REVIEW

The old Mercedes-AMG G63 made no sense at all. Take a massive off-roader, with a design older than the hills, offering pretty poor dynamics and packaging inside, weighing as much as the moon, then add a massive V8 engine and an AMG badge. But it sold really really well all over the world, so Mercedes would have been stupid to mess with the formula. So despite outward appearances this is the all-new G63 – no really, it is. The styling has been carried over almost unchanged – true G-Wagen geeks will notice certain elements but to the untrained eye it looks the same, whereas underneath it is massively different – mainly the fact that it’s 120mm wider and has a much longer wheelbase, so you finally have an interior that you be comfortable in. and that new interior is quite something too, taking design cues from the new E-Class it’s a massive step up in ergonomics, while it now has all the tech you can imagine. The old 5.5 litre V8 has gone, replaced by the ubiquitous 4.0 litre twin turbo V8 seen in almost every other AMG now, in this guise putting out an AMG GT R matching 577bhp. Thankfully the side pipes are still there so the thunderous sound will continue. So this is the old G63, but it’s new, with everything improved. Mercedes, we like your style…