Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG

THE G-WAGEN， from its very birth， was meant to be a war machine. You see the German armed forces wanted their own squad carrier， which led mercedes-benz to create the Galendawagen， German for‘cross country vehicle’. But like the humvee in the us， the G-wagen soon caught the fancy of civilians and over the years， Mercedes-Benz has been giving it more bling than the army would need. The German manufacturer also decided to send the G-wagen to its tuning division—AMG. The result was the g55 amg.

As far as looks go， you either hate it or you love it. It is boxy with 90 degrees being the dominant angle that pervades through the length， breadth and height of this SUV. For its part， to further enhance the G55’s awesome road presence， AMG has added a chrome bullbar， Mercedes sports grille， massive alloys， side exhausts and badges and logos in every nook and cranny. The massive 5.5-litre supercharged V8 is a work of art. Moreover being hand-built， you also get a little plate with signatures of the guys who made it.

The interiors instantly bathe you in luxury. There’s a large multifunction steering wheel behind which sits a rather small and old school dash. The electrically adjustable seats are comfortable and from the driver’s perch， visibility up ahead and around is top class. The rear seats follow the theatre style pattern. They also have individual DVD screens.

Start her up and the exhaust spews out a sinister burble before settling down. Slot the stick in ‘D’ and if you have given it the full beans， expect to get pushed into the seats as the G55 takes off rather ferociously while your ears suffer an assault from the AMG exhausts.

With the 100 kmph dash taken care of in 5.8s， the G55 can give many a low slung sports car a run for its money. As the speed climbs rapidly the automatic gearbox shifts seamlessly to complement the engine well and in no time the speedo hits 180 kmph.

This lunacy has a profound effect on the fuel economy for the trip computer at this point was indicating 28.8l/100 km （3.5 kmpl）. The G55 is also uncomfortable at high speed. Even on smooth tarmac， it has a tendency to bob around. However， this stiff nature does show its benefits around corners where it exhibits minimal roll and good handling. The brakes have enormous bite.

Last but not the least， the G55 AMG is a true blue off-roader too and to this effect the suV gets lockable differentials and height adjustable suspension to ensure that its underbody is safe and sound.

The G55 is surely one of the coolest SUVS in the market today. On the downside though its ride quality and the steering could have been better. And then there is the small issue of price. With a tag of 1.24 crore， Mercedes would probably have done better had it introduced the stock G-wagon and had this as an option for the power hungry.