Mercedes-Benz G580 EQ SUV review
Pros & cons
- Improved off-road performance
- Super-fast rapid charging
- Interior space unchanged
- Sub-300-mile range
- Rivals almost certainly better on-road
- It weighs 3.1 tonnes
Overview
After teasing us with the concept EQG a few years back, there is now an all-electric G-Class you can buy. Despite having a perfectly logical and snappy name already, the production model is called the Mercedes G 580 with EQ Technology. It’s the most potent non-AMG G-Class and promises to be the most capable off-road, too.
It’s a bit of an outlier amongst the best electric SUVs out there thanks to its off-road focus. You might consider a high-end Land Rover Defender or Ineos Grenadier if you do plan on going off the beaten track. That said, we suspect more people will be looking at other luxury EVs such as the BMW iX and Mercedes’ own EQS SUV. While we’re yet to drive the G 580, we have poked and prodded one in a studio and spoken to its engineers. Read on to find out why we can’t wait to get behind the wheel.
Practicality and safety
The G 580 is based on the regular G-Class and isn’t a bespoke EV. Even so, the interior space is identical to petrol and diesel models as the battery pack sits between the chassis rails underneath the floor. While you can’t call the G 580 compact, it is shorter and taller than most rivals.
Up front there’s masses of head and shoulder room and a driver’s seat that goes back far enough for tall occupants. The rear has loads of headroom and an almost flat floor to help when you’re five-up. Legroom isn’t quite so impressive, especially if those up front are leggy.
Boot space beneath the parcel shelf is good but certainly not great for the class at 555 litres, so we’d be tempted by the optional rear storage box for your cables in place of a spare wheel. The tall roof does mean a total capacity with the seats down of 1,990-litres but you don’t get a flat load bay. The leather panel on the inside of the rear door and optional wooden boot floor proves that this isn’t really a hardworking hauler, though.
You get loads of safety kit as standard. Including adaptive cruise control with steering assist, automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring and something called pre-safe. This can close the windows and sunroof and even move the front passenger seat to lessen the chances of injury in the event of a crash.
Interior and technology
You get two 12.3-inch displays dominating the dash of the G 580. Although they’re the same size as before, the digital driver’s display and central touchscreen are running the newer, sharper MBUX software. The rest of the interior should be familiar to current G owners with closer inspection revealing some differences.
These include changes for the off-road control panel to replace the diff lock switches with ones for the G-Turn function – more on that shortly – and some bespoke screens for the infotainment. Quality remains good, especially if you dip into the millions of personalisation options as part of the Manufaktur programme.
A rear seat entertainment package with two 11.6-inch screens is on the options list, as is an upgraded Burmester stereo with Dolby Atmos. There’s also for the first time keyless entry that crucially retains the vault-like feel of the doors and their handles.
Powertrains and battery packs
You get a 116kWh battery pack shared with the recently updated EQS. The battery will rapid charge at up to 200kW to give a 10-80% charge rate of 32 minutes. It’ll AC charge at up to 11kW – more than your typical home wallbox’s 7.4kW output – for a 10-100% time of nearly 12 hours.
This battery feeds four motors that each drive an individual wheel through a two-speed gearbox. There’s one gear for normal running and another that’s a low range to help low speed off-roading, just like the petrol and diesel G-Class. Combined, they allow the G 580 to perform some neat tricks we’ll go into below.
The motors produce a total of 587ps and a monstrous 1,164nm of torque. That’s enough for a 4.7 second 0-62mph time with the top speed limited to 112mph. It’s not as fast as rivals such as the BMW iX M60, but then the G 580 does weigh 3,085kg. This does limit the maximum payload to 415kg to avoid the G 580 from wandering into commercial vehicle territory. No towing weight has been given.
What else should I know?
You’ll need at least £122,000 for a G 580 in Germany with UK prices likely to be higher due to our love of AMG Line trim. Considering it’s hand built, you could almost call it good value.
The G 580 almost certainly going to be the most capable mainstream electric SUV off-road thanks to the individual electric motors for each wheel. You retain the independent front and a rigid rear axle for excellent suspension travel, but the diff locks are nowhere to be seen. With four motors, there are no differentials so the G 580 can send each wheel the precise amount of torque it needs for any given situation.
It also means you can spin the left hand and right-side wheels in opposite directions to perform something called a G-Turn. You can spin on the spot for up to two revolutions if you’re just showing off, or carefully turn the G if you’re getting out of a tight spot. There’s also G-Steering which slows the inside rear wheel to allow the car to pivot around it at speeds of up to 15mph. Both functions are for loose surfaces only.
