The Baby G is Coming Soon
It’s no secret that Mercedes-Benz is expanding the G-Class family pretty soon. Like the Toyota Land Cruiser, a smaller version will soon appear, and it’s a pretty exciting prospect given the legenedary status of the big G. But whereas the Land Cruiser FJ is effectively a scaled-down FJ Cruiser on a Hilux chassis, the baby G might not follow the same trajectory.
Nonetheless, it’s coming soon, and Mercedes-Benz is already promising big things about it. As to what it’ll be like is still unknown, but expectations are high, nonetheless. After all, it still carries the name.
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What Mercedes Said
Speaking to Road and Track, Mercedes-AMG CEO Stefan Weckbach had this to say about the scaled-down G-Class. “We will make sure that the little G-Class will target a different segment. It will be significantly different from the big brother or mother or father… It won’t target the real G customer.” Of course, the question is, what exactly is the real G customer? Surely though, it’s not just the kind of person who drives it up and down Beverly Hills as that would be a waste of its capabilities.
That aside, the DNA will still be there, but as to what kind of audience the downsized G will cater to is yet to be fully determined or defined by Mercedes-Benz, at least publically. Still, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius promises “The Little G will have very good off-road capability.”
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It Can’t Outshine Big Brother
The current G-Class may have become more of a statement piece and occasional tax write-off, but it stays true to its roots. It’s one of the few factory luxury SUVs out that that will happily still play in axle-deep much and offers goodies such as triple locking differentials. While not as opulent in the inside as, say, an S-Class, the G-Class offers a different kind of luxury, which is to give its owner a sense of unburstable robustness.
The baby G probably won’t have the same levels of granite-like solidity, as doing that might just end up stealing sales from its big brother and reder it redundant. It could be less luxurious and have a more utilitarian feel, but on the flipside, it could also offer a more car-like experience behind the wheel. Either way, it can’t outshine the big brother, but there’s still great expectations.
Good news comes in the form of its confirmed body on frame chassis, though, so it won’t be something like a Ford Bronco Sport. It won’t be a crossover cosplaying as an SUV, but rather, the real deal. And while it was initially supposed to be electric-only, Mercedes-Benz has since reversed that decision and will offer combustion engines for it. If this will be a more accessible version of the G-Class with less luxuries and a more hard-wearing cabin, then we can get behind this idea.
SH Proshots/Autoblog
