We review the Mercedes-Benz G-Classfrom price to economy and all its features

IF you need proof of Mercedes' status as one of the globe's most important brands, just look at the G-Class.

This is the car which has been in production since 1979 and has hardly changed in looks — yet is still considered the coolest 4x4 money can buy.

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And when I say money, I'm talking £87,000 upwards.

So mega-money. And yet still the appeal of Mercedes' longest running model is enduring and universal.

Rappers, sportspeople, film stars — they all have one on the drive

Rappers, sportspeople, film stars — they all have one on the drive. But so do suburban families and successful singletons.

The G-Class, or G-Wagen as most of us know it, is king.

So what is it about this vehicle, which looks like a prop from a black and white World War Two movie, that has kept it selling steadily through the decades? The answer is simple — the G-Wagen is the real deal.

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While it boasts the interior opulence of its rivals from Range Rover and BMW, when it comes to leaving the Tarmac behind and heading for the rough stuff, it is unstoppable.

If you are thinking you will never get to drive one of these because it costs the same as a Porsche 911, and with £87,000 we would all buy the 911 because it is a sex god, think again.

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For £125 you can clamber into the cockpit of a G-Wagen and tear it up on the off-road course at Mercedes-Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey.

I could write an entire column on Merc's flagship centre, nestled next to what remains of the legendary Brooklands race track, but this is an ode to the G-Wagen. So I shall focus.

Back when it was invented, the brief from head office to designers was to make the G-Wagen a military grade off-roader.

63 different armies have used it as their combat runaround

In fact, 63 different armies have used it as their combat runaround.

While the model you buy from your local dealership comes fitted with TVs in the headrests and dashboard, heated seats, Bluetooth, dual climate control and so on, underneath it is still a bulletproof beast.

I urge you to try it for yourself.

The course down in Surrey is a gruelling series of near-vertical climbs, deep river trenches, huge boulder runs, log obstacles and frightening gravel traps.

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Until I had a go, I must confess to scoffing at those who shell out for one of these, which the AMG version. But I instantly saw where the money goes. I think it was probably as I gazed at the blue sky above, pinned to my seat like an astronaut during take off, while the G-Wagen effortlessly hauled itself up a vertical rock climb, that I turned to my instructor Cliff (appropriate name) and said: "I want one."

It was a ballsy move by Mercedes not to answer the emergence of Range Rover in the 80s with a brand new 4x4 aimed at toffs. Instead, they simply tarted up the interior.

So while the G-Wagen evolved on the inside, it remained the same outside.

What's left is a dated-looking battlewagon that feels like a prestige supercar from the driver's seat.

As we mourn the loss of the Land Rover Defender this week, perhaps the G-Wagen could offer a lesson.

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The Defender, like the Merc, was developed as a rugged utility vehicle and quickly caught on as a consumer car.

But Jaguar Land Rover resisted pressure to bring it into the modern world, focusing instead on the Range Rover, and the Defender remained a pig to drive on roads and shockingly uncomfortable.

The G-Wagen proves 4x4 fans don't need sleek exterior styling.

Perhaps if JLR had upgraded the Defender's interior and addressed handling issues, the Brit would still be fighting the German in the marketplace.