Let’s be real for a moment and say people buying a Mercedes G-Class don’t really care about fuel consumption. You’re already paying $139,900 for a G550 or $179,000 for an AMG G63 in the United States, before options, so gas bills are not going to be much of an issue. Over in Europe and other markets, the German luxury brand has a thriftier inline-six diesel and there’s even a four-cylinder gasoline model dubbed G350 in China.
However, people who will be interested in getting the fully electric G-Class are going to want better efficiency since the boxy-shaped SUV isn’t the most aerodynamic vehicle out there, to say the least. Although the EV variant will look instantly recognizable, it’s going to benefit from a variety of aero tweaks to improve range. Lessons learned while developing the EQG will be put to good use in the conventionally powered G-Class facelift coming in 2024.
The disclosure was made by Emmerich Schiller, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz G GmbH. In an interview with Autocar, the man in charge of the G division promised “really dramatic improvement to the aerodynamics.” That’s despite the fact most people won’t notice the changes even when they’re going to sit right next to the vehicle, he added. These optimizations are set to bring “a tremendous reduction in fuel consumption.”
He went on to say the facelifted G-Class is going to look almost the same regardless of whether it’s going to be powered by a gasoline/diesel engine or an electric motor. The production-ready EQG will break cover in a few months, more specifically in the first part of 2024. Emmerich Schiller told Autocar the ICE version will be updated around the same time.
The 2024 G-Class will lose the V8-powered G500 model as the Final Edition unveiled at the end of June in Europe marked the end of the road for that version. It’s unclear whether the US-spec G550 will also drop the V8 with the mid-cycle update planned for the W463 G-Class. Even if that’s going to be the case, the eight-cylinder engine will hopefully stick around in the AMG G63 for a few more years.
