The electric G-wagen is a "complete flop," yet the media said it was great

There's a dance routine that's familiar to anyone who's been on a press junket or three. The automaker flies you somewhere nice, puts you up somewhere nice, feeds you nice things, serves you nice beverages, and is generally very nice to you.

In return, you write something nice about the freshly unveiled car that you were flown there to drive.

That expectation is never explicit, yet so-called access journalists rarely fail to deliver. The content that appears after these events is almost uniformly positive, even when, on the merits, it shouldn't be.

The 2025 Mercedes-Benz G580 w/EQ Technology, a.k.a. G-Class EV or electric G-wagen or whatever you want to call it, provides the latest case in point. This morning, Motor1 relayed an anonymous Mercedes executive's admission in Handelsblatt, a German business publication, that the G580 "is sitting like lead at dealers; it's a complete flop." Per Motor1, the paywalled Handelsblatt story notes that Mercedes has sold only 1,450 electric G-wagens in nearly a full year on the market, while the conventional G-Class moved 9,700 units over the same period.

Now, these revelations will come as no surprise to anyone who recognizes the difficulty of selling a 239-mile EV at a starting price of $161,500, especially when rivals like the Cadillac Escalade IQ and the Rivian R1S exist.

But the thing is, every journalist who attended Benz's G580 media drive would have perceived the G EV's shortcomings.

They just chose, predictably, to look on the bright side.

What did journalists say about the electric G-Class?

That's a good empirical question, just like "How many six-figure electric SUVs offer less than 250 miles of range?" Let's go see what got printed.

Car and Driver reported that "Mercedes arranged a trail drive outside Montpellier, France," and that, compared to the gas-powered G550, "the electric G is pretty clearly the superior off-roader." The G580's paltry range is mentioned exactly once in the article, without judgment: "by the EPA's measuring stick, the G580 will travel 239 miles on a charge." Remarkably, neither range nor price is cited as one of the vehicle's "Lows." We are, however, treated to an entire paragraph of plaudits for the G-Turn feature, which enables the G580 to spin on its axis like a tank by driving its four electric motors in opposite directions.

Edmunds turned the approval up a notch, claiming that the "fully electric powertrain makes the G-wagen better both on- and off-road." Any concerns about range? "Mercedes-Benz is currently estimating somewhere between 240 and 250 miles," we're told, and while that "won't blow the doors off other EVs...I don't imagine any future G 580 EV owner will care." In conclusion, Mercedes "got this one exactly right."

Mmhmm.

Anyone else brave the wilds of Montpellier? Ah yes, Jalopnik, where you'll find it written that the G-Class EV is "basically perfect," "fantastic on road" and "a home run, a smash hit, a tour de force" with "unmatched off-road performance." As for the pesky range question, don't worry — "it will be more than enough for the average G-wagen owner....Sure, in the grand scheme of EVs [it's] not a lot, but the gas-powered G-wagens get such shitty gas mileage that most owners will probably find it to be an improvement." Mercedes hadn't officially announced pricing at that point, but "if the electric G-wagen comes in at around $170,000 — fifteen grand less than the G63 — I think that'll be a hell of a deal."

I'll let MotorTrend take the final leg here. This French dispatch is more of the same, I'm afraid, although it uniquely seizes the opportunity to "applaud Mercedes for sticking to its values and keeping a live-axle rear suspension." Additional applause is directed toward "the impressive lengths Mercedes went to to get the new electric G-Class right," resulting in a vehicle that's "as pleasant to toss into corners and carve along mountain roads as it is comfortable on the expressway." How about the range when you're doing all of that? "While final EPA ratings have yet to be released, Mercedes estimates the G580 will offer a range of 240 miles." No further comment, because everyone knows the unwritten rule:

If you don't have anything nice to type on the way home — in business class, mind you — then strongly consider not typing anything.

What should they have said instead?

I mean, I get why they didn't point out that the electric G-wagen gets stomped by its American rivals, to borrow my own headline from earlier this year. The trip was fun, after all, and the access enabled them to publish early firsthand impressions. They hope they'll be invited on the next one.

I have absolutely been there and done that.

But if they could have conquered that fear of being crossed off the list — a fear that goes all the way up the masthead, by the way; it's not solely or even primarily about the writers — this would have been the proverbial story that writes itself.

Out on the trail in France, everyone already knew that the G580's price was going to be well above $150,000, and that the range would be well below 300 miles. Back on our shores, meanwhile, the Rivian R1S Dual Max Performance was offering 410 miles of range for about $95,000.

Want to split the difference on price? The Cadillac Escalade IQ promised 460 miles of range for around $130,000. Not off-roady enough? Try the GMC Hummer EV SUV 3X, with over 300 miles of range for a mere $105,000 or thereabouts.

The Lucid Gravity Grand Touring didn't exist yet, but rumors did, and it was certainly safe to say that both its range (which turned out to be 450 miles) and price ($94,900) would take the G580 to the woodshed.

In sum, the G EV was close to DOA by the numbers, costing way more than key rivals while delivering far less range. Oh yeah, and despite its quad-motor powertrain, it actually has the lowest horsepower rating of any of these models, so it couldn't even claim bragging rights there. That's why we've ranked it dead last in its class since it debuted.

As a writer, you could work in plenty of "buts" around those cold hard facts, like "but it might be the best of the bunch off-road," "but it'll do a tank turn," "but it's the only one that looks like a G-wagen," et cetera.

You definitely wouldn't omit those facts, though, if you didn't have to worry about maintaining your access for future trips.

MotorDonkey says

Access journalism is the way of the world in a lot of industries, of course, not just in automotive. Travel and spirits come to mind — what percentage of professional hotel reviews from Bali, or whisky reviews from Scotland, weren't facilitated by an all-expenses-paid invitation from a resort or a distillery? Zero, I presume, or close to it. And oftentimes it works out well for all parties, because the products (cars, hotels, whiskies) are generally pretty good. The reviewers get their access, and the businesses get their exposure, and the folks who consume the content and end up becoming customers have a positive experience.

What's not to like?

Well, as the G580 example lays bare, the problem is that you can't trust access journalism to call out products that aren't pretty good, which do still come along from time to time. To be fair, certain automotive publications may correct rosy first takes with an eventual dose of road-test reality, as MotorTrend did here with the G580, to its credit. But suffice it to say that if the reviewer is bringing you exclusive impressions from some exotic locale, you shouldn't expect a full accounting of where the car comes up short. ⛐ md