BadReligion

So I’ve had my 2017 G63 for two weeks now but have been meaning to post up a quick review of my overall first impressions. I’ll start by saying this, if I could only have one vehicle in my garage, it would without a doubt be the G63. It is the absolute perfect combination of utility, comfort, and practicality, all while being a riot to drive. As stated in a previous thread, my wife and I were looking at the 200 series Landcruiser/LX570 and BMW M5 for our next family vehicle and while on paper the Landcruiser makes more sense, I would still pick the G63 any day of the week.

I still remember seeing my first “gray market” G class in the late 90’s around the Reno area. I had always been a fan of anything offroad capable, the G stood out as something different. The more I read about it and poured over the technical specs, the more I wanted one. Then they officially came to the US. While working at a local ski resort in 2003, I saw a brand new G55 pull up in the parking lot. After a brief chat with the owner, I could not believe Mercedes would put a 350HP V8 in something with solid axles and factory locking differentials! At the time, the only thing more off road capable that was similarly equipped with diff locks and solid axles was the newly introduced Rubicon Wrangler. I told myself if they still are making those in the next 10-15 years, I will have one.

Fast forward to 2017 and the G is still mostly the same, with the exception of a nicely updated interior, minor exterior tweaks and one hell of a 563hp hand built engine. Personally, I think the styling is timeless and looks just as good on the road in 2017 as it did in the late 1990s. While I knew all of the performance specs by heart prior to taking delivery and had test driven one in the past, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate how well built this thing is until spending a good 15 minutes underneath on a creeper. Toyota’s Landcruiser was the textbook example of over engineered, but Mercedes took that to a whole other level. Every single suspension and drivetrain component is incredibly beefy and placed well out of harm’s way (with the exception of the side pipes, more on that later). Throw an extended skid plate on the frame rails and your entire undercarriage is protected.

Step inside, and the first thing you notice is how comfortable the seats are. They are slightly narrow but have excellent support and I feel like there is more than adequate head and leg room (and this is coming from someone who is 6’3’’). Visibility out of the front and side windows is excellent and compared to driving an 80 or 100 series Landcruiser, this thing is downright nimble and easy to maneuver on the road. Most knobs and buttons are well placed and easy to use while fit and finish are top notch. The inside of a G63 is truly a nice place to be.

I have read more than a few reviews on this truck in the big auto magazines and every single one complains about how terrible the handling is. Well for a nearly 6000 lb truck on a solid axle 1970’s chassis, I feel like the handling is phenomenal. For the idiots that took this to the track and complained about its .63gs of lateral grip, WTF do you expect?! I wouldn’t take my M3 on a dirt road and ***** about traction in the mud! My wife absolutely loves driving our G63 and feels so much more comfortable behind the wheel of this compared to any of our other vehicles.

We went for an extended drive on some twisty Sierra back roads and I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time. This thing seems to defy physics with how quickly it accelerates and how well in navigates bends, dips, and bumps. The sport mode is the perfect default setting but manual mode is a blast too. Nothing like dropping the transmission into 3rd on a 5% downhill and listening to the exhaust burble and pop until you add throttle out of the next corner. My only complaint about manual mode is that it takes a few seconds from the time you hit the paddle until the transmission decides to shift gears. Much longer than the milliseconds of a BMW DCT transmission but in almost any situation this is manageable. Just don’t try to accelerate hard from 0-100 in manual mode or you will get to experience how well the rev limiter works.

My only three other complaints revolve around the chrome brush guard, position of the side pipes, and size of the factory wheels. The brush guard AKA “damage multiplier” needs to go and it looks like they are fetching well over $1500 in the LA market from those who are trying to out-chrome the Harley Davidson crowd. I love the side pipes but they kill about 4 inches of ground clearance and are just asking to get smacked by a wayward rock or tree stump. A little nip and tuck with a sawzall/ TIG welder and they should be out of harm’s way. The 20” wheels are growing on me but there is not much sidewall there and tire choices are limited. I’m sure I can find a G550 owner who wants to trade their 19”s for my 20”s. Then I can put some real rubber (BFG ATs) on them.

