2024 Mercedes G 580 with EQ Technology - the EQG in all but name

► Mercedes G-Class goes all electric
► One electric motor per wheel
► The fastest and most capable G ever?

After much teasing, the all-electric G-Class is finally here. Despite being virtually identical to the ICE G at first glance, manager of eDrive Manuel Urstoeger reveals some very clever engineering bolted to the traditional underpinnings. That’s right, it retains a ladder frame chassis, a rigid (if not live) rear axle and the independent front suspension that was ushered in with the Mk2 G-Class.

Not only do you get four motors, but each one is also connected to a two-speed gearbox to provide a low-range mode that mimics the ICE G-Class. This allows smaller, lighter motors that are easier to cool, too. Combined they produce 579bhp and 859Ib ft of torque, enough to ping 3.1 boxy tonnes from 0-62mph in less than five seconds.

If, like me, you were wondering how Mercedes had integrated a pair of electric motors into a live rear axle, the simple answer is that they haven’t. Instead, there’s a De Dion tube that allows the heavy motors and gearboxes to be mounted to the chassis. A pair of driveshafts exit the drive unit and connect to wheel hubs that instead of being mounted on suspension arms, are linked to each other to form a ridged axle. This retains all the lovely suspension travel G-Class owners have come to expect whilst adding plenty more they’ll come to love.

A 116kWh battery pack is slung between the chassis rails to lower the centre of gravity and ensure no interior or boot space is lost to electricity. The pack is protected by a composite guard that’s entirely flat and weighs a third of what a steel plate would. That helps aerodynamics and doubles as a skidplate for particularly rocky terrain. The pack’s cells are shared with the updated EQS, although the G 580 has double the drag at .44 against the slinkier saloon’s .22.

That might sound terrible, but bear in mind the pre-facelift G-Class had a drag co-efficiency of .53. Improving that figure whilst retaining a very un-aero shape meant reprofiling the A-pillars, adding a small spoiler above the windscreen and some air curtains for the rear arches.

The ICE G gets these changes, but the EV also gains a