What makes the Mercedes Benz G Class so reliable?

In this blog, we explain the various factors that make the Mercedes Benz G Class so reliable. We also provide answers to the following questions: what are the specifications of the Latest Mercedes G wagon? How many generations of G Class Mercedes Benz launched until now? 

What makes the Mercedes Benz G Class so reliable?

The Mercedes Benz G Class is reliable because of the following reasons:

  • Rugged design
  • Durable engines
  • Heavy use of Mechanical components

Let’s take a closer look at each of the reasons:

Rugged design

The design of the Mercedes Benz G class is based on the original G Class that was developed as a military vehicle. It has a ladder-on-frame design which makes it very rugged even in off-road conditions.

The design and development of the G class started in 1972 with a joint agreement between Daimler AG now renamed Mercedes Benz AG and Magna Steyr formerly known as  Steyr-Daimler-Puch.

The G Class is recognised for its boxy design, all the doors are mounted on the exterior hinges. The spare wheel is also on the exterior. It is mounted on the tailgate. The body lines also put emphasis on the boxy design of the body shell.

The ruggedness of the exterior design is carried in the design language for the interior. The sitting position is upright and the driver can see across the engine hood. There is a grab handle on the dashboard in front of the passenger seat.

Mercedes Benz also provides customization options in the G Manufaktur special order. Customers can choose from more than a million combinations of seat upholstery, interior trim and colour options. 

Durable engines 

The first generation of the G Class used different petrol and diesel engines since its launch in 1990. Mercedes Benz used only the most reliable engines to power the first generation of the G Class.

Some of the most popular engine options in the first generation of the G class were the M112 in the G320, and M157 in the G 63 AMG and Om 642 in the G 350 CDI. The M157 even had a special coating on the cylinder walls to make them more durable. OM 642 was recently discontinued but it was a very reliable engine with a variable geometry turbocharger.

The second generation of the G class in 2018 also had diesel and petrol engine options. Currently, the OM 656 is used in the G 350 d and 400d. While the petrol engines in the G class are M264, M176/177.

The M177 is a hand-built AMG version of the M176. all the engines in the second generation of the G Class are newly developed with the latest technologies direct fuel injection and exhaust gases after-treatment systems.

The engines also have a coating of  iron-carbon alloy on the cylinder walls.  The friction between the piston and piston rings is reduced by almost 50 per cent. Mercedes Benz uses a special Twin-wire arc spraying (TWAS) technique which gives the cylinder walls a mirror-like finish.

Use of heavy Mechanical components

The Mercedes Benz G Class is built to last, Mercedes Benz decided to keep the use of mechanical components in the G class when they could have used lightweight electronic-based systems.

Some of the mechanical systems in the G CLass include mechanically locking differentials on the front and the rear axles along with a lock on in the transfer case. The steering system is a pitman arm with a recirculating ball mechanism.

Door locking latches are mechanical and there is no soft closing feature. The G class has power windows but it only has one touchdown feature. The anti-pinch sensors required for the one touch-up feature cannot be integrated into the narrow space in the door frame.

Even in the second generation of the G Class, Mercedes Benz has done minimal modifications. Some of the modifications to the ladder frame chassis include the use of an electric power steering rack and a revised suspension setup in the front. 

The changes to the G Class are made to make it lighter and more reliable. The second generation of the G Class weighs 2351 kg which is less than the model it replaces. The first generation G class had more body roll and the curb weight was 2380 kg.

What are the specifications of the latest Mercedes Benz G Class?

Mercedes Benz launched a new second-generation of the G Class with very few changes to the original design and the key specifications are listed in the table below:

SpecificationsMercedes Benz G Class
Starting price$130,900 +
Engine OutputPetrol V8 416 Horsepower 610 Nm of torque
Transmission9G Tronic automatic transmission
Wheelbase289.0 cm 
Width 193.1 cm
Height196.9 cm 
MPG (US)20 MPG
Top Speed210 km/h / 131 Mph
0-62 MPH5.9 s

The Mercedes Benz G Class has an AMG version called G 63 AMG. It has a handbuilt V8 engine M177 producing 577 horsepower and 850 Nm of torque. The top speed of the AMG version is slightly higher compared to the base model. 

Mercedes Benz also updated the G Class with two diesel engine options; G 350 d and G 400d. Both are powered by the latest Mercedes Benz diesel engines.

 How many generations of G Class Mercedes Benz launched until now?

Mercedes Benz has launched only two generations of the G class until now. The first generation was launched in 1990 and ended its production in 2018. The second generation was launched in 2018 and it is the current G class on sale with model series number W 463.

The first generation was not the origin of the G CLass. The original production started in 1979 with the model W 460 G wagon, the G Class is the longest-produced vehicle in the history of Mercedes Benz. In 2020, Mercedes Benz sold the 400,000th unit of the G Class.

The G Class model series W461 launched in 1992 is still present in limited markets. It is only sold to military officials and a civilian model is also available. The W 461 does not have any creature comforts like the W 463. It is the G wagon in its purest form.

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Conclusion

This blog discussed the reasons for the reliability of the Mercedes Benz G Class. The G Class is still in production even after the introduction of the GL SUV class in the Mercedes Benz Line-up. Despite the expensive price tag, the Mercedes Benz G Class is worth a buy and it is also very safe to drive.