The Mercedes-Benz G-class, a.k.a. Geländewagen, is a high-powered spectacle of a 4x4, a gloriously antiquated icon for the rich that is just too damn cool—and profitable—for the luxury brand to kill off, despite its being in production for 37 years. While the trifecta of 2016 models includes two stonking AMG versions—the over-the-top 621-hp, V-12–powered G65 and the just-right, 563-hp G63—there’s also a reworked G550, which does without the hot-rod garnish for the less indulgent buyer. But, since the modern-day G-wagen’s brazenness is largely responsible for its continued existence, toning down its wild side doesn’t necessarily make the G550 the best pick.
The entry-level G550 is still big money at $120,825 to start, with the 2016 model featuring Mercedes’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 with 416 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque—a significant upgrade over the previous 5.5-liter naturally aspirated V-8 with 382 ponies and 391 lb-ft. The smaller V-8 revs freely to its 6300-rpm redline, and the grumble it emits from the G’s dual side-exiting exhausts, while menacing, is not as chest-thumpingly deep as before.
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