this is the new 2019 Mercedes-benz g550 now you may have heard of it by its
other names the Galindo Vagan in the original German or the G Wagen in the
current modern American it started life as a go anywhere off road vehicle
developed for the West German military way back in the 1970s and like a lot of
these military off-road vehicles think Hummer or land rover it eventually
became a kind of a rich folks plaything that we see today now these days you're
far less likely to see one of these things bounding over the fields then you
are more at a Starbucks drive-thru on the way to a hot yoga studio but you
know what so what these things live more mundane lives in maybe Miami or Southern
California we're not going to judge anybody who buys one of these things
because it is absolutely awesome and I love it let me show you why I mean look
at it it has the aerodynamic efficiency of your average two-story townhouse you
mark the mercy of stiff crosswinds and the g-wagen then Christopher Columbus
was sailing across the Atlantic despite this being an all-new G Wagen that's
longer and wider than the old one it looks almost identical and that's
intentional buyers love the fact that it looks like the proverbial box that it
came in and Mercedes took great pains to ensure that this look was preserved the
round headlights are now adaptive LED and you have a choice of front brush
guards in Chrome or black if you order the night package like this one has the
turn signals are located on the tops of the fenders and both sides are visible
from the high riding driver's seat it feels like a total throwback as well
check out these doors the exterior latches are just one of a
handful of pieces carried over unchanged from the last G Wagen and they're like
this because buyers would throw a fit if Mercedes changed them they opened by a
push button and the door opens and closes with a mechanical clack that
hasn't changed since the 70s and the powertrain is just insane the base
engine is a Mercedes AMG derived 4 liter twin-turbo v8 making 416 horsepower and
450 pound feet of torque it's mated to a 9 speed automatic transmission and
features full-time all-wheel drive it is loud it is fast and it is mental
mercedes-benz says that it'll get from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 5.6
in a 50 500-pound SUV it does handle better than the old one thanks to a new
independent front suspension and a fully modernized rack and pinion steering
system but it does still have a solid rear axle and in case you ever do find
yourself involved in a land war in Asia it has three sequentially locking
differentials and a dedicated low range that could be controlled by at the
center console ninety percent of buyers will look at these buttons and wonder
what they do a few brave souls may even press one button less you know what
you're doing they're not gonna do anything for you
and seeing that it drives better doesn't necessarily mean that it drives well the
ride is vastly improved and stability is an order of magnitude better but it's
still crazy tippy had slow to turn in and it feels like the true off-roader
that it is it's like someone sent a Jeep Wrangler off to a fancy Austrian
boarding school and this is what came back better and more refined in every
conceivable way but still a mud bogging hooligan at heart the biggest
improvements are inside where mercedes-benz has crafted one of the
nicest interiors its ever put together this thing is opulent with gorgeous
leather comfortable seats real wood metal and carbon fiber and an optional
dual 12-point three inch digital display setup it's surprising that mercedes-benz
didn't include the latest MBU X multimedia system with this latest G
wagen instead you get the latest version of command the company's older system
but it now has apple carplay and android auto and standard equipment this model
features the exclusive interior package with nappa leather seats and dashboard
diamond stitching the Zinio floor mats massaging front seats with rapid heating
and ventilation and check out that red it's not for everyone but I'm a sucker
for a red leather interior and this is one of the best ones I've ever seen the
new G wagon is bigger in every dimension inside to the overall truck is 2.1
inches longer and has a 1.6 inch longer wheelbase it's 3 inches wider too and
you feel it when you're sitting inside but the big jump comes in the back seat
where passengers get a 6 inch bump in leg room making it much more tolerable
than before it's eaten into the cargo room a bit but you no longer need to
move the front seats forward to fold down the back seats so I'll count this
as a major improvement to daily livability
so what is this fancy SUV like going to set you back well the base price starts
at just a tick under one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars and if
you're not careful with that options sheet and you start checking some boxes
you'll end up with one like this which comes in at just about a hundred and
fifty thousand dollars and that's why you don't see them on every street
corner unless of course you're living in Southern California now if you'd like to
learn more about the new 2019 mercedes-benz g550 you can look
everything up on cars.com