Monster Truck

Mercedes makes the G-Wagen bigger, badder and in a way I didn't think possible better.

- Hannah Elliott

With a roofline nearly 8 feet high, the $349,000 Mercedes-AMG G63 4x4² is too tall to drive under the entry gate at my parking garage. It also won't fit on the curves of the ramps in the garages around Beverly Hills, where I like to window-shop. It takes strategic footwork and a bit of oomph even for me-at 6 foot, 2 inches or more in heels-just to climb into the cabin.

(It has almost 14 inches of ground clearance.) When I look back through the rearview mirror, I can't see anything. The rear window is blocked by a black wall-the shell that holds the spare tire against the back gate. The car's obnoxious black fender flares, tinted headlights and taillights and copious carbon fiber flourishes make it stick out like a wolf among sheep in the drive-thru line at In-N-Out.

Does any of that make me love this menacing beast any less? Absolutely not. The next-generation Mercedes-AMG G63 4x4² feels honest, unapologetic and very bossy. I love it.