2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class

After its redesign, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class looks like a different vehicle inside. Every surface is constructed with premium materials, creating an air of opulence that few other SUVs in any class can match. The seats are roomy and comfortable, and there is a ton of standard features, including plenty of driver assistance tech.

• "The materials are exceptional, with buttery soft leather creatively stitched everywhere in the cabin - even the bank vault swing-gate has diamond-quilted leather trim. Despite this massive lurch toward modernity, a few nods to the past remain." -- Autoblog
• "Every touchable surface has the sort of look and feel you'd expect from a six-figure Mercedes-Benz. … Taken as a whole, the G-Class boasts one of Mercedes' finest interiors, full stop. And that's before you get to the richer two-tone, AMG Line and Designo options." -- CNET
• "No matter the model, the interior of the new G-Class is worlds richer than before. Slightly quieter inside than its predecessor, the cabin features traditional luxury touches such as thick, buttery leather with attractive stitching, and modern technology touches such as a digital instrument cluster, Mercedes' latest infotainment suite, and for the first time on a G-Class, modern driver assist and safety technology." -- Motor Trend

Seating

The G-Class seats five and comes standard with leather upholstery, power-adjustable front seats, heated front and rear seats, and two full sets of LATCH car-seat connectors. Nappa leather upholstery, ventilated front seats, massaging front seats, and a heated steering wheel are available.

Prepare to be dazzled when you climb into the G-Class. Both rows of seats provide a tremendous amount of head- and legroom, and they're comfortable and supportive even on longer drives. These are a definite strong point for this Mercedes, and available upgrades like massaging seats only make them better.

• "The cabin is comfortable, spacious, open, and airy front and rear. The optional Active Multicontour Seat package rivals Volvo's seats for comfort and support." -- Motor Trend
• "… there is sufficient shoulder room for three adults in back. And a huge 6-inch increase in legroom allows the trio in back to also bring their legs, thus righting one of the old G's greatest wrongs." -- New York Daily News
• There's more space for second-row riders, thanks to 2.1 additional inches of length and a rear bench that's positioned further back in the cabin. The 5.9 extra inches of legroom go a long way toward making the rear space a place you'd happily occupy for long distances, and moving the bench backward helps with overall ingress and egress." -- CNET

Interior Features

Standard features in the G-Class include a sunroof, tri-zone automatic climate control, and the COMAND infotainment system with a 12.3-inch display screen, touchpad controller, navigation, Bluetooth, two USB ports, three 115-volt household-style power outlets, a 15-speaker Burmester audio system, satellite radio, HD Radio, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. A Wi-Fi hot spot and a rear-seat entertainment system are available.

Standard driver assistance features include a rearview camera, rear cross traffic alert, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, parallel and perpendicular park assist, and driver drowsiness monitoring. Standard active brake assist helps you apply appropriate braking pressure, and standard Mercedes' Pre-Safe is a system that automatically tightens seat belts and rolls up windows when the SUV detects and impending collision.

Unlike previous G-Wagens, the redesigned 2019 model features plenty of active safety technology. The COMAND infotainment system is a serviceable technology hub, and its large screen is easy to see and read. Though the touchpad controller has a slight learning curve, the system works well overall.

See 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class specs »

• "…The optional, high-resolution instrument cluster is gorgeous, as is the massive 12.3-inch central display. The latter still isn't touchscreen, but is easy enough to navigate through the console-mounted touchpad and rotary selector." -- Automobile Magazine
• The same massive 12.3-inch COMAND display makes its way from the S- and E-Class, along with a second 12.3-inch display that can replace the standard double-binnacle gauge cluster. The rest of Mercedes' extensive infotainment and safety tech menu brings the G fully into the 21st century." -- Autoblog
• The infotainment tech housed within is the same COMAND system you'll find elsewhere. … You can control the system via the large dial or touchpad on the center console, or the two thumb pads on the steering wheel (left for the gauge screen, right for the center display), and while it mostly works well enough, I can't wait for MBUX to make its way into every single Mercedes model. The high-res, reconfigurable displays of COMAND are nice and all, but I'm hooked on the incredibly quick, touch-responsive interface of MBUX." -- CNET

Cargo

Mercedes has not released estimates for the G-Wagen's cargo capacity. The previous generation, which had similar exterior and interior dimensions, provided roughly 38 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats and 79 cubic feet of space with the rear seats folded.

The cargo door swings open to the side instead of lifting upwards like in many other SUVs. The cargo floor is pretty high, which could make it difficult to load large or heavy items, and the rear seats don't fold completely flat, leaving the cargo floor a bit uneven.

• The cargo area grows some for the new generation, and while the rear seats fold in a 60/40 split, they don't fold flat as the rear axle impedes a bit into the cargo area." -- Motor Trend
• Opening the big tailgate still feels tantamount to swinging out a wall, and it still grants access to a cargo floor as high as your waist. So, if you're a G-Class customer who brings a lot of stuff with you, make sure you park with a lot of room behind you, and don't cancel your gym membership." -- New York Daily News
• Cargo space suffers slightly, but swing open that rear door and you're still greeted with a wealth of usable cargo room." -- CNET