A New Spin On Luxury? The Electric Mercedes-Benz G 580 Can Turn Like a Top

Mercedes-Benz this week unveiled the G 580 with EQ Technology, which is a fancy way to say that it’s electric. The military-inspired SUV is set to go up against vehicles like the Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T in a growing high-end off-road EV segment.The G 580 wears the same boxy body as its internal combustion siblings, but swaps their gas engines for a quartet of electric motors. While many of the luxurious midsize SUVs spend their days cruising the streets of high-end haunts like Beverly Hills and Mayfair, the G-Class is as much of a truck as a Ford Bronco or Toyota 4Runner and the G 580 follows suit.The 7,716-pound tank is built on a ladder frame and has 579 hp and 859 lb-ft of torque that can propel it up slopes that are as steep as 45 degrees, or along the side of one at a 35-degree tilt.It can also ford water that is 33.5 inches deep, so expect to see some owners inadvisably driving it through post-storm floods in Miami, as has become a trend with electric vehicles, since they don’t have to worry about drowning their engines. Passengers are still at risk, of course.Courtesy MercedesThe G 580 can do far more interesting things than that. Thanks to its four independent motors, it can power two wheels on one side in one direction and two on the other side in the opposite direction to perform what Mercedes-Benz calls the G-Turn, which spins it in place like a top.It’s only meant to be used on loose surfaces like dirt or snow, and may actually come in handy on tight trails, but it gives “doing donuts” a new meaning if you just want to put on a show.There’s another high-tech feature that Wonder Woman might appreciate even more. It’s a “transparent hood” that uses the G 580’s 360-degree camera system to provide a virtual view of what’s underneath the vehicle on its touchscreen display. This can be helpful when trying to navigate a rocky trail or toys strewn across a driveway.Although the G 580 is designed to take advantage of its silent drivetrain to be a quiet cruiser, a G-Roar feature can be engaged which fills the cabin with a signature authentic motor noise, although it can only be heard outside of the vehicle at low speeds to help pedestrians hear it coming.Courtesy MercedesCourtesy MercedesThere is an array of active safety equipment that can brake the vehicle autonomously if someone still manages to step in front of it, and lane-centering adaptive cruise control for the highway.Despite riding on a solid rear axle like a pickup truck, the G 580 has computer-controlled shock absorbers to smooth out the ride and improve its handling, which should be enhanced by the low center of gravity provided by the weight of its 116-kilowatt-hour battery pack.Climate-controlled massaging seats are offered that could lull you into a daze on a long trip, but an attention assist feature that monitors the driver and does its best to rouse them if required.You may not be able to drive it far enough for that to happen. The G 580 is estimated to have a range of around 250 miles per charge, but that has not yet been officially confirmed. If anything, it will probably be less than that, not more.Courtesy MercedesIf you need to plug into a home to recharge, the G 580’s design aims to make that easy. Attached to the tailgate where a spare tire or spare gas can would traditionally be is a “Design Box” compartment that can be used to store the portable cable.Or perhaps a few stacks of cash. Pricing for the G 580 will be announced closer to when it goes on sale later this year, but the internal combustion engine G-Class models have starting prices in the $144,000 to $184,000 range, so don’t expect it to stray too far off that reservation.Driving electric cars may be cheap, but buying them is sometimes far from it.

A New Spin On Luxury? The Electric Mercedes-Benz G 580 Can Turn Like a Top

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