Mercedes-Benz G350d Engine & Performance

The Mercedes-Benz G350d is powered by a 3.0 in line six cylinder (OM656) diesel engine that is BS6 compliant. This motor also does duty in the S-Class S350d. The engine puts out 286 horsepower and 600 Nm of torque. While that doesn’t sound much on paper for an SUV that weighs almost 2.5 tonnes, you will be surprised. You might not get pushed back in the seat when you accelerate hard, but the motor is pretty enthusiastic to move ahead. And the best thing about this engine is the refinement. I have driven it before, and I will say it again, that this one is of the most silent diesel engines I have ever driven. Mercedes claims a 0 to 100 kph timing of 7.4 seconds which is not bad at all considering the size of this behemoth. Also if it matters, the speedo needle tops out at 199 kph. But believe me, the real pleasure in driving the G350d is in a relaxed manner, enjoying the silence in the cabin and the looks you get from other road users. The 9 speed 9G Tronic automatic gearbox is super smooth and you can also change gears manually with the steering mounted paddle shifters. There are four driving modes too.

The G350 comes with permanent four wheel drive with a rear to front 60:40 torque split. There’s a low ratio as well but the highlight is the three locking diffs. You can activate those via three prominent buttons on the centre console. Combine this with ridiculous approach, ramp-over and departure angles and the 241 mm ground clearance, you can conquer anything on this planet and then some. And oh, it has 700 mm of wading depth too.. Now take that, you flooded monsoon roads.

Contd…