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If you’re like me, almost every single Mercedes G-wagen you’ve noticed was driving around malls buying groceries like robots. You’ve quietly denounced the problems that drive a body-on-frame quasi-military SUV through affluent areas of the city without the aim of tackling something as awkward as a trail. Worse, they drive the highly contradictory edition of the AMG G63, which has 21- or 22-inch wheels and fat summer tires that make sure that never happens. These machines also tend to play with prominent chrome exhaust tips that protrude underneath their racing forums along their entire length, in what any self-respecting off-road enthusiast would recognize as the crash zone. The horror.
Until now, there was little point in taking such machines seriously in an off-road context. But then I had the opportunity to test a mere G550 G-wagen, and it was equipped with something called the G Professional package. This setup is far more off-road ready than most, as it comes with 18-inch wheels and 265/60R-18 Falken WildPeak All-Terrain tires that feature a decent amount of sidewall. Its exhaust outlets are recessed under the body and well protected, and it has a massive roof platform for hauling gear and a built-in ladder to get up there. Setting aside its astronomical price of over $180,000 and its cherry-wood rear parcel floor, it’s a G-wagen that looks like it belongs off-road.
But how does it actually work? I got rid of the wheels to take a look at its suspension, then fixed them on my 20-degree flex index ramp to measure its suspension joint. This device comes with front, rear, and center-lock differentials, but there is no replacement. For a suspension that is flexible enough to keep all 4 tires in dry dirt for as long as possible. How does the G550 Professional compare? Our video has that answer (see also our G550 review).
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