© JAMES TAYLOR
Editor: Land Rover Enthusiast Magazine

Background

The Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen almost certainly had its origins in the plan for a military Euro-Jeep in the mid-Seventies. When the Euro-Jeep failed to materialise, Mercedes decided to make use of the development effort they had put into the project and build a 4x4 anyway. They secured some military contracts in the late Seventies and then developed their new 4x4 as a civilian vehicle as well. It reached the market in 1979, but was not imported into the UK until 1981.

The G-Wagen (the name is short for Gelandewagen, or Cross-Country Vehicle) never was an all-Mercedes product. It was developed jointly with the Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch concern and built at their factory in Graz. Mercedes' contribution was primarily drivetrains, plus interior design for the civilian versions. Part 0f the joint production deal was that Steyr should have sales rights in certain territories, so the vehicle wears Puch badges in some European countries and Steyr badges in Greece. There is even a Peugeot-badged version with Peugeot running-gear, built under licence in France mainly for the French military.

G-Wagens come in two wheelbases and all variants are based upon a conventional ladder-frame chassis. Although a wide variety of body configurations is available overseas, the UK market has taken only the short-wheelbase three-door estates and long-wheelbase five-door estates. The three-door soft-top was briefly imported during 1983, but failed to find a market. Pre-1990 models are known as 460-series types and the facelifted models imported after 1990 are 463-series. The vehicle's chassis number will contain the relevant three-digit combination.

The G-Wagen has never sold as well as its makers predicted back in 1979 and sales have always been particularly poor in the UK (which is otherwise one of Mercedes' best export markets). Despite the excellent build quality associated with the marque, the vehicle's biggest problem is that it started life as a military-utility 4x4 and was pitchforked by its makers into the luxury off-roader market. So despite Mercedes' worthy efforts on the interior and on refinement levels, they were unable to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Although more luxurious and more powerful G-Wagen models have been available in Germany, the versions imported to the UK have always lacked the styling, convenience features and road performance which are necessary for success in the luxury 4x4 market.
In 1991 the G-Wagen was given a mild facelift incorporating a neater grille and auxiliary lights recessed into the front bumper and at the same time all models were equipped with permanent four-wheel drive. The power choice was between 3-litre six-cylinder petrol or diesel engines.

Character summary

Mercedes-Benz products have traditionally been rather soulless models of efficiency, vehicles to be admired and respected rather than liked irrationally. The G-Wagen is no exception to this rule. It does everything expected of it without fuss, but equally without showing any quirks which would give it real character. In that context, its lack of road performance is an irritation.

Nevertheless, a G-Wagen makes a good, uncomplaining everyday vehicle, suitable for anything from hypermarket shopping to long -distance motorway cruising. For the latter, however, diesel models are best avoided. Long-wheelbase models are extremely spacious; short-wheelbase models have enough room behind the rear seats to fit two optional inward-facing seats.

Performance summary

Remarkably, Mercedes-Benz never saw fit to introduce turbodiesel versions of the G-Wagen to the UK market, even though turbodiesel engines were the norm for 4x4 estates and there were suitable engines available. This means that the diesel versions tend to be plodders, lacking in all sparkle: the later six-cylinder engine is better than the early five-cylinder, but its mid-range response is very disappointi g. Petrol engines give unexciting performance, the later 3-litre type being the best.

The permanent four-wheel drive of the later 463-series model gives these better handling balance than early models and improves grip in the wet. Where available, automatic transmissions are preferable to the manuals, which have a heavy gearchange and similarly heavy clutch.

Reliability, weaknesses, spares

Like all Mercedes, the G-Wagen is extremely well-engineered, extremely reliable and extremely durable. Engines, for example, should give 150,000 miles without major trouble. However, build quality is not quite as good as on Mercedes saloons.

Mercedes parts are notoriously expensive, so it is fortunate that very little ever goes wrong with a G-Wagen. Service intervals are annoyingly frequent, but there are enough non-franchised Mercedes specialists in the UK for owners to make substantial savings over main dealer prices. Even so, no G-Wagen will ever be cheap to own.

Resale value

The relative unpopularity of the G-Wagen in the UK means that resale values have never been as strong as those of Mercedes cars. However, the vehicles tend to sell to owners or former owners of Mercedes products who expect to pay high prices for top-quality engineering; as a result, prices have never dropped disastrously. In the long term, gentle depreciation seems the most likely trend, but the limited number of potential buyers means that G-Wagens will sometimes be difficult to sell on.