The angry, blocky Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen has been around in its current shape . Over the years its powertrains have changed, its interior’s been wrapped in different cloths, but it looks like 2018 will be the first major update the world’s roughest luxury “car” has had in a long, long time.
The G’s classically aggressive posture makes it popular with people looking to make a statement, and I have a feeling Mercedes is going to leave the vehicle’s basic brick shape intact. But official photos released by the company today confirm that the giant half-dash screen is being ported over to the big G, along with the same fancy vents Mercedes has in its cars now.
The seats look like they’re updated, too. And, oh yeah, you can tell by those side windows that the G-Class is still dialed in for those of you who are big fans of right angles.
The more I look at it, sheesh, the steering wheel and vents are almost jarring in their roundness in this stack of leather-wrapped Legos.
Mercifully, it looks like the G’s signature triple locking differentials are still in place (those three silver switches in the center stack) which makes me confident that this machine is probably still an animal off-road as long as it’s wearing the correct tires.
So far Mercedes has remained mum on what changes are being made to the G-Class’s exterior, or if any adjustments are being made to which engines you can get in which markets. Like we’ve already observed- squareness is obviously still going to be a big part of the design, but the company wouldn’t be teasing it out if it were exactly the same as today’s truck. I look forward to trying to pick out the differences when the new G makes its full debut.