It’s often said that the rich tend to get richer, and from Mercedes-Benz’s latest debut, it seems that sentiment also applies to their cars and trucks. The Mercedes-Benz Gelandewagen, aka G-Wagon, has been around since 1979. Unwilling to be just a posh poser, the G-Class has been the epitome of luxury and off-roading prowess, which continues for the 2025 model year with both the G 550 and the even more powerful Mercedes-AMG G 63.
The G 550 sets the standard for off-road luxury
The 2025 Mercedes-Benz G 550 gets its power from a new turbocharged, direct-injected 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine that makes an impressive 443 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. An integrated starter generator (ISG) assists at lower speeds, making another 20 hp and 148 pound-feet of torque. That power is then routed through MB’s 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic transmission, which even offers manual control of gear selection via steering-wheel-mounted paddles.
The off-road capabilities of the G 550 start to become readily apparent when discussing the transfer case with its off-road gear reduction. Permanent all-wheel drive sends 60 percent of available torque to the rear wheels, while the remaining 40 percent gets shuttled to the front wheels. The transfer case’s low range can be shifted into at any speed up to 25 mph, while going from low to high range can be done up to 44 mph. While the high range features a 1.00:1 ratio for effortless highway driving, the low range uses the aforementioned gear reduction to create a 2.93:1 ratio.
The G 550 also features a luxury-level suite of safety features. Active Steering Assist, Active Emergency Stop Assist, and Route-Based Speed Adaptation all make for a very worry-free ride. The Active Park Assist feature can help the driver recognize and then back into parking spaces at speeds of up to 22 mph.
The Mercedes-AMG G 63 raises the bar for luxury performance
While the G 550 sets the standard for SUVs everywhere, the AMG G 63 takes things to a whole other level. Powered by a handcrafted biturbo 4.0-liter V-8 engine, which is also augmented by the same ISG as the G 550, tacking on the same 20 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque at lower speeds. That turbocharged mill pumps out an extraordinary 577 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque, allowing the big G to hustle from 0-60 mph in a scant 4.2 seconds and on up to its limited top speed of 137 mph. For some perspective, that 0-60 time is quick enough to make some Corvette owners more than a little nervous.
That power is routed through an AMG Speedshift TCT 9G nine-speed automatic transmission. The AMG Dynamic Select program offers five on-road programs (Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Individual) as well as three off-road drive programs (Sand, Trail, and Rock).
The AMG Active Ride Control suspension uses active, hydraulic roll stabilization and adaptive adjustable damping to provide the G 63 occupants with a comfortable yet sporty suspension. This allows the wheels to maintain contact with the tarmac even around the trickiest twists and turns.
While pricing has yet to be announced for these two alpha SUVs, we can reasonably expect the G 550 to start around the $150,000 mark and the higher-performance AMG G 63 to start at about $190,000. And until the superstar EQG shows up later on in the year, these two are sitting pretty at the top of the food chain, proving that the rich really do get richer sometimes.
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