I Never Knew Pure Terror Until I Drove A Mercedes-AMG G63 At Speed

With its solid front and rear axles and huge ground clearance, the outgoing G-Class is a car that probably shouldn't have a big, powerful V8. And yet here we are...
I Never Knew Pure Terror Until I Drove A Mercedes-AMG G63 At Speed

Pros

Cons

To my friend and neighbour Chris, I would like to say sorry. I realise now that shouting ‘OH GOD!’ mid way through a fast right-hander probably didn’t fill you with confidence while riding shotgun in that bright orange Mercedes-AMG G63. Especially as I was frantically hacking away at the steering wheel at the time. Judging by how white you looked after this brief but terrifying moment, you did not take kindly to it.

In reality, of course, we were fine. That’s the problem with the outgoing Mercedes G-Class - the steering wheel feels like it’s not actually attached to anything. There’s a sense of total disconnect with the front wheels, and also a worrying delay between your inputs and the car actually reacting with them. This decades-old, military-minded SUV still has a ladder chassis and solid rear axles, so the last thing it needs is a 544bhp, 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8. And yet here we are.

I Never Knew Pure Terror Until I Drove A Mercedes-AMG G63 At Speed

It’s not just the vagueness, either. The steering just seems to want to do its thing much of the time - you even find yourself chopping away at the wheel just to keep it in a straight line under full load. And even with a kerb weight of over two tonnes, it’s still fast - 0-62mph happens in just 5.4 seconds, and if you’re brave enough, you can take it up to an electronically-limited top speed of 143mph. I’m fine thanks, though.

I Never Knew Pure Terror Until I Drove A Mercedes-AMG G63 At Speed

Yes, you can take it down a country road and drive it hard, but doing so feels…alarming. Putting your foot down sees the G-Wag rear up like a horse, soon thrusting you to speeds that feel uncomfortable thanks to that vague steering and wayward front-end.

Get too greedy with the throttle, and the vast, boxy nose of the thing will happily wash wide. But we’re not talking about run-of-the-mill understeer here - the tall, heavy G63 feels as though it will understeer off the road, through a field and obliterate that delightfully quaint farm house just off to the right.

I Never Knew Pure Terror Until I Drove A Mercedes-AMG G63 At Speed

By pretty much any measure, the G63 is not a good car. It houses a vast V8 it was never designed for. Even on a gentle motorway run it’s amusingly incapable of hitting anything more than about 18mpg, and thanks to those side exit exhausts, you can’t really take it off road either. I’m not sure who or what it’s for, but you need to be very rich to buy one: even before options, it’s an absurd £152,600.

And yet, even though I shouldn’t, I really rather like it. There’s something brilliantly silly about the whole idea. It shouldn’t exist, and yet it does, here to raise a smile from whoever drives it and whoever spots it out in the wild. Particularly if - like the one I drove - it’s an orange ‘colour edition’.

I Never Knew Pure Terror Until I Drove A Mercedes-AMG G63 At Speed

Driving a G63 isn’t something you’ll forget in a hurry. But it’s not just the way it drives - I love having to step up into it; I love the industrial-spec doors and boot that have to be slammed shut with a satisfying ‘thunk’. It’s basically a life-size Tonka toy that has no clue about the word ‘subtlety’.

The 'W463' G-Class interior is a mess of Mercedes parts from various eras. The new version on the other hand borrows much from the current S-Class
The 'W463' G-Class interior is a mess of Mercedes parts from various eras…

But what I love most about it? That’d be the fact Mercedes has made the new one look pretty much the same, only with proper independent front suspension and a load of tech lifted from the S-Class. So, Chris, when I take you out in that car, it should be a little less scary.

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Comments

Uzair Patel

I think it looks better than the old one but it needs to have the 5.5 V8 in it

04/22/2018 - 10:43 |
2 | 9

That is the old one.

04/22/2018 - 11:36 |
11 | 0
MaxMesserorange

The description of the handling seems very familiar to me, coming from a Toyota Land Cruiser

04/22/2018 - 10:57 |
1 | 0
Anonymous

This version is better than the new one. With the independent front suspension, the new version won’t be quite as good off road, and with all those extra electronics, it won’t be quite as reliable. Still, at least the W461 G Class is still being sold in some countries, so I could always import one if I win the lottery.

04/22/2018 - 11:04 |
42 | 0
Chewbacca_buddy (McLaren squad)(VW GTI Clubsport)(McLaren 60

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

But tbh who’s going to take their $100,000 G-Wagon off-road. I’m not saying no one will but it’d make more sense to switch to a more road friendly ifs

04/22/2018 - 11:24 |
18 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

How is solid axle better offroad?
Shouldn’t independent suspension allow it to grip better?

04/22/2018 - 12:14 |
2 | 5
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I wold get the 6x6

04/22/2018 - 17:19 |
0 | 0
I Never Knew Pure Terror Until I Drove A Mercedes-AMG G63 At Speed
Dreaming In Cars

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

IFS is the BANE OF MY OFF ROADING EXISTANCe

04/23/2018 - 04:59 |
0 | 0
Tomislav Celić

This is the new one or?

04/22/2018 - 11:16 |
1 | 1

Nope, this looks like the out going model due to the limited edition color

04/22/2018 - 11:36 |
4 | 0

It’s mentioned several times in the piece…

04/22/2018 - 15:18 |
1 | 0
suchdoge

I love these G Wagens…

04/22/2018 - 12:28 |
5 | 0
Joshua Persaud (Wagon/Estate Squad) (Sleeper Squad) I need a

What if you tested a G65 with a twin turbo V12? How would that one feel?

04/22/2018 - 13:53 |
3 | 0

I’d say, $100k more expensive and even worse on gas mileage. For the least justified production vehicle on the road.

04/23/2018 - 15:15 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

In the maybach version the driver has the terror and the boss can chill in the back😂

04/22/2018 - 18:21 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

Soooo a g65 amg with the v12 is up next right?

04/22/2018 - 20:01 |
3 | 0
Max Schröder

The sidepipes do make sense off-road, since they allow for more clearance behind the rear wheels, not having an exhaust-muffler hang under the bumper.

04/23/2018 - 07:38 |
0 | 0
White Comet

100K uglier and slower than my Subaru -_^ hahaha

04/23/2018 - 17:57 |
0 | 0