I just finished a week in a 2025 Mercedes-AMG G63, which now has a 48-volt mild-hybrid system attached to its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8. The integrated starter generator really smooths out the engine’s operation at low speeds, especially the start/stop system, and it also provides a nice boost of 20 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. It makes the G63 three-tenths quicker to 60 mph than before, now making the sprint in 4.2 seconds, and it also gives a much-needed boost to fuel economy.
Okay, the G63’s EPA ratings are still pretty awful, and it’s not that big of a boost. The 2025 G63 is rated at 14 mpg in the city and 15 mpg combined, both 1 mpg better than before, while the highway rating stays the same at 16 mpg. In my week of driving around Los Angeles, including some highway stints, I averaged 9 mpg. And I wasn’t even driving like an idiot in Sport+ the whole time! (I was most of the time, though.)
So good, you just don’t care
Hey, at least that’s better than the 7 mpg I averaged in a 2021 G63, and the smoother start/stop really is nicer. I didn’t even get 230 miles out of the car before needing to fill up, and that fill up was painful: the G63 has a 26-gallon fuel tank, and it cost me $120 to fill it up from nearly empty.
I don’t really care how bad the fuel economy was, though, because I just love driving the G63 so much. That led me to today’s question. What car would you put up with horrible gas mileage to drive every day? Even though I’d have to fill up at least once a week, and spend a lot of money doing so, I’d happily deal with it to keep blasting around in a G63 with the side pipes roaring.
Let me know in the comments below what inefficient car you’d love to drive every day, and I’ll round up my favorite answers later this week.
