Bare-bones Benz G-Wagen to go public

You won't have to be a soldier, fireman or ranger to drive the most off-road capable Mercedes-Benz soon. Come 2017, Mercedes-Benz Australia is planning to offer G-Wagen Professional models via its dealer network.

The venerable Mercedes G-Wagen is currently being heavily promoted to government departments, following its successful roll-out in Victoria as a go-anywhere fire truck acquired by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

Now there are plans afoot to widen the G-Wagen offer.

According to David McCarthy, the Senior Manager for Public Relations, Product and Corporate Communications at Mercedes-Benz Australia, the Victorian contract was for around 100 units of the G-Wagen.

Buoyed by that contract, the company has approached other government departments around the nation to purchase G-Wagen Professional – as the basic off-roader is known. And from next year the importer is committed to selling the G-Wagen Professional through its dealer network, rather than directly out of the head office in the Melbourne suburb of Mulgrave.

Bringing the G-Wagen Professional to a wider audience has been a long-term project, McCarthy says.

"It's taken us a couple of years to get the vehicle here, the main reason being we would not sell it until it had two airbags and ESP [stability control].

"Basically the vehicle had to be re-engineered."

That requirement came at the insistence of local CEO, Horst von Sanden, says McCarthy.

Amortising the cost of that re-engineering for the Australian market would explain the importer's enthusiasm to sell more than just the small number purchased by the Victorian Department of Environment.

"We expect in a full year, with government, fleet and 'retail' sales, 500 units..." McCarthy said.

The G-Wagen has already been a success, in military-spec W461 form, serving with the Australian Defence Forces. In that role the G-Wagen has been built in different versions – including a 6x6 model adopted in other markets since.

"We'll be [selling] a cab chassis and a station wagon [of the G-Wagen Professional]," says McCarthy. "Now the station wagon is a four-seat [version with] two front buckets, two rear buckets."

That configuration is common to the army G-Wagens in the wagon body style. McCarthy says that Benz won't be selling the 6x6 version of the G-Wagen to customers other than the army.

Benz expects the G-Wagen Professional to sell to tourism operators as well as government departments. For private buyers and commercial fleet purchasers, the G-Wagen Professional is not subject to Luxury Car Tax, McCarthy says, since the wagon's GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) is higher than 4.5 tonnes – and therefore not subject to the tax. Tourism operators are not required to pay the LCT either, due to an amendment to the LCT legislation negotiated by former the Family First Party.

That will inevitably help keep the price down, although buyers are likely to pay over $100,000, unless they're a government department or privy to a fleet buyer's discount with Mercedes-Benz.

"Obviously we have fleet and government pricing, which is different," McCarthy said. "We're still finalising our pricing as a retail vehicle… It will be the low hundreds [at least $100,000 per vehicle]."

Offsetting the purchase price is the total cost of ownership and the G-Wagen Professional's durability, says McCarthy.

"The tender we won in Victoria was based on total cost of ownership. The vehicle will last and last and last.

"We win that argument pretty convincingly."

The G-Wagen Professional will be powered by the same Euro 5-compliant 3.0-litre diesel V6 that resides under the bonnet of the military G-Wagen. It develops 135kW and 400Nm and drives through a five-speed automatic transmission and dual-range transfer system to all four wheels. Mercedes-Benz is offering the G-Wagen Professional with an optional fire-fighting package, an electrical system upgrade and a winch package.

Standard comfort and convenience features include air conditioning, central locking (non-remote), a bull bar and 16-inch alloy wheels.