Electric cars come with an unavoidable problem: as you make the battery larger to deliver expected range and to maintain top performance, the car gets heavier and more expensive. The answer has often been to make a car lighter and aerodynamic – take the Porsche Taycan for example. But there’s an expectation that comes when you take an icon and turn it electric. Your customers are going to expect it to live up to the existing standard.
The solution might be to deliver something that no one expects. To find something else that makes the electrified version really appealing, when you can’t just stick in a bigger engine with bigger turbos to displace the size, the luxury interior, the fine veneer, or the demands of the champagne fridge.
It’s amusing, then, that the day before the Mercedes G-Class with EQ Technology was unveiled, Range Rover showed off its own electric model drifting over frozen lakes in Sweden.
When it comes to bombastic offroading luxury, Range Rover has always laid down the mark. Effortlessly capable, acres of space, sumptuous luxury, quiet, refined – and with plenty of performance. The Mercedes G-Class offers the same, albeit to a slightly younger audience and with a slightly more rugged exterior.
The Range Rover hasn’t been fully revealed, but the company is already highlighting its superior traction system compared to the combustion version. The torque reaction response is reduced from 100 milliseconds to 1 millisecond, which should mean better grip in all conditions.
While the teases have been few, Range Rover is probably breathing a sigh of relief that Mercedes has set the standard it has to meet with the new G-Class with EQ Technology.
Ain’t nothin’ but a G thang, baby
The electric Mercedes G-Class will be the first electric model from Mercedes that doesn’t carry the EQ branding. It’s not the EQG, it will still be the G-Class.
IMAGE CREDIT: MERCEDES-BENZ
The G-Class EV has been previewed a number of times, and as I alluded to above, there’s a trick that the G-Class has up its … well … chassis. With a motor on each wheel, it can perform a G Turn, more commonly known as a tank turn, driving one set of wheels forward while driving the others backwards. That will let it turn on the spot – although Mercedes states that you can’t do this on public roads.
“
It is not permissible to use G-Turn and G-Steering on public roads. Use G-Turn and G-Steering only on loose or soft surfaces, e.g. gravel or snow.
Mercedes-Benz website
What’s more impressive is G Steering. This function uses the same sort of precise motor control to reduce the turning circle, meaning you can get around tighter bends without having to stop and reverse a little to cut up the angle. Again, it’s designed for offroad use and limited to 25kph speeds, but it’s a novel function that takes advantage of the electric powertrain.
Four key facts about the Mercedes G-Class with EQ Technology
432
kW
With four motors, the peak output is 432kW, and a massive 1,164Nm of torque.
4.7
seconds
The 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds isn’t hugely fast, but this is a 3.5 tonne beast.
116
kWh
The G-Class packs in the most capcious battery Mercedes has offered so far – larger than the EQS.
293
miles
The range is given as 293 miles maximum, which falls short of many cheaper rivals.
What won’t come as a surprise is that the G-Class is stuffed with a 116kWh battery which will give you just under 300 miles of range. That’s not huge range, in reality, exposing the hidden cost to all that luxury.
What’s perhaps unusual is that the G-Class will only support 200kW charging, some way off the 320kW charging you’ll find in the new Porsche Taycan, or the 270kW you’ll get from the Audi e-tron GT. At this price – and range, you’d expect Mercedes to be gunning for the fastest charging it can find.
The four motors will produce 432kW, with a maximum torque of 1,164Nm, although the 0-62mph time is 4.7 seconds. That’s not blisteringly fast in the world of EVs either, especially when Mr Musk has pushed acceleration as one of the key benchmarks for Tesla. Instead, Mercedes is pushing the offroad skills that this model will offer.
IMAGE CREDIT: MERCEDES-BENZ
Like the Range Rover, the G-Class cut its teeth offroad, but it’s now more favoured by the urban elite. At this point I’d planned to say that the fording depths can probably be dismissed, but having seen some of the roads in Dubai recently (where plenty of these cars will be sold), there’s perhaps some assurance in that sort of benchmark (it’s 850mm, by the way – the same as the Range Rover Electric).
It’s still a Mercedes G-Class
The real attraction of the G-Class is going to be that it’s a G-Class. It hangs on to enough of those utilitarian looks to still be distinctly rugged; it’s boxy, it looks like a tool, but it’s dressed up, with a new illuminated grille. This isn’t an SUV that’s been shaved down to slide through the air, the G-Class has kept all of its character – and at 3.5 tonnes, it’s a heavyweight character.
The interior hangs on to the sumptuous finish, lavished with technology, including the MBUX system running on a 12.3-inch display with touch controls. There’s ambient lighting, a Burmeister 3D sound system and support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s the MBUX voice assistant as well as augmented reality navigation, which really is a great system to drive with.
The Mercedes G-Class with EQ Technology starts at just over €142,000, whereas the regular G-Class is just over €120,000. Exactly where the electric Range Rover will sit in terms of price remains to be seen, but it’s clear that you’re buying luxury here, rather than out-and-out performance.
