On 15th January, the day of the Detroit motor show, Mercedes will show off its all-new G-class SUV. It will come with a substantially more luxurious interior and strong links to the S-class.
Like the S-Class, the dashboard in this car will come with fewer buttons and a cleaner design. The tech on offer will catapult the G-Class well into the second half of the next decade. The range will also be powered by a new set of engines, including the latest evolution of AMG’s turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol unit and Mercedes’ new 2.9-litre in-line six-cylinder diesel mated to a new nine-speed automatic gearbox.
The new G-class will feature better crash integrity, better on-road refinement and, in combination with the new aluminium body structure, a significantly overall kerb weight. The company has extensively tested the new SUV at Mercedes’ punishing off-road course in Schöckl, Austria. Safety tech will include Active Lane Keeping Assist, and the company’s Pre-Safe system.
At launch, it will be sold with the AMG-developed 4.0-litre V8 turbo petrol engine in two states of tune. The new engines work with a new nine-speed automatic gearbox and a heavy-duty four-wheel-drive system that offers three differential locks and low-range gearing.
A G400d model will go on sale in 2018 and other units, including a 3.0-litre in-line six- cylinder turbo petrol with an integrated starter/generator mild hybrid set-up, will be introduced to the line-up too. The new suspension unit is claimed to provide the model with greater comfort, and it receives adaptive damping control too. There’s a new steering system as well.
The car will go on sale in India later this year as well.