You know the Mercedes-Benz G-wagen is absurd, which is precisely why you (and we) love it. It's crazy that a decades-old, severely compromised, utilitarian military box could rise to prominence among the glitterati who don't even know what a differential lock is, much less ever once engage one of the G's phalanx of them. It's one of life's (and the U.S. market's) little mysteries. It's also one that Mercedes-Benz was smart not to question, instead just continuing to crank them out at prices that top $200,000.



Now there's an all-new 2019 model—well, all new except for the door handles, the spare-tire carrier that hangs off the back, and some internals of the high-closing-effort doors, all of which carry over—its first major redesign since its inception in 1979. And we're happy to report that although it now has a proper Mercedes interior and rides, drives, and corners far better than before, it's still plenty ridiculous.

Take this, for example: At the test track, with a whole lot of right foot spooling up as much of the hand-built 577-hp twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8’s 627 lb-ft of torque as possible, our $175,945 G63 rears up so violently at launch and the steering goes so light, it feels like there might be a little air beneath its front tires. That's right: the nearly three-ton beast damn near wheelies.

At 5783 pounds, this latest G63 is 178 pounds lighter. That certainly helps a bit, but the staggering 3.9-second zero-to-60-mph time is mostly thanks to the locomotive thrust from the new 4.0-liter, which is characterized by a full helping of cigarette-boat-like blat and burble. These must be particularly strong horses, too, as, officially, there's only an additional 14 onboard (plus two more transmission ratios). But it's not only quicker everywhere than the previous G63 with its 563-hp twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8—swifter passing times, 0.8 second speedier in the quarter-mile at 12.5 seconds, and more than two seconds quicker to 120 mph—it's louder, too. Chalk one up for engine downsizing.

This is no Urus, people. It has freaking 9.5 inches of ground clearance, plus quite a bit more in front when you stomp on it.

Be impressed. This is no Lamborghini Urus, people. It has freaking 9.5 inches of ground clearance, plus quite a bit more in front when you stomp on it. It is, definitively, the heaviest vehicle ever to crack into the threes in our testing, and a mere 0.4 second slower than the relatively featherweight 707-hp Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk’s best accelerative efforts.

It handles far better than before, too, although you shouldn't conflate "better" and "good." We measured skidpad grip of 0.75 g, which some might point out is worse than what a Honda Ridgeline pickup can do. But—come on—maintain perspective. This is a nearly 20 percent improvement, sure to keep many a potential debutante from debutanting in dents.

We won't bother mentioning our average fuel economy. Okay, fine, it was 12 mpg. Gotta keep it ridiculous. Keeps the rational riffraff away.

Specifications Specifications C/D Test Results: 2019 Mercedes-AMG G63 (change from 2016 G63) Zero to 60 mph: 3.9 sec (-0.9)

Zero to 100 mph: 10.0 sec (-1.5)

Zero to 120 mph: 15.6 sec (-2.3)

Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.1 sec (-0.5)

Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.8 sec (-0.2)

Top gear, 50–70 mph: 3.3 sec (-0.4)

Standing ¼-mile: 12.5 sec @ 110 mph (-0.8 sec, +3 mph)

Braking, 70–0 mph: 161 ft (-2)

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.75 g (+0.12) Expand Collapse

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io