2008 Mercedes-Benz G Class Quality Review

At Mercedes-Benz, 2008’s G-Class offers comfortable seating, especially for a military-based design, but it isn't quiet.

If the outside of the G-Class is an industrial shipping container, the inside is practically a luxury suite. Edmunds describes it as a "five-passenger luxury SUV," and ForbesAutos reports that with this Mercedes-Benz, 2008's "passenger cabin is comfortable, with heated power front seats and supple leather upholstery," though they point out that "the G-Class offers just two rows of seats." USAToday calls the interior "comfortable," saying the "seats cuddle your back and backside" and "legroom and headroom are sufficient for most folks." Getting into the vehicle isn't easy, though; Edmunds says "step-in height is rather lofty--requiring standard running boards--and it combines with smallish doors to make climbing aboard the G-Class a tight squeeze."

Edmunds also calls out the 2008 Mercedes-Benz G-Class for having rear cargo capacity that "falls short of full-size sport utilities at 80 cubic feet" and a "swinging cargo door [that] is heavy because of its full-size spare tire and its stainless steel cover." Kelley Blue Book, on the other hand, says the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has "generous storage space" and notes that the "rear seats are split in a 60/40 configuration and can be folded and flipped to provide more cargo room." According to USAToday, the cargo space figures for the G-Class are "45 cubic feet behind the second-row seat, 79.5 with the seat folded."

Reviewers have mixed feelings about the fit and finish of the 2008 Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Edmunds notes "premium leather and wood cover most surfaces, and buttons and switches are typical of those found in other Mercedes-Benz cars and SUVs, but the upright dashboard and seating position are more Jeep Wrangler than $80,000-plus luxury SUV." According to USAToday, the "interior furnishings, while upscale and evocative of the fancy S-class sedan, look very tacked on," and they add that "it's clear they were forced into the truck to make it seem swell, instead of being part of an integrated design." Edmunds also criticizes the Mercedes Benz 2008 G-Class for having doors that "close with an unsubstantial 'click' rather than the typical, reassuring Mercedes 'thud.'"

While Kelley Blue Book suggests that the 2008 Mercedes-Benz G-Class is less than quiet, saying "interior noise levels...lag behind those of the Land Rover Range Rover and Cadillac Escalade," Edmunds states that it is "surprisingly quiet...despite having the aerodynamic attributes of a shipping crate."