On the evening of October 18th, as the music sounded, dozens of models dressed in tailor-made clothing appeared on the stage, and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class Off-road Buggy Night event officially began, which was also co-organized with Shanghai Fashion Week. With the beautiful music behind the scenes, the all-new Mercedes-Benz G-Class was officially launched.
Among them, the all-new Mercedes-Benz G 500 was launched at a price of 1.868 million yuan, and the all-new Mercedes-AMG G 63 was launched at a price of 2.5955 million yuan. The Mercedes-Benz pure electric G 580 pure electric G 580 debuted special edition off-road vehicle for pre-sale, with pre-sale prices starting at 2.17 million yuan.
Duan Jianjun, President and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales & Service Co., Ltd., said at the scene: "Since its inception in 1979, Mercedes-Benz has sold more than 500,000 G-class off-road vehicles worldwide, and more than 80% of the big Gs are still galloping on the road, which is enough to prove that the off-road totem is firm with time. The all-new pure electric G-class off-road vehicle has officially entered the electric era of luxury hard-core off-road. ”
In fact, as the most important hard-core off-road vehicle in the history of the automobile industry, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has a pivotal position in the world. At present, the mainstay of the Mercedes-Benz brand has ushered in a new era, and the launch of the pure electric G-class off-road vehicle not only fills the gap in the luxury pure electric off-road segment, but also enables the big G family to gather the most diverse product lineup.
Continuing the classic look of the square box
Since the launch of the first generation of Mercedes-Benz G-class off-road vehicles in the 70s of the last century, Mercedes-Benz has been choosing a square box body design for its benchmark off-road vehicles. After half a century of evolution, the square box shape has not only been used by Mercedes-Benz to this day, but also driven many other brands to launch similar square box models.
The styling of the three new models launched this time is highly consistent, and the design language is still very "big G". Let's focus on the styling design of the pure electric G-class G 580, which is quite different from the other two fuel versions in terms of details.
The all-electric G-Class brings the classic aesthetic of the G-Class into the electric era, with the iconic angular box-shaped shape, classic round headlights, trapezoidal turn signals on the bonnet, and uniquely shaped "bullet-loaded" doors, which continue to be presented on the off-road body of the all-electric G-Class.
However, some changes in the details to cater to the trend of electrification are also necessary. In the front position, the new car adopts a semi-closed grille design, and the light structure and the front grille appear more "inductive". After all, it is a pure electric model, and the pure electric G-class off-road vehicle has also made some designs to optimize wind resistance, such as a slightly raised hood and detailed details such as the roof and wheel eyebrows, which are conducive to reducing the wind resistance of the vehicle and bringing higher mileage.
"Intelligent" leads, the other side of G-class luxury
Nowadays, people pay more and more attention to the quality of cars, and the cars of the new era not only have a beautiful appearance, but also a new car experience brought by intelligence. Indeed, the popularization of intelligent cars is subtly subverting consumers' car habits, so the new G-class also further integrates intelligent elements into the luxurious texture of the interior.
Among them, the most eye-catching must be the second-generation MBUX intelligent human-computer interaction system that comes standard with the G-class car, as well as a 12.3-inch high-definition instrument screen and a 12.3-inch central touch screen. In addition, the "Mind Reading Voice Assistant" has been fully upgraded, some functions support wake-up word-free activation, and more than 20 G-level exclusive voice commands are provided, bringing a more convenient cockpit experience to car owners.
As an off-road model, the pure electric G-Class also creates a set of "digital off-road cockpit" interface, through the digital instrument screen and central control screen to obtain professional real-time data including level, compass, altitude, front and rear wheel steering angle, torque, power, tire pressure, etc., so that driving control is under control.
The pure electric G-class unlocks more new ways to play off-road
In terms of power, the new G 500 is equipped with a 3.0T engine + 48-volt mild hybrid system, with a maximum power of 330 kW, a peak torque of 560 Nm, and a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 5.4 seconds. The new G 63 is even more powerful, equipped with a 4.0T V8 engine + 48-volt mild hybrid system, providing a maximum power of 585 hp and a peak torque of 850 Nm, and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.3 seconds.
