Who says that prestige vehicles have to be modern, that luxury vehicles have to be refined, or that off-road vehicles have to be slow? To those people, the Mercedes-Benz G550 wags a finger and thick coat of mud, and ambles off to hurdle the nearest Jersey barrier. The anachronous G-class—orGeländewagen to purists—was introduced 30 years ago as a go-anywhere, off-road military vehicle, and today rides on essentially the same frame as the original, with the same suspension layout and nearly identical styling. It does, however, benefit from the accumulation of three decades of incremental improvements in two key areas: luxury and power.
For luxury, the G550 comes standard with everything. No option list exists. Standard equipment includes a sunroof; a windshield with embedded heating elements á la Land Rover; Mercedes’ COMAND navigation system with Bluetooth, Sirius radio, and iPod connectivity; 10-way power and heated front seats; heated rear seats; and a rear-view camera, among a host of other goodies.
Power Proportionate to its Boxiness
As for the major 2009 upgrade, the G550 is now equipped with the automaker’s ubiquitous 5.5-liter V-8. Sporting the same 382 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque as in its other applications and growling through an exhaust system that dumps out right in front of each rear wheel, the aluminum lump whips this 5700-lb packing crate to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14.5 at 94 mph. For something shaped like a brick and weighing nearly three tons, that’s world class.
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED: $101,125 (base price: $101,125)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 333 cu in, 5461cc
Power (SAE net): 382 bhp @ 6000 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 391 lb-ft @ 2800 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manumatic shifting
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 112.2 in Length: 185.6 in Width: 71.8 in Height: 76.0 in
Curb weight: 5665 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.9 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 16.7 sec
Zero to 120 mph: 34.9 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 6.1 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.5 sec @ 94 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 133 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 186 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad*: 0.63 g
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 11/15 mpg
C/D observed: 13 mpg
*Stability-control-inhibited.
Keep Reading: 2009 Mercedes-Benz G550 - Short Take Road Test
0 comments:
Post a Comment