G500 Cabriolet: Weird Car of The Month

The cute little G Wagon with a V8 engine!

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class has gained phenomenal popularity thanks to rappers, the Kardashians and the general SUV culture that has seemingly taken over car markets the world over. We’ve seen the 6×6 G63 and we’ve even seen the 1980 G-Class Popemobile but the famous G Wagon isn’t finished being weird yet.

Introducing, the G500 Cabriolet. Mercedes have actually offered a convertible G Wagon since the G Wagon came out in the 1970s but an AMG G-Class wasn’t introduced until 1993 with the 500 GE 6.0 AMG. The G500 Cabriolet features all the power of the V8 with all the styling of Barbie’s Jeep.

The G500 Cabriolet was produced between the late 90s and 2014, with the production ending with a grand finale that was the G-Class (G500) Final Edition 200. The most notable thing about the G500 Cabriolet is its short and stubby appearance.

As we’re so conditioned to seeing modern G Wagons as full-sized 4x4s with four doors and longer wheelbases, the G500 Cabriolet is certainly an odd sight. With just two doors, a very short wheelbase and a fabric convertible roof that sits awkwardly atop the pillars that end abruptly halfway across the car. Of course, this style of SUV convertible has been done before where the car still has a frame rather than the usual pillarless design of most convertibles. There’s something about seeing it on a Mercedes-Benz G Wagon that is extra strange, though.

One impressive thing about the G500 Cabriolet is that it featured a powered roof that could collapse and rise with the press of a button, although, the top still needed to manually be latched and unlatched. Still, this was a very luxurious feature that would not have been in many other convertible SUVs of the late 90s. In general, there’s plenty of odd design choices on this SWB convertible 4×4. The rear plastic window in the fabric roof can be unzipped and folded down whilst the roof is up, the boot is bolted to the fabric roof and also obscured by the spare wheel making it hard to access, the boot doesn’t have a lock on it, rear passengers cannot reach the lever which folds the front seats forward essentially trapping them in the back of the car and so on.

Another flaw that is even more evident today is the engine. The G500 Cabriolet seems to do everything it can to show off that it has a 5.0-litre V8 engine under the bonnet. V8 badges are seen all over the car, on the gear selector and even embroidered onto the floor mats, yet this is a very slow car, especially considering the extraordinary price tag.

0-62 mph in over 10 seconds is not the kind of thrilling acceleration you would expect from a car with V8 badges all over it. That being said, the ride comfort is said to be quite good and although it looks a bit cute, the G500 Cabriolet is still a very capable off roader!

Let us know what you think, in the comments below.

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