a seemingly forgivable reminder of the G-Class’s off-road, utilitarian backstory schtick. After all, the Mercedes G-Class is the automobile equivalent of a self-made person, its working-class, practical background having made way for luxury and indulgence, all while not forgetting its roots.

There’s an IWC clock in the dash of the AMG, it too getting a slightly more ‘sporting’ look inside. This basically means the bottom of the steering wheel has been flattened and a has fussier design, but regardless of model, it all feels like it’ll last forever, which is entirely in keeping with the Mercedes G-Class’s tough image.    

Given its looks you might rightfully expect a cassette player inside in a DIN slot, but the Mercedes-Benz G-Class doesn’t take its retro-looking theme so far as to rob buyers of modern conveniences and entertainment. Quite the opposite indeed, the interior puts many of its SUV contemporaries to shame when it comes to infotainment, and its operation. 

There’s a huge 12.3-inch screen spanning a good portion of the top of the dashboard, containing Mercedes-Benz’s COMAND Online system, which is controlled either by touch pads and buttons on the busy steering wheel, or a touch pad with rotary controller – the G-Class, so far, escaping Merc’s replacement of this useful, useable controller with a proper, and less good, touchpad. 

There’s DAB, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, Mercedes me services for three years (a subscription required afterwards) and navigation all as standard. The G63 adds a Burmester sound system over the standard one in the G350 d. Optional packages add rear-seat entertainment and more, should you need it. 

With its replacement in 2018 came some necessary dimension changes – for crash protection – a 40mm stretch in the cabin and a 121mm increase in width, as staying faithful to the original’s would have been unnecessarily compromising inside. It now stands at 4866mm long, 2187mm wide (including mirrors) and 1969mm tall. 

There’s loads of space and comfort in the front, helped enormously by the upright glass all around you and there’s a decent, if still not overly generous, amount of space in the back, that 40mm stretch adding a bit of legroom in there, the increased width adding some shoulder room, too. 

With utilitarian roots there’s decent storage in the cabin too, with a deep twin-lidded box between the driver and passenger; removable double cup holder in the centre console; bottle holders in the door pockets, and map pockets (despite standard nav) on the back of the front seats. Need somewhere for your sunglasses? Leave a pair in the handy pop-down stowage compartment above the rear-view mirror. There are 12 volt sockets in the centre console, the rear and the load compartment, too. 

That load compartment is accessed via a side-opening door with the spare wheel hanging off it. Despite its weight it opens and closes easily, all with the satisfying old thunk you’d recognise from the old G-Class.

The boot inside is 667 litres with the seats in position, or 1,246 litres if you drop the rear seats – these doing so in a one third/two thirds manner, through a leaver set in the floor. The space is very boxy, meaning it’s hugely useful, only the relatively narrow opening limiting what you might be able to get in there. 

It’ll tow, a lot, and quickly in the case of the AMG model, it able to haul an unbraked trailer of up to 750kg, the braked trailer capacity being 3500kg, the ESP (Electronic Stability Program) recognising when a trailer’s hooked up to the G-Class and firing up the trailer stabilisation mode from its files. 

That tow bar is standard on all. Add the ability to hang bikes, boats, boards and boxes via a variety of Mercedes-Benz and other, supplied accessories and it’s about as practical as you could ask for. It's little surprise that the Mercedes-Benz G-Class is so often spotted as a chase vehicle for baggage and friends who can’t squeeze into their pal’s super and hypercars.    

Two engine choices for the UK, us British buyers denied what’s arguably the best all-round Mercedes-Benz G-Class the G 500, with a slightly de-tuned version of the 4.0-litre twin turbo engine from the AMG. 

Still, it’s a small potential audience, and the G 63’s a big draw to many, the G 350 d working at the other end of the spectrum. Choose that G 350 d and you’ll have chosen wisely, the in-line six-cylinder diesel might not have the AMG’s prodigious firepower, but with 286PS and 600Nm it’s not short of performance. Indeed, 7.4 seconds to 62mph and a 124mph top speed should be enough for most. 

Thing is though, is there such a thing as too much power? Evidently not at AMG, as not only has the hot-rodding department of Mercedes-Benz added its 4.0-litre twin turbo V8, but it’s dropped in its most potent version of it. 

