A Top-Class Ride: 2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology
A new electric (off-road) avenue.
If you stop to think about it, an exclusive SUV is a perfect candidate for electrification. Here’s why. Many of the best all-electric vehicles on the road today are wildly expensive—just consider the Porsche Taycan Turbo S or the Lucid Sapphire, the Rimac Nevera or the Pininfarina Battista.
Electric powertrain technology can be inexpensive, but if you want your EV to offer plenty of range and/or huge acceleration and/or lots of torque for hauling a trailer, it’s going to require investment. Enter the 2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology—or the Electric G-Class, for short. It’s the latest and greatest version of the German brand’s boxiest SUV and it makes a lot of sense.
The original G was launched in 1979, following a seven-year gestation period during which a military vehicle was transformed into something more “shopping mall friendly.” Those early G-Class models were largely unstoppable when it came to off-road challenges. But they were also fairly rudimentary from the standpoint of creature comforts, similar in approach to the original Land Rover Defender.
Over the last decade, the G-Class has maintained its unique engineering, but changed into more of fashion icon. As the price of the vehicle went up and even more expensive “AMG versions” were introduced, this transformation became complete. This year sees the arrival of a refreshed G-Class and the addition of the much-anticipated all-electric version.
Few SUV owners ever challenge the inherent capabilities of their respective rides. Nevertheless, the brain trust at Mercedes-Benz deemed it critical that the Electric G-Class be just as capable off-road as its fossil fuel-powered brethren.
During an introductory event staged at the G-Class Experience Center in Austria, a company representative put it like this:
In order to ensure this breadth of capability, the Electric G-Class comes out swinging with four electric motors. Mounted near the vehicle’s four corners, these motors can all be controlled independently. Together, the motors generate 579 horsepower, making the all-electric G even more powerful than the top gas-powered model, the Mercedes-AMG G63.
Utilizing the same ladder frame construction as other G variants, the all-electric version sees a 116-kWh lithium-ion battery integrated into the design. To combat extreme off-road conditions, the battery is placed in a casing that provides protection from water, dirt and twisting forces. The vehicle also features extra underbody protection to ensure nothing encroaches on the vital battery pack.
By incorporating the electric motors and the battery into the frame, the engineers have ensured a low centre of gravity for the Electric G-Class, despite its relatively lofty ride height. This SUV has 250 mm of ground clearance, yet has up to 35 degrees of lateral stability—meaning it can inch along the side of a 35-degree incline without tipping over. The thing can also negotiate a 100% grade, cross bodies of water up to 850 mm deep and power over rocky roads when using the “off-road crawl” function.
These numbers and factoids are perfectly in keeping with the capabilities of other G-Class models. But the Electric G-Class has more tricks up its mechanical sleeve. This SUV has a unique feature called G-Turn, which angles the front and rear wheels in completely opposite directions. This feature enables the vehicle to spin a full 360 degrees on its own axis, like a tank. It’s a neat trick, to be sure.
Inside the new G, it’s familiar territory for anyone who’s experienced a recent Mercedes-Benz vehicle. There are two 12.3-inch screens that stretch from the driver cockpit to the centre stack. The first is a configurable instrument panel, the second a touchscreen panel that operates the infotainment system.
This second panel can also display something called the Off-Road Cockpit, which provides key information when the going gets extreme. The readouts included a compass, altimeter, steering angle icon, tire pressure gauge and temperature gauge. There’s a 360-degree camera, as well; this camera informs the “transparent hood” function, which allows drivers to see obstacles under the nose of the vehicle.
The 2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology makes an exceedingly compelling argument in favour of electrification for off-road applications. It definitely fits the brand image for the vehicle. In fact, as it produces zero tailpipe emissions, it may even go many steps further. The Electric G-Class should arrive before the first quarter of 2025.
