For a car to have a 32-year production run is something of phenomenon. When it’s an SUV – a species under constant threat of downsizing or eradication at the hands of environmentally-minded politicians – that really is remarkable. So, having withstood the ravages of time, the fickle trends that wax and wane through the years and, in BlueTEC guise, neatly addressed the emissions issue, the G-Class has returned to the South African market … with its steering wheel on the correct side.
We all know the story behind the Geländewagen/G-Class; whereas performance car homologation for mass production worked to the adage “race on Sunday, sell on Monday”, the Geländewagen’s initial military vehicle proviso meant that customer interest lead to a “Warsaw pact on Sunday, Berlin showroom on Monday” scenario. The result was that the Geländewagen was served up for pubic consumption in 1979 and, thanks to cumulative customer interest of late, the rugged SUV, now dubbed G-Class, has finally found its way back onto the South African market in right-hand drive guise.
Mercedes was mindful of the emissions-based hurdles that such a vehicle would encounter and has ensured that the latest crop of locally available models all meet Euro5 emissions standards. The most eco-friendly variant that I drove on the recent launch in Swakopmund, Namibia, has to be the G350 BlueTEC. As you may have noticed in the above pictures, the diesel filler cap is flanked by a blue channel, into which the company’s urea-based AdBlue solution (which owners can purchase and apply themselves every 12 000 km) can be poured. This solution is injected into the exhaust gas stream and releases ammonia in a chemical reaction that helps to reduce NOX emissions. The result is a claimed CO2 emissions figure of 297 g/km – not bad for a unit developing 155 kW and 540 N.m of torque, especially when it’s mated with a 5-speed automatic transmission and propelling a 2,5-tonne vehicle with the aerodynamic properties of an office block. There is, however, one caveat – it needs to be fed 50 ppm diesel, which could make sourcing fuel far from metropolitan areas a bit tricky.
Now, you’d imagine that image would be something of a moot point when it comes to the G-Class. It is about as anti-styling as a vehicle can get. Even so, Mercedes’s customers made it abundantly clear that any trifling with the G-Class’s styling was strictly verboten – meaning that you’d be hard-pressed to distinguish the latest car from the original version. There are some mild updates to the head- and brake lamps, as well as the grille, but that’s about it. G-Class traditionalists would, however, do a double take at this model’s plush interior – there’s leather upholstery, wood trim inserts and such niceties as an infotainment system and airconditioning tacked onto the precipitous facia. Thankfully, the vehicle’s three diff-lock switches take pride of place in between the centre air vents. Still, the G-Class wasn’t built to look stylish; it was built with the purpose of traversing the sort of terrain that would cause a klipspringer to shake its head, reach for its cellphone and call for an airlift.
This trait makes itself all too apparent when driving on tar. The steering has a somewhat detached feel to it, while the ladder chassis underpinnings make for an occasionally choppy ride. The powerplant is, however, quite refined and NVH levels are good. There’s a fair bit of travel to the accelerator pedal and it does feel as though the engine only hits its stride quite high up in the rev range, but then on-road duties are not really this car’s forte.
Engage low range, lock a differential or three and point the G-Class at pretty much any unfriendly patch of terrain and it will gleefully scramble over it. During an off-road exercise on the Vogelsfederberg (Bird’s Feather Rock) monolith in Swakopmund, Mercedes off-road experts were putting the G-Class’s 36/31-degree approach/departure angles, as well as a 23-degree ramp-over rating, to the test. Both this relatively plush version and the basically military-spec G Professional model simply glided up and down this lump of near-vertical landscape with consummate ease. Even in less expert hands, the G-Class acquitted itself well on the powdery dunes we traversed. When it comes to the rough stuff, the G-Class is without equal.
A glance at the price will also create the impression that the G-Class is pretty much without equal. In its most basic G Professional form (windy windows, no sound insulation; mount a .50 caliber and it’s a military vehicle specification), it commands a R773 990 price tag, while the G350 BlueTEC weighs in at R1 227 140 and the range-topping G55 AMG will relieve you of R1 875 100. Mercedes points out the vehicle’s hand-finished nature, immense durability and longevity are upshots of these eye-watering prices. Granted, the car will endure to the extent of heirloom status and happily ply its trade for decades, but still … it’s pretty steep.
Not that this will worry the folks at Mercedes. Volumes will be low and demand for this niche vehicle will continue to grow. The G-Class’s combination of purposeful coolness, near-unbreakable build and an admirable refusal to die will ensure that this fantastic motoring anachronism will soldier on for many years to come…
