Mercedes-Benz has a brand new generation G-Class off-roader on the market, which - to say the least - looks almost identical to the model it replaced. However, beauty lies in the details as they say - despite its familiar look, the SUV now features a completely revised suspension, new interior, and revised engine lineup. In fact, just five parts carry over from the 2018 version of the machine: the spare-tire cover, sun visors, headlight-washer sprayers, door handles, and a structural bracket hidden within the dash. Everything else is completely new. After all, it turns out that you can teach an old dog new tricks. Want to know more? Join us and YouTuber Alaatin61 for a detailed walkaround video of the current range-topper below the AMG offerings, the G550 sold in Europe as the G500. It features a modern 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo gasoline engine, good for 450 pound-feet (610 Newton-meters) of torque delivered from as little as 2,250 rpm and a bountiful 416 horsepower (310 kilowatts). On the Old Continent, the peak power stands at 422 hp (315 kW). And the best thing is that the improved on-road handling and overall behavior don鈥檛 affect the G鈥檚 amazing off-road capabilities. That鈥檚 possible mainly thanks to the fact that there鈥檚 still a solid rear axle, albeit now attached with a five-link, trailing arm-type suspension. Just don鈥檛 forget to go for the optional Off-Road package, which adds 18-inch wheels with Falken Wildpeak A/T rubber.

Mercedes-Benz has a brand new generation G-Class off-roader on the market, which - to say the least - looks almost identical to the model it replaced. However, beauty lies in the details as they say - despite its familiar look, the SUV now features a completely revised suspension, new interior, and revised engine lineup. In fact, just five parts carry over from the 2018 version of the machine: the spare-tire cover, sun visors, headlight-washer sprayers, door handles, and a structural bracket hidden within the dash. Everything else is completely new. After all, it turns out that you can teach an old dog new tricks. Want to know more? Join us and YouTuber Alaatin61 for a detailed walkaround video of the current range-topper below the AMG offerings, the G550 sold in Europe as the G500. It features a modern 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo gasoline engine, good for 450 pound-feet (610 Newton-meters) of torque delivered from as little as 2,250 rpm and a bountiful 416 horsepower (310 kilowatts). On the Old Continent, the peak power stands at 422 hp (315 kW). And the best thing is that the improved on-road handling and overall behavior don鈥檛 affect the G鈥檚 amazing off-road capabilities. That鈥檚 possible mainly thanks to the fact that there鈥檚 still a solid rear axle, albeit now attached with a five-link, trailing arm-type suspension. Just don鈥檛 forget to go for the optional Off-Road package, which adds 18-inch wheels with Falken Wildpeak A/T rubber.

Mercedes-Benz is pretty stoked about the new off-road suspension that will be available on the 2020 GLE450. Capable of raising and lowering individual wheels to provide optimum traction and able to adjust almost instantaneously to smooth out road imperfections, keep the vehicle at the desired ride height, and control lean in corners, it鈥檚 truly a versatile setup. As a side benefit, the system can also make the GLE450 hop like a lowrider, albeit not nearly as dramatically. Watch it perform this stunt in the video linked below. According to engineers at Mercedes-Benz, the GLE450鈥檚 hopping action is not intended to wow bystanders but instead to help the vehicle extricate itself if it gets bogged down in deep, loose sand. They didn鈥檛 mention snow, but it should work there, too. As anyone who has ever rocked a stuck car to free it from deep snow can attest, it鈥檚 a technique that requires both brute force and split-second timing, in which momentum is the name of the game. The GLE450 seen in the video uses the air springs to 鈥渂ump鈥?the vehicle vertically while the driver feathers the accelerator to finesse the vehicle free from the clutches of the sand trap. Talking about it is fine; watching it is even better.

The G550 looks like a bank vault and weighs as much as a gold cache you might find in one. It tips the scales at an eye-widening 5,724 pounds. It needs an equally substantial engine to get it up to speed in less than an hour. The G550 has one. Its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 cranks out 416 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque. Combined with a 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic, that gets the G550 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and allows it to tow 7,000 pounds. On top of that, the 4.0 lets out an addictive, guttural growl through the pipes right under the rear seats. Jamming my right foot down just for grins and a firm shove back into my seat was a frequent occurrence. The G550 drove just about how I expected a steel, body-on-frame, 4X4 SUV with roots in the 1970s to drive. The steering was heavy at low speeds and vague once the speedo needle swung more to the right. I was especially careful going around curves because the G550 is nearly 6.5 feet tall. The ride quality was surprisingly pleasant, even when the suspension was set to Sport.

I didn鈥檛 bother leaving the G-Wagen in its Eco drive setting because the thirsty beast only gets 14 mpg on the highway. Plus, the exhaust seemed to emit an annoying, fluttering bass note at certain speeds, so most of the time I drove around in Sport mode. The G550 has three locking differentials (front, middle, and rear), more than eight inches of wheel travel, 9.25 inches of ground clearance鈥?and a lot in common with the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Both are legendary off-roaders with upright and angular profiles. The similarities go beyond just visual, though. Like the JK, the G doesn鈥檛 have selectable terrain modes or off-road cruise control like the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro or Land Rover Discovery - just lockers, space below its belly, and analog prowess. I got a chance to take the G550 over the trails of a sprawling game ranch during the Texas Auto Writers Association鈥檚 2017 Texas Truck Rodeo.

I picked the most difficult path available. The G550 walked through it. It could鈥檝e completed the entire course of whoops, grades, and rock crawling in high range, but I engaged low range and fired up the lockers - middle first, then rear, then front - just for the hell of it. The G550鈥檚 sub-16-feet length and short overhangs made it nimble and easy to guide through the trees. At one or two points on the way up a chewed-up rocky path, the Pirelli Scorpions lost their grip on the loose earth underneath them. Once I adjusted my line, they hooked up and sent me higher into the Texas Hill Country. The G550 may not have won the SUV of Texas award, but it left everyone who drove it - including me - with a smile on their face. The 2017 Mercedes-Benz G550 was an attractively and deceptively wrapped box. It looked like a mall-crawler, which many use it as, but had the reputation for being a serious off-roader. To truly know what the G550 contained, I had to open it up. I didn鈥檛 always like what I found when I reached inside, but once I did, I certainly didn鈥檛 want to put the lid back on. Derek Shiekhi is a native Texan who grew up loving cars because of his father, who took Derek with him to buy early Mustang convertibles and Post-WWII pickups from GM. Throughout high school and college, he dreamed about cars, and returned to college to earn a second degree in journalism. After writing for the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, Derek joined the Texas Auto Writers Association, and is a member of the organization's board of directors.