Mercedes-Benz G55/63 AMG

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, especially in AMG guise, is one of my favorite SUVs ever created. It hasn't changed much over the course of 35 years (its design and durability at least). The Gelandewagen, as people refer to it as in its home country, was originally intended for off-road and military use around the time it was created. Believe it or not, the G-Class didn't arrive to U.S. shores until 2005. The average G-Class owner is wealthy (obviously) and uses it for cruising around town, not for dirt trails or extreme terrain. Ever since the G-Wagen was introduced in 1979, it has been built at the Magna Steyr assembly plant in Graz, Austria. The first two examples in this gallery are G55s, built from 2005-2011. Under the hood of the G55 is a 5.4-liter supercharged V8 with 493 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. The rest are G63s, which began production in 2012 and is still being produced today. It is powered by a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 537 horsepower and 561 ft-lbs. of torque. The G63 also has a new grille and a revised interior (I personally think it looks better than the G55's interior). There are two other AMG G-class models available: the limited-production G63 6x6 and the G65. The G63 6x6 is bigger, heavier, and less fuel efficient than the standard G63; also, the G63 6x6 is my preferred vehicle in the event of a zombie attack. The main difference between the G63 and the G65 is that the G65 has a 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 with around 600 horses. Unfortunately, the G65 AMG is not available Stateside because it doesn't meet safety regulations, not so much for emissions reasons, which is a shame (the fact that it's not sold here). In other news, the legendary G-Wagen will stay in production until at least 2027, along with a refresh coming in 2016. In conclusion, the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen is one of the coolest, most expensive SUVs on the market today. It was never meant to be stylish or fuel efficient, but the G-Class epitomizes luxury and off-road capability in the best way possible. It also handles well on a track, as proven by a few videos I have watched in the past. On a side note, the last four photos in the gallery above were from my two-week trip to China back in June.