The Electric G
The G 580 with EQ Technology brought four individual electric motors to the G-Class, adding abilities the mechanical car never had, including turning the vehicle on the spot. It is the sharpest test yet of what has to stay for a G-Class to still be one.
Part of G-Class
12 moments in this segment.
- — Concept EQG, Munich 2021. The Concept EQG shown at the 2021 IAA in Munich, Mercedes' announcement that the G-Class would go electric. It kept the box shape and swapped the spare-wheel cover for a squared-off box housing the charging equipment. It previewed the production G 580 that arrived in 2024.
- — Full review of the electric G580 with EQ Technology. A long-form test of the G580 with EQ Technology, the first battery-electric G-Class, which replaces the V8 with four individual electric motors. The test covers on-road behaviour, off-road capability and the G-Turn, the stationary tank turn made possible by driving the wheels on each side in opposite directions.
- — Mercedes explains the electric G-Class off-road drivetrain. An official Mercedes-Benz technical explainer on how the G 580 with EQ Technology keeps its off-road ability without a mechanical driveline. It walks through the four near-wheel motors and how they replace the differential locks and low range of the combustion G-Class.
- — G 580 with EQ Technology, Zurich 2024. The production G 580 with EQ Technology at Auto Zurich in November 2024. It uses four individual electric motors, one per wheel, which lets it replace mechanical differential locks with software and perform a 'G-Turn' - spinning on the spot by driving the wheels on each side in opposite directions.
- — Doug DeMuro reviews the 2025 G580 electric G-Wagen. A detailed quirks-and-features review of the electric G580, covering how Mercedes kept the G-Class driving character and styling while switching to an electric drivetrain. The reviewer also drives the car and discusses the price relative to the combustion models.
- — Demonstrating the G-Turn on the electric G-Class. A hands-on demonstration of the G-Turn, the 360-degree stationary rotation the electric G-Class can perform, including the failed attempts before it works. It shows the step-by-step sequence a driver has to follow to engage the function.
- — Testing the electric G580 in Scotland. A road and off-road test of the G580 in Scotland, asking whether the electric drivetrain undermines what makes a G-Class a G-Class. The review covers both highway behaviour and rough terrain.
- — G 580, model year 2025. A 2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology, factory code W465. Its ~116 kWh battery gives roughly 470 km of range, and it weighs over three tonnes - more than double the 1979 230 G.
- — The electric G in polar white. A G 580 with EQ Technology in polar white. Forty-six years after the first Geländewagen left Graz, the electric version is still built in the same Austrian factory and still looks like a box.
- — Living with the electric G580. An extended test of a G580 with EQ Technology including the full options list and price of the test car, from a reviewer who expected to dislike the electric G-Class and did not. It covers day-to-day use rather than a single drive.
- — A critical look at the electric G-Wagen. A review arguing that the G580's efficiency and range figures are poor by electric-car standards but largely beside the point for this vehicle. It is a useful counterweight to the more enthusiastic launch coverage.
- — Point-of-view drive in the electric G 580. A point-of-view drive of the G 580 with EQ Technology, showing the car from the driver's seat rather than through a presenter. The reviewer asks whether an electric G-Class makes sense and concludes it might.
