Tank-Turning Mercedes-Benz G580 EV Launches With 579bhp

It’s no secret that Mercedes-Benz has been working on an electric version of its beloved G-Class 4x4, with Merc teasing us with prototypes since 2022. Now, not long after the facelifted version of the combustion-powered G, it’s finally here, and everything about it is big.

The name, for a start: we all assumed it’d be called EQG, in line with the rest of Merc’s EV range, but it is in fact the (checks notes) Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology. Snappy stuff.

The figures are pretty big too. It boasts a quad-motor setup, with one individual motor powering each wheel. It adds up to a grand total of 579bhp, and a staggering 859lb ft of torque, which is enough to send the G580 to 62mph in 4.7 seconds. That’s despite it looking like a 1960s tower block laid on its side, and weighing basically the same as one – it’s 3085kg.

Top speed is limited to 112mph, which quite frankly seems like plenty for something that weighs as much as a female African elephant. The WLTP test puts the range at 294 miles, and Merc says it’ll do the industry standard 10 to 80 per cent rapid charge in 32 minutes. It still uses an old-fashioned ladder frame, with all the important electric gubbins – namely the four motors and the battery – integrated into the chassis.

Mercedes is serious about the G580 retaining the combustion car’s off-road chops. It features what Merc calls ‘virtual differential locks’, which take advantage of the one-motor-per-wheel setup to quickly and precisely send just the right amount of torque to each wheel depending on the terrain. Naturally, there’s a low-range mode, which utilises each motor’s individual transmission for peak low-end grunt.

To protect all the components sitting within the ladder frame, the car includes an enormous 26mm thick underbody panel, which Merc proudly proclaims weighs 57.6kg on its own. It features the same adaptive dampers the combustion car gets and features 250mm of ground clearance. Wading depth, meanwhile, is 850mm – a 150mm increase over the ICE G.

In addition to the de rigeur 360-degree camera view, the G580 gets a ‘transparent bonnet’ feature, which stitches together various camera feeds to provide a view beneath the front of the vehicle, so you can avoid clouting it on any rocks that you might fail to otherwise spot.

Then, of course, is the G580’s party piece, the thing Mercedes has been teasing us with most. Merc calls it ‘G-Turn’, but it’s better known as tank turning: the car can send torque in opposite directions along each side of the car, allowing it to spin on the spot. We’re sure Mercedes is envisioning it being used to navigate tricky obstacles out in the deserts of Utah, but let’s be honest: it’s going to be ideal for turning around in particularly tight Kensington mews, where the G580 will spend the bulk of its time. It automatically cancels after two full spins, presumably to stop the tyres getting horrifically flat-spotted.

The car also gets something called ‘G-Steering’, which focuses torque on the inside rear wheel, tightening the turning circle.

There’s one more ‘G-Feature’, too: G-Roar. This is Merc’s take on the controversial topic of EV noise generation, and plays a sound it says is inspired by the noise of V8 G-Classes. G-Roar also encompasses an ‘aura’ sound that plays as the driver approaches the vehicle. That should freak out anyone standing next to it, then.

Outside, Mercedes has played it safe and hasn’t really strayed from the boxy looks that draw so many people to the G-Class, the only major nod to its electric-ness being the smooth, LED-ringed grille facsimile that Merc likes to put on its EVs. The same goes for the inside, which remains an oddly appealing mix of high-tech, plush leather and off-road accoutrements.

The G580 with EQ Technology launches in Edition One form, which includes a host of extra kit as standard, as well as some blue carbon fibre trim on the inside. Classy. No word yet on UK pricing, but we’d expect it to launch alongside the updated combustion G-Class range later this year.