MERCEDES-AMG G63

Off-roader turned madcap performance car is given-shock! -hybrid technology

- MURRAY SCULLION 

There's now an electric G-Class, while the combustion versions, including this bombastic AMG G63, have been hybridized. Has Graz gone woke? Are pigs soaring over fields while Beelzebub ice-skates beneath them?

The short answer is no. The latest G63 is only a mild hybrid (thanks to a 48V integrated starter-generator) and reassuringly is still an in-your-face, ostentatious display of wealth - making it clear you can afford to ignore tedious objectives such as price, interior space and fuel economy.

This is ostensibly a facelift, and a light one at that. New stuff includes a slightly different radiator grille and a new lip to the windscreen to improve the drag coefficient.

Inside, the G63 has gained the latest MBUX infotainment system, which means a few firsts: this is, for example, the first G63 with a touchscreen and adaptive cruise control. There's keyless entry now, too. It retains physical heating controls, though, thankfully.