Mercedes Benz G 63 Wagon - $132,800. By Ella Patterson
PHOTO CREDIT: MERCEDES.COM
he 2020 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, known by many as the “G-Wagon,” is already among the baddest, brawniest and most distinctive SUVs money can buy. The MercedesAMG version takes the German automaker’s Earth-conquering “Gelandewagen” SUV and makes it even more extreme. Yes, if the standard G 550 (reviewed separately) is the king of luxuriously rugged SUVs, the Mercedes-AMG G 63 is the emperor. Even with a slew of new high-end, ultra-capable SUVs that range from the reborn Land Rover Defender to the Lamborghini Urus, there’s simply nothing else like it on the road. Can you name one other luxury SUV that has triple locking differentials for stee hill climbing ability along with twin 12.3-inch digital displays to relay the latest tech, not to mention decades of heritage and celebrity status? Then there’s the handcrafted, 577-horsepower V8 that launches this ultra-SUV from 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds. Downsides? While the G-Wagon just had its first major revamp in decades, it’s still more beast than beauty in terms of everyday livability and drivability. Then there’s the price: It costs over $156,000 to even step into a 2020 Mercedes-AMG G 63. In reality, a crossover SUV like the Mercedes GLE is more logical, more efficient, more civilized, and less expensive, but few vehicles can touch the gravitas of a G-Class.
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some have respectable off-road chops, the G-Wagon is among the very few that are both fast on the road and extremely capable offroad. Of course, most owners of this ultra-luxury SUV will never leave asphalt. The G-Wagon has become standard transportation for the Hollywood set, and we can safely wager that very few of its celebrity owners will ever use the G 63’s locking differentials. Still, this version that was totally revamped last year is its best driving to date. Switching to an independent front suspension has made the G-Wagon more civil (the rear remains a solid axle), and all other hardware has been massaged for better everyday drivability. The fresh, twin-turbo V8 is a marvelous motivator. Its rumble is impossible to ignore and planting your foot on the right pedal enables effortless, physics-defying acceleration. Overall ride quality is good, and the 9-speed automatic works well. It shifts almost imperceptibly with light throttle, but changes gears more noticeably when the driver is aggressive with the pedal. Steering effort feels natural, and on curvy roads, you can feel how the front and rear anti-roll bars help keep the G 63 from leaning too much in the corners. Off-road, in low range with all three differentials locked, the G 63 seems unstoppable. Truly, if you know what you’re doing and have the guts to take your roughly $160,000 SUV into the wild, it has the capability to venture farther than you ever thought possible.
Driving the 2020 Mercedes-AMG G 63 Have you ever driven a brick with sports-car-like acceleration and the ability to literally scale mountains? That’s the nature of the new Mercedes-AMG G 63. While other luxury SUVs are fast and
Favorite Features: THREE LOCKING DIFFERENTIALS Via three buttons on the dash, the G 63’s center, rear and front differentials can be locked, but only in that specific order. It’s this 98
