MBWorld.org Forums - Driving Impressions of 2018 G63 After 6 Months

It's been about 6 months since the G63 entered our family, and ever since it's been a rather interesting car. I've put on about 6000 miles since the purchase and have more or less an idea of what my opinion of the car is.

Beginning with features and looks, the car is just about what any would expect of it. The materials are top notch, and don't disappoint whatsoever. The headliner is made of that micro-suede material and literally everything you touch has a solid feeling to it. It feels like a $140k car, and that's really good. Everything is built solidly, and nothing feels loose or cheap, other than the outdated dash. It's made of plastic and just looks cheap on a car that's from 2018. The other issue I have is with the infotainment screen, while it doesn't bother me as much as it did back when we purchased the car, I just wished it was a little bigger and didn't look like a last minute design choice. However besides that, I think the interior looks fantastic. The exterior is such a menacing look, and while every once in a while it get's called a jeep, the vehicle has such a presence on the road and everyone always turns to look at it. Everyone knows what a G is, and that is a testament to what the car is.

Speaking of interior, let me talk about comfortability. The seats on the car at first felt rather hard, however once used to them you come to appreciate how supportive they are. My back never hurts after driving the car for a few hours a day. The back seats however are a different story... something just feels off about them, and they are rather uncomfortable overall. Whenever friends sit in the back, they want to stop for a walk after a few (but most of the time they appreciate the badass status the car offers!). That's really the only issue I see, but since I'm never in the back, it's a small issue for me. The ride quality on the car isn't that bad in my honest opinion. I have a Ford Raptor (2nd Generation) and while that rides a lot better, the G63's ride quality isn't so bad, and far from the worst. Highway driving it's not too bumpy, and when going any road with imperfections, you notice the bouncy characteristics of the car... and well, it doesn't matter because the G will eat up through any road. The best way to describe it is "Going into war in Style".

The next big thing to talk about is driving dynamics and daily drivability. The car handles horrible... and that's fine. It is far from being a sports car, it is extremely heavy, and honestly it doesn't matter one bit that it handles poorly. It is a very capable offroader, I've taken it to some mountains and done things with it that only some of the best offroading vehicles would be able to pull off. Knowing that I can safely get out of any situation or road condition in style is a big plus. And that's one of the things that you pay for. It's fast in a straight line for how heavy it is, and it sounds amazing. Every time I go to someone's house they tell me that they could hear me from inside, but that just may be from the nature of the old 5.5 liter V8. Speaking of the engine quickly, gas milage is poor. I can never seem to get more than 10-12 mpg combined. So stops to the gas station are pretty frequent. Driving the car around town is rather easy since it's actually narrower than most cars. It's scary when you park it in a garage since how tall it actually is, but besides that it's easy to daily drive, not including the frequent gas stops. The steering wheel is extremely heavy, and sometimes feels like I'm getting a workout when driving one hand, but that's just me being picky.

To wrap it up, since this is already plenty long enough, I love the G63. While it has a few downsides to it, there's no denying this badass status you recieve from driving the car. It sounds like a proper AMG should, and is just cool to know that no matter the road condition you'll be able to just plow on through. There is nothing else that drives like it on the road, and the level of popularity is similar to that of a supercar. It's a joy to use. My first impression was negative, but once I kept using it, I realized that it's so unique and amazing that you can easily overlook any negatives that it may have. Thank god that this car exists, and while the 2018 is the last of the classic G's, I'm more than sure that the new generation will live up to expectations or even more.