To the tycoons wanting to offset some of that carbon footprint, this here is the first-ever fully-electric 2024 Mercedes-Benz G-Class BEV. Officially, it's named the Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology, but that's a bit verbose so we'll stick to calling it the G-Class/G-Wagen BEV.

It's hard to tell this and the conventional G-Class apart, and that's a good thing. It still looks ever ready to drop in a hot zone in a moment's notice, with the only obvious changes being the most subtle – the lack of exhaust pipes, a slightly raised hood, and air intakes by the rear wheelarches.

What isn't like prior versions in today's G-Class BEV is its powertrain. This is the first time in the model's 45-year-long history that the SUV gets an all-electric system, and the four electric motors (a pair on each axle) brings a total combined output of 587 PS and 1,164 Nm of torque.

That's 314 Nm more torque than the (previously) burliest Geländewagen, the G63 AMG with its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. But the BEV G-Class is a fair bit heavier at 3,085 kg vs the G63's roughly 2,700 kg, which means its 0-100 km/h times is a slightly slower but entirely respectable 4.6 seconds vs the G63's 4.3 seconds.

Giving all that juice is a massive 116 kWh lithium-ion battery encased in a torsion-resistant carbon casing, which Mercedes-Benz quotes is enough to give a WLTP-rated range of up to 473 km.

With a battery that big, the on-board 11 kW AC charging will need roughly 12 hours to hit 100% state of charge from 10%. Things are much faster with its 200 kW DC fast charging; so 10-80% state of charge can be done within 32 minutes.

More than just a battery pack

It's clear that Mercedes-Benz didn't just put a battery pack in the 'G and call it day, as it comes with certain off-road benefits over the regular combustion engine variants. Main stuff are the intelligent off-road crawl function (as low as 2 km/h!), G-Turn (tank-turn rotation), and the G-Steering, a function that reduces the turning radius in off-pavement situations.

Note too that because it has four independent motors, it can vector torque to whichever wheels that need it most in a manner that's theoratically more effective than a traditional locking differential.

In fact, water fording depth has increased to 850 mm – about 150 mm or so more than the conventional G-Class – partly due to it not needing an intake for an engine. The electric G can also climb up a 100 percent grade on suitable surfaces, and remain stable on slopes up to 35 degrees.

On the inside, it remains a proper modern Merc. There's screens everywhere, including a 12.3-inch display for the driver and a 12.3-inch infotainment with navigation, Burmester audio, ambient lighting, full ADAS, the whole nine yards. It also has something called 'G-Roar', which is pretty much synthetic engine sounds piped in. Yes...even V8 tones.

Options include twin 11.6-inch touchscreens for rear passengers, but with cars like these it's really up to you to make it your own through the Manufaktur programme. European prices start from EUR 142,621 (~RM 729k) for the regular G580 with EQ Technology, or EUR 192,524 (~RM 984k) for the goodie-packed Edition One.

No word yet on Malaysian availability at press time. Over here, the only officially available Geländewagen we have left is the 2024 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, retailing from RM 1.8 million.