The German tuner Brabus turns Mercedes-Benz products into even more powerful yet still luxurious monster machines. Usually, Brabus does a fair job of subtly upgrading styling as well. Brabus has gotten its hands on the 2019 Mercedes-Benz G500 and done a fantastic job of making powertrain improvements. As far as the looks go, we're not in love.
First, the good stuff. Sticking with Mercedes' twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 engine, Brabus turns up the juice with its own electronic control model that increases output from 416 to 493 horsepower and torque from 450 to 524 pound-feet of twist. Now the heavy SUV can dash from 0-62 mph in just 5.7 seconds. Better yet, the engine is warrantied for three years or 62,000 miles.
The outside of the Brabus-tuned G features LED side-marker lamps and auxiliary headlights above the windshield. Brabus-styled wheels are offered in sized from 20 to 23 inches, the grille is unique to Brabus, and the truck has enough blacked-out trim bits to make Bond baddies quite jealous.
Keep poring over the exterior details and that's where our issues arise. The carbon-fiber hood scoops look silly. On the roof, we like the light bar, but the rear spoiler leaves us shaking our heads. As for the light up badging, that's fine as it's just a take on something Mercedes-Benz already offers.
For the inside Brabus offers unique leather upholsteries, wood and carbon-fiber trim, and aluminum pedals.
The overall package is very cool, and buyers can choose the features they like for their Brabus G-Classes. Brabus does amazing engine work, and we'd be thrilled to call such a vehicle our own.
However, if we're playing in the big boy SUV leagues, we might as well wait a bit. Brabus has only tuned the entry-level G500 (known as G550 in the U.S.) here. When the tuner gets ahold of the Mercedes-AMG G63, it should be able to extract an immense amount of power. For anyone willing to spend six-figures on a modified luxury SUV, why not wait to get all of the bang for all of the bucks?