Performance is critical to the G-Class, whether it's fuel or pure electric. Based on the characteristics of electric vehicles, the all-electric G-Class has even more powerful performance than the gasoline version of the G-Class. From the perspective of powertrain, the pure electric G-class off-road vehicle uses a four-motor powertrain. Each set of 108kW motors can be controlled individually to power each wheel. Driven by a four-motor assembly, the all-electric G-Class off-road vehicle has a combined power of 432kW and a combined torque of 1164N·m. This results in a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of just 4.7 seconds.
In terms of off-road configuration, the pure electric G-class off-road vehicle not only inherits the family's traditional off-road three-piece set, but also is equipped with a "new off-road three-piece set" brought by electric technology. The former refers to electric virtual differential locks, non-load-bearing bodies, and electric low-speed off-road transmissions. The latter refers to the "off-road crawl" intelligent off-road crawling mode, the "G-STEERING" function and the "G-TURN" turning function.
The powerful and intelligent electric drive system makes the G-class off-road vehicle more powerful than ever before. For example, when entering a corner, the inside rear wheel is locked separately and passes through narrow corners like a compass. Low-speed four-wheel drive, fixed-speed off-road, on-the-spot U-turn, and even virtual triple locks with millisecond-level response are also no problem.
In terms of range, the all-electric G-Class is equipped with a 116 kWh battery pack and has an all-electric range of up to 570 km (CLTC mode). It supports up to 11kW AC charging and up to 200kW DC charging power, and it only takes 32 minutes to charge from 10% to 80%. One of the biggest nightmares for electric vehicles is when the battery pack gets knocked down on the road. In this regard, Mercedes-Benz has also made a plan to protect the battery, after the battery and motor are encapsulated in the ladder frame, Kevlar carbon fiber material is used as the protective base plate to better protect the battery.
Mercedes "rebuilds" the faith of luxury hardcore cars
When luxury, off-road, intelligence, fuel, electric and many other elements are concentrated in the same car series, coupled with the brand influence of Mercedes-Benz, it undoubtedly has the strongest market competitiveness at present. From the return of the product to the market, I think no one has ever doubted the appeal of the G-class fuel vehicle, and is more worried about the follow-up of the pure electric G-class.
It is undeniable that the rise of independent brands has posed a certain threat to multinational luxury brands, especially models such as U8, Dongfeng Mengshi 917, and tanks, which have robbed the market of luxury hard-core cars such as Mercedes-Benz G-class and Lexus LX to a certain extent. To meet these challenges, luxury brands led by Mercedes-Benz must make real efforts.
With the arrival of the all-electric G-Class off-road vehicle, the Big G family has assembled the most diverse lineup of powertrains in history. For the big G, there may be no advantages or disadvantages between fuel or pure electric, they are both one of the best off-road vehicles in the industry, which means different choices. In particular, the launch of the pure electric G-class solves the user's demand for new energy vehicles, provides a new choice of off-road vehicles that adapt to the times for users who pursue the ultimate luxury off-road experience, and once again defines the new energy luxury off-road vehicle.
Big G has always had a classic slogan, Stronger than time - no matter how time flies, only the legend is eternal, this sentence is engraved in the G-level DNA. Whether it is a smarter "new off-road three-piece suit" or a better way of digital interaction, these innovations we see in the pure electric G-class require long-term and large investment, real research and development, and long-term focus on user needs.
There is technology, precipitation, inheritance, and innovation, which are the characteristics that the new energy vehicle companies on the market do not have, but Mercedes-Benz has them. Perhaps every step taken by a luxury brand requires a lot of time and effort to verify, but we have to admit that after this step is taken, it is likely to be the benchmark of the industry.
summary
In its 45-year history, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been an unshakable off-road totem in the hearts of countless off-road enthusiasts. Under the trend of the electric era, Mercedes-Benz provides a rich product lineup for the market through the gasoline-electric strategy. In the view of Brother Yuluo, its fuel products will continue to lead the previous work and become the first choice for luxury hard-core off-road vehicles, and in the field of new energy, the pure electric big G is also expected to become the leader in the market segment. (Wen Chen)