MERCEDES BENZ G-Klasse Review

Off-roaders are usually antonyms to comfort and most of them are specifically developed to be rugged and tough while providing the minimum level of comfort. You could consider yourself lucky if you got some seats for your off-road vehicle...

Leaving the jokes aside, the bundled we were talking about earlier in the test drive is just the thing that makes this car so surprising. So many original and retro features "living" together with a lot of modern times systems. And when it comes to comfort, the two sides seem to have a great relationship.

It all starts with the seats. The 10-way power-adjustable front seats, each with 3-position memory comes as standard. Furthermore, the driver's seat memory also includes settings of steering column, outside mirror positions and radio pre-sets, just to be sure the driver will feel like a king when getting behind the wheel. Premium leather upholstery has been used for all seat surfaces, heat restraints and upper and lower door-trim inserts, while heated front and rear outboard seats are there to be sure you have the right cabin temperature when climbing some rocky mountains.

As optional and only on specific markets, the car is offered with heated wood/leather steering wheel, as well as with hand-polished Burl Walnut wood trim on console, doors and on dashboard-mounted passenger assist handle.

Other than that, you get the same "conventional" features you see in other cars sold these days, such as dual-zone automatic air conditioning, electrostatic dust and pollen filter, auto-dimming rearview and driver-side mirrors, an attachable cupholder on the center console and a collapsible cupholder adjacent to the console, a power tilt or sliding steel sunroof and many, many other features, some of them either available as options or only offered in limited markets.

Remember when we were kids and we were spending hours in front of our Lego Technic box to build new models with movable parts capable of whatever our imagination spawned? One could easily consider the G-Klasse as a Lego-made vehicle, of course at a larger scale. Why? you may ask. Well, the shape is almost the same as it would have been if it was made of Lego while the technical specifications might remind us of the popular construction set.

Imagine that making the G-Klasse so powerful at almost every single chapter required greater attention but the fact that the car was developed as part of a partnership signed in 1972 is probably the main advantage. The vehicle was thus launched with many advanced parts which, over the years, received more enhancements, becoming one of the most technically advanced on the market. For example, the chassis is not sealed but bonded and riveted for increased strength, especially for off-roading where the car has to resist very powerful forces.

The car uses a 350 CDI V6 engine that develops 221 horsepower at 3800 rpm and 540 Nm of torque from as low as 1600 rpm to 2400 rpm. As we've told you before, the car uses front and rear rigid axles with longitudinal and transverse links, coil springs and gas-pressurized shock absorbers which, in collaboration with 4-wheel Electronic Traction System (4-ETS) provide the best control on slippery surfaces.

The system works like any other traction control system, so it monitors the rotation speed of each wheel to detect which one slips, thus taking action (braking or reducing engine power) to provide optimum traction.

The G 350 CDI uses three differentials - it's actually the only mass-produced off-roader in the world that comes standard with such equipment - (electromechanically locking center, front and rear, each activated by the driver) perfectly connected to the electronic systems installed on the car, including the Brake Assist (BAS) to reduce the overall braking distance. And speaking of braking, the car uses dual-circuit power-assisted 4-wheel disc brakes, 12.3-inch internally ventilated on front and 10.7-inch solid discs on rear.

As for steering, this is where we find out a little problem, but it was probably all a matter of time until we get used to the way it reacts. The steering is based on a recirculating ball with power assist and hydraulic damper which, in some tight corners, might oversteer, as the wheel doesn't make the "backwards" movement as the typical systems in today's cars.

The G-Klasse is full of gadgets and no matter how much time you spend in it, you won't get bored at all. Sure, we were pretty enthused with it so we might be a little bit subjective, but this was one of the few cars that made us think about running away with it and never return to the showroom.

As said, the off-roader, although by definition it doesn't have so many things in common with infotainment systems and other similar toys, is pretty outstanding. It all starts with the Cockpit Management and Data (COMAND) system that lets you browse among the main features of the car, continues with the Bluetooth interface for hands-free calling, makes a quick stop to the harman/kardon LOGIC7 surround-sound system with Dolby Digital 5.1 and finally stops to the enhanced voice control and the integrated 6-disc DC/DVD changer.

Which means the car comes with support for almost every multimedia file out there, since you're capable to even connect SD memory cars, iPods and MP3 devices. And if you don't feel like carrying your CDs wherever you go, you always have the option to store your favorite music on the 40-gigabyte hard-drive that also holds the navigation data.

But the comfort amenities do not stop here. Buy a G-Wagen and you'll also get bi-xenon headlamps, heater power mirrors, heated rear window and windshield, rain and light sensors, dual-zone automatic air conditioning, cruise control, interior auto-dimming mirror and many others. The programmable EASY-EXIT system that moves the driver's seat forwards and backwards for easier entrance and exit is also on the list of options, as is the case of rear-view camera and many, many other features. The only thing you won't get is USB but seriously now, who needs one when you got the rest of these?

Euro NCAP hasn't tested the G-Klasse but nobody ever asked why. The reason would be plain simple: it would be just a waste of time and money to crash test a metal box on wheels that's 100 percent safer than 95 percent of the cars on the road. It may not be too aerodynamic, but this boxy look plays a key role in the way the vehicle reacts in the event of a crash.

But to be sure that you'd be safer than in a cage, the guys over at Mercedes-Benz implement tens of safety features, regardless if we're talking about active or passive ones. So, let's see...

The front seats come with 4-way adjustable head restraints, but the driver and the front passenger are also protected by a front airbag (dual stage for the driver) plus a 3-point seatbelt with an Emergency Tensioning device and belt force limiter. All passengers are protected in the event of a side impact by window curtain airbags that deploy along the front and the rear side-door windows, while the LATCH system is located at the rear outboard seating position to provide extra protection to children.

In some areas, the car is also offered with the company "mbrance" system that uses GPS data to provide assistance if needed, either in the event of accidents or in case of technical issues. Last but not least, the car can be optionally equipped with SmartKey remote control for driver-programmable user recognition (for seat settings and other things like that) but also for infrared remote opening and closing of the windows from outside the vehicles.

We've spent a day at the wheel of the G-Klasse and, after an experience like this, we can sincerely say that it's a shame that carmakers do not focus more on cars like this. It's pretty understandable though, because building an outstanding vehicle that would only sell in limited numbers is not quite a smart business idea, and most companies would rather lose money than get some profit with such a project.

The good bit about the G-Klasse is that it exists. If nobody had ever built such an off-roader, no one would have known that the automotive industry can be fun in any weather condition, on any type of terrain. The car has so many features that it makes it exciting in both on- and off-road environment, providing very surprising performances just when you don't expect them.

The bad part is that the car could be phased out of production as soon as 2015 when the contract between Mercedes-Benz and Magna Steyr which currently builds the vehicle in Graz runs out. Of course, most of us would like to see the off-roader continue beyond 2015, but the same problem we told you earlier remains: is it really profitable?

There's no ugly side when talking about Mercedes' G-Wagen but, if we really have to name one, we would go for the price. Not many can own one and that's probably why the Germans are keeping it so expensive. After all, what would be so special about a car that everybody drives?