We drove the $136,000 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon and finally understand why it's an automotive legend

Benjamin Zhang

• The Mercedes-Benz G550 starts at $122,400, but our test car cost $136,375.
• The G-Wagon debuted in 1979 as a utilitarian off-roader, but it has evolved into a plutocratic runabout.
• Though it's far from flawless, the G-Wagon is effortlessly cool.

As an auto journalist, I drive more than 70 cars a year. But there are few vehicles I've been more excited to experience than the Mercedes-Benz Gelandewagen — or as it's more commonly known, the G-Wagon.

Technically, Mercedes-Benz retired the G-Wagon moniker in favor of the G-Class designation in 1998, but to its fans, it's still the G-Wagon.

That's why we simply couldn't say no when Mercedes-Benz dropped off a 2017 G550 clad in an eye-catching paprika metallic paint job. For the past four decades, the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon has been one of the standard bearers for what an SUV should strive to be.

However, the high-price luxury SUV we know today had decidedly humble beginnings, on the battlefields of Europe and the Middle East.

Though its roots are planted firmly in the mystique of its uncompromising off-roading prowess, the G-Wagon has now become the SUV of choice for the posh suburbanite or the Hollywood starlet looking for something "different."

In many ways, the G-Wagon is a rolling contradiction. It's a vehicle made famous for its ability to survive and thrive in some of the world's most inhospitable conditions. But these days, it's likely to be found driving around the palm-tree-lined boulevards of Southern California, decked out in fancy wheels and a custom paint job.

The Mercedes-Benz G550 starts at $122,400, but our test vehicle drove off the dealer's lot at $136,375.

Here's a closer look at the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon.

Photos by Hollis Johnson unless otherwise credited.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon's story dates as far back as 1973, when Mercedes' parent company, Daimler-Benz, signed an agreement with Austria's Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG (now Magna Steyr) to create a go-anywhere, all-wheel-drive, cross-country vehicle — also known as the Gelandewagen. To this day, all G-Wagons are hand-built at Magna Steyr's factory in Graz, Austria.

The first prototype G-Wagon emerged in 1974, but a production civilian variant did not go on sale until 1979.

During the 1970s, no one understood the full potential of the SUV segment. Without conclusive data, Mercedes was hesitant to enter into the G-Wagon project. However, the program got a boost in 1975 when the Shah of Iran — a major shareholder in the company at the time — ordered 20,000 military G-Wagons.