That’s about it. Again, absolutely love my G63 and I can say without a doubt that this is the best/ most unique vehicle I have ever owned. Per my wife, it must stay mostly stock for the next 5 years but I see portal axles, 37”s and trip(s) down the Rubicon in its future.
Below are a few quick pics of the new addition. First is next to my 80 series Landcruiser, which has now mostly resided to rock duty down the Rubicon, Death Valley, or Dusy Ershim. The next two are of the G63 stretching its legs offroad. Nothing crazy, we decided to explore a FS road off of Hwy 88 in the Sierras just to see how it did. This road was very mild and definitely trail rated “Subaru,” but there was a steep section where I got to play with the low range gears in the xfer case. Traction was not an issue so the diff locks still have “virgin” status.

600mi down, 200,000+ to go. Let the journey begin!

s4awd

Congrats! I find that most G63 owners are not really enthusiasts. They buy them because they're cool, use them and then move on. I love my '18. I've had a ton of cars, and always had fun sharing info on my experiences on forums.Great pics and enjoy! Here's mine...

JJCTHE1

nice write up, I love my 16 I plan to have it in my fleet forever. Regarding the front bar, I had mine powder coated matte black to match the rest of my G along with the rear tire cover running boards, exhaust tips etc. it looks great. You may want to consider something like that or of course if you prefer the look of it removed, just have it removed.

BadReligion

So I can't believe its been 2 years since we bought our G! Just wanted to give a quick update. First, still an absolute awesome vehicle and I still smile every time I fire it up. It is truly fun to drive too. Mechanically it has been very reliable with the only issues being a loose power steering return line and weak aux battery. Both occurred within the first few months of ownership and were easy warranty fixes. Neither left us stranded. Maintenance has been easy too. Did the diff oil change at like 1500mi (took me 1hr) and the 10 and 20k oil changes (30 min each). Probably time for an air filter too. It did consume a bit of oil over the first 10k mi but that settled to 1L from 10-20k. Nothing to be excited about.

This was primarily my wife's DD/family hauler until we had our second kid in May. 1 carseat was kind of tough, and with 2 it just wasn't practical anymore. So, she got a new '19 Landcruiser and now I get to DD the G. Win/Win! I have two other heavily built Landcruiser for offroading so I don't need another rock crawler but I do have a few mods planned so I can do some light offroad travel with it. Original tires are about toast so I've been eyeing some BFG K02s in 285/55/20. I cant find any G550 owners that want to trade for their 19"s and the 20"s have actually grown on me so I will pick up one more for a matching spare. The 285s are about 1.5"s bigger than the original tires so that will give me 0.75" of increased ground clearance. From what I have read, they are the biggest tire you can fit without a lift/spacers. A 2" lift wouldn't be bad but I don't like caster correction bushings in radius arms and the only aftermarket radius arms available are for a 4" lift. Problem with a 4" lift is that is you cannot find any true 4" coils and I don't want to run a 2" coil with a 2" spacer. I may reach out to some spring manufacturers to see if I can get some custom coils made. Adjustable panhards (track bars) are a must with any lift because you need to recenter the axles. I need to do some research to see how the driveshafts do with increased angles. I know on Landcruisers you get some bad vibes on the rear at 4" plus. It looks like the G has radius arms on the rear axle (no upper arms) so those could be lengthened/shortened if you needed to correct for this.

I still need to get rid of those low hanging side pipes as they absolutely kill ground clearance and I have dinged them a few times on even some mild trails. As mentioned in my first post, a little Sawzall trimming should do the trick and allow me to keep the factory muffler if I cut at an angle just before the tips tie into the muffler. One other mandatory item for even mild offroading is a good set of sliders and I cannot seem to find any 'real' sliders for a 463. The only currently available ones attach to the body using the running board attachment points. For a 6000lb truck, you need frame mounted sliders. Anything else is just a running board. There is a lot going on under the G and the frame rails are quite a bit towards the center. I have a pretty good fabricator nearby who can probably come up with a solution but likely I'll have to drill into the frame for attachment points (rivet nuts) or weld on some brackets. Its a slippery slope with modifications so I think I'll just start with the tires/exhaust trimming for now and remove the running boards but a lift will definitely be in the future.


@s4awd , I agree. not many G63s are enthusiast owned and most are merely leased status symbols that are traded out every 2 years. Definitely some die hard fans with the older ones though. Mine is staying in my garage for a very long time. As prices come down, I hope to see more offroad and maybe a better aftermarket parts offering too.

Jonathan Steffy

Hello as far as powdercoating the front bar and side steps do any of the plastic or rubber pieces need to come off first and are they hard to reinstall?

thanks!