The G-Wagon has been a great successor and the only SUV Mercedes made available to the public up until the release of the M Class back in 1997 with the ML320. In the ’90s the G wagon was and still is one of the most iconic SUVs Mercedes has ever put on the road and “off-road”.

Developed under utilitarian looks, disregarding aerodynamics and fuel efficiency the Mercedes Benz G-Class is nowadays a popular car amongst extra-rich people. Fast back to the ’90s the G Class made a huge improvement that transformed the G-class from the basic looking, made for the off-road mud, to fit more into a daily driven car while keeping the original body shape and its precious glory.

Mercedes introduced the second generation in 1990, the second-gen evolved a number of feature developments on the outside as well as the inside. To make things clear the W461 is the wheelbase model for the army, military and public authorities, and non-governmental organizations. You would see variations of the W461 as an ambulance, pickup truck, or truck with army seats on the rear.

With the higher demand for luxury and better comfort SUV’s Mercedes took the step ahead and updated the G-Class in the 1990s and came up with the W463. This was the game-changer of Mercedes that set the bar from military mud to luxury Beverly Hills. With that said let's take a look at the best features of the G-Wagon.

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Against The Aerodynamics: Rough and Tough

grey G class old photo
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Mercedes choose not to improve the aerodynamics of the car but rather keep the box shape of the car and the loud door clunk. Mercedes fans really liked the fact that Mercedes kept the original shape of the car whole focusing on major improvement on the interior and performance but very little on the outside. In 2021, Mercedes still produces the G-Wagon using the same shape with a revised body look, and yes the doors are still loud when shut.

Mercedes Benz W463 was produced from 1990-2018 continuously improving the interior and exterior.  They incorporate a lot of interior parts from their similar models like the ML or E class and C class. The wide variety of engines and trims make the G-wagon the best Mercedes SUV. This car is built rough and tough for hard terrains and Mercedes does put a lot of reinforced parts into their G-wagons.

The spare wheel on the rear, the side indicators on top of the fenders, the round-shaped headlights, and the exposed door hinges are some of the few details that make the G-Class stand alone. The car looks like a tractor designed in the ’70s but the Germans keep reviving it year after year with the latest interior technology they offer.

The W463 is made available with a wide variety of engines and wheelbases, thanks to the long-run production that lasted 28 years before Mercedes decided to release the W464.

Related: Mercedes Shows Drivers How To Take Their G-Class Mudding

The Best Off-Road Performance

Mercedes Benz G class is the best offroader
mbscottsdale.com

The Mercedes Benz G-Class is classified as the best off-road SUV. This 5000lb SUV has three locking differential, ladder frame, and all-wheel drive, all packed in 90’s Mercedes SUV. For the time the only competitor in Europe for the G-Wagon was the Land Rover Discovery.

The G-class had a wapping ground clearance of 9-inch, combining that with the powertrain this car carried the G-Wagon was capable of any terrain. The car came in 4 speed automatic and 5-speed manual transmission and a wide variety of engines. Mercedes also chose to supply 4door and 2door G-Wagons going against Jeep Wrangler, Suzuki Vitara, and many other brands.

What makes the car so capable of off-roading is the 3-locking differential, which can give torque to the front wheels, rear wheels, or all wheels at the same time. The Mercedes Benz G-Wagon is also highly customizable and can get an easy off-road lift with just a spring replacement and higher shocks. The front suspension is made up of coil spring, rigid axle suspension, trailing arm whereas the rear suspension is made up of helical spring, rigid axle suspension, trailing arm.

The engines and parts Mercedes puts on their G-class are of the best quality. They do produce around 3000 G-Wagons every year and that’s where you know the G-Wagon is not the ordinary SUV.

The center of gravity on the Mercedes Benz G-Class has been the best across the years compared to any other SUV. Mercedes indeed confirmed that their newer chassis of the G-wagon the W464 climbed the 100% degree and defied gravity.

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The Highly Customizable Interior and Exterior

burlnut Mercedes-Benz-G-Class-Interior
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As mentioned above the Mercedes G-class has maintained the same shape and has been the longest production run of Mercedes. With that said the G-class offered a lot of customizations in both interior and exterior. Some models featured a convertible top, and the car came in different wheelbases depending on the door size. The car also featured plenty of room inside and the trunk is high enough to load anything, making the G-wagon a very preferable SUV of the ’90s.

The interior on the 1990 G-wagon featured the same pieces as the W123 E Class. With newer E classes coming up so did the interior of the G-class. The best thing about it is that the G-wagon can retrofit most interior parts from its Mercedes brothers easily.

The later production models 95’-99’ started featuring bigger and more powerful engines, parking sensors, heated seats, and all the fancy technology of the 90’s Mercedes had available at the time.

The exterior is also highly customizable. According to AA-Accessory exterior body, kits can be retrofitted to make older G-wagons look the same as newer production models.

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