That means 585PS and 850Nm of torque, all that power and twist allowing a quite ridiculous 4.5 second 0-62mph time. Both drive through 9-speed automatic transmissions, the AMG one specific to it, while the non-AMG model gets a G mode in its driving programmes for all the locking differentials and low range transfer box for the ultimate off-road ability. 

The AMG’s driving modes are more road-biased, or, at least, more focussed to help contain all that power. Top speed for the AMG is 137mph, but ask nicely, and pay for the AMG Driver’s Package and that speed increases to 149mph. 

It’s shaped like a big shoebox, with another smaller one on top, they’ve deliberately kept things like exposed hinges on the external bodywork for an authentic classic look, flush bodywork not even a thing here. 

That, inevitably, means there’s a bit more wind noise than something that’s been designed in the wind tunnel first, rather than chucked in it afterwards to try and sort out the noisiest aspects of its design. You just won't care, even if you’re driving it from London to St Anton, as you can drown out any wind and road noise with the excellent stereo. 

If noise levels really are a concern, the diesel’s the better option, as it’s not got such a boisterous engine (the AMG vocal, and having side-exit exhausts) but the sounds that V8 makes aren’t exactly unwelcome. 

Mercedes-Benz’s safety record is enviable, but that hasn’t stopped Mercedes chucking all manner of active and passive safety equipment at Mercedes-Benz G-Class. There’s Active Brake Assist with proximity and collision warning, with autonomous braking when spotting pedestrians, vehicles and cyclists, ABS and Brake Assist Plus. The brakes even recognise when it’s wet, priming the system and pulsing the discs dry for maximum stopping power. 

Electronic stability and traction control systems help maintain control even in extreme situations, while there’s Active Lane Keeping Assist for those lengthy trips to the Alps. Likewise, the Attention Assist system will alert you to your drowsiness on longer drives.

Pre-safe primes all the systems in the event of an impending impact, tightening seat belts, closing the sunroof and even adjusting the seat to the best position for the seat belts and airbags to work. The airbag count is high, with driver and passenger front, side and window bags, too. Tyre pressure monitoring, Traffic Sign Assist, and ISOFIX seat mounts, as well as the Driving Assist Package, which includes Blind Spot Assist and Active Distance Assist are all standard. That’s a lot of Assists… 

Mercedes-Benz generally performs well for reliability, ranking 13th out of 30 manufacturers in the latest HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index with an overall satisfaction score of 87.9%. Mercedes SUVs tend to be quite reliable with the smaller GLC model scoring an average of 9.5 out of 10 for reliability. 

Group 50 for the AMG, and not much less for the G 350 d. These are expensive cars to own and run, and insurance is no different. Given you’ll be more than likely to have several other cars costing similar, and many multiples more, the costs of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class aren’t likely to bother you, nor should they. Servicing isn’t likely to be a worry, either, but Mercedes-Benz does offer both with a service plan, which spreads the cost of servicing with a monthly payment, it probably the best £44 a month you’ll spend. 

The 299g/km of the AMG put it significantly in the 255g/km Band M top rating which means a not insubstantial £2135 for your first year of road tax, while it’ll cost you £465 a year for the following five years. After that it’ll be a bit more palatable, on the standard VED rate. The G 350 d sneaks in, just with 252g/km, that putting it in Band L, so it should cost less, but it’s not RED2 compliant, you’ll need to pay the same tax as that AMG V8, regardless.    

There are two models, the G 350 d and that G 63 AMG. The G 350 d is a few thousand pounds short of £100,000 so the specification is huge, though the Premium Pack is well worth adding, for the Burmster stereo, 360 degree parking camera and adaptive damping suspension alone, but the LED headlights and electric sliding sunroof also help justify the £6000 add-on cost. 

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG gets all that, and more, along with its outrageous power and more pouting looks. There are some additional packages on both; Night Package, which add a bit of dark detailing outside, while there’s the possibility of having the G’s roof painted black, so long as you’ve specified that Night Package. We’d suggest the Winter Package, particularly as it adds the auxiliary heater, which allows you to heat the car to your preferred temperature before you get in it.