Behold, it’s the new electric G. After teasing us with concepts since 2021, Mercedes-Benz is finally spilling all the details on the upcoming, battery-powered Geländewagen.
And no, it’s not called the EQG.
Meet the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology. Yes, it’s quite a mouthful and a break from the nomenclature that Mercedes has defined for its previous EVs. However, the electric G-Wagen is a significantly different proposition from the company’s current electrified efforts, and so a little branding shake-up makes sense.
Where machines like the EQE and EQS slot reasonably well into the same segments occupied by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and S-Class while being fundamentally different from their same-lettered predecessors, the G 580 with EQ Technology is very much a G-Class. Only, you know, battery-powered.
It starts with a ladder frame setup like that on the revised G-Class that Mercedes-Benz unveiled just last month. It also uses a similar suspension layout, an independent front setup paired with a solid live axle at the rear — a redeveloped de Dion configuration, specifically. They even look the same, with the EQ flavor of the G-Class differentiating itself with only a subtly different grille and a few other tweaks.
The details, however, are radically different. While the other, internally combusted G-Class models make do with a paltry single source of power, the G 580 with EQ Technology has four. The combination produces 579 horsepower, as you may have guessed from the name. Torque clocks in at an even more significant 859 pound-feet of torque.
The four motors are integrated into the G’s ladder frame, within shared housings at the front and rear axles each having a pair of motors and their gearboxes. Short half-shafts then connect each motor to its own wheel. Mercedes says this is “the first mass-produced vehicle from the Mercedes-Benz Group with individual-wheel drive,” but those of you with an affinity for searing yellow paint will surely remember 2009’s SLS AMG Electric Drive. A grand total of nine built doesn’t qualify as mass-produced, but it certainly showed some the potential for letting each wheel provide its own twist.
The off-road application here, though, requires some rather different capabilities and some interesting tricks, including the G-Turn feature that is increasingly de rigueur on electric off-roaders. On loose surfaces, drivers can enable this mode and hold either the left or right paddle to spin the car on its axis – only twice, though, before the mode disables itself.
A less showy but likely more practical application is called G-Steering, which drags the inside rear wheel to help the electric G-Class turn on a tighter axis. Mercedes has also added a bespoke Crawl function to the electric G, much like Ford’s Trail Control, which allows the car to maintain steady speeds of up to 5 mph over rough terrain.
EVs generally make great off-road performers thanks to their high torque and smooth power delivery, but Mercedes raised the bar on the new G-Class by putting two separate gear ratios at each corner. The driver can enable a Low Range reduction gear ratio (2:1) for off-road situations at speeds up to 53 mph, giving the G 580 even more twist down low.
One major change, however, is that this G-Wagen does not have the typical front, center and rear differentials that have become an iconic feature. The buttons that control them are still prominently mounted in the middle of the G-Class dash. Not with EQ Technology. There’s literally no need for such differentials when each wheel has its own motor. Instead, the ability to individually and precisely meter torque to each wheel based on myriad factors creates what Mercedes calls “virtual differential locks.” It works automatically.
We won’t know how well all that comes together on the dirt until we get a go behind the wheel, but on paper the G 580 looks like it’ll be an impressive performer. An approach angle of 32 degrees and departure of 30.7 degrees compares to 31 and 30 in the regular G.
Additionally, the G 580 can wade deeper than the other G flavors, up to 33.5 inches vs. 27.6, and it has an extra 0.3 inches of ground clearance, too.
It’ll be no slouch when it comes to on-road performance, with a 0-62-mph (0-100 km/h) time of 4.7 seconds, but range will not be its forte. The G 580’s 116-kilowatt-hour battery pack delivers about 294 miles on the European WLTP test cycle. We’ll have to see where it shakes out on the more demanding EPA test, but expect somewhere around 250 miles. Max charging speed is 200 kW. Also, in case you’re wondering, that giant battery is protected by an aerodynamically designed skid plate made of “an intelligent material mix that includes carbon.” It is an inch thick, weighs 127 pounds and is attached to the ladder frame with 50 steel screws. Mercedes says a conventional steel plate of the same size would be three times heavier. They did not mention how many screws it would have.
Range is helped ever so slightly by aerodynamic enhancements that include air curtains in the rear wheel-arch flares, special A pillar cladding and a rear lip spoiler. The coefficient of drag falls to 0.44, 0.04 better than the gas-powered version and 0.07 better than the outgoing G-Class. Nobody said this was a slippery vehicle, but those are fair numbers for an SUV with all the aerodynamic finesse of a 7,716-pound cinder block.
Mercedes has also layered on all sorts of fun tech features, like an optional light band integrated into the grille that can run animations or act as additional running lights. A new “design box” (for more storage) pictured on the blue G comes standard, but you can specify the classic spare wheel and tire on the rear door should you prefer the utility a spare provides. The otherwise silent G also has a suite of sounds to add some of the character that surely got lost when they amputated the side pipes. But, blissfully, they’ll disable themselves by default when off-roading.
The only question is how much all this will cost. Mercedes-Benz has yet to provide U.S. pricing for any of the 2025 G-Class range, but you can be sure we’ll bring you word when they do.
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