Compare the2024 Jeep WagoneerVS 2023 Mercedes G-Class

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Wagoneer are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The G-Class doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Wagoneer has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The G-Class doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Wagoneer has standard Park Assist with Rear Stop that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The G-Class doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Wagoneer Grand helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The G-Class doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Wagoneer offers an optional 360-degree camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The G-Class only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Wagoneer and the G-Class have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and driver alert monitors.

Jeep’s powertrain warranty covers the Wagoneer 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the G-Class. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the G-Class ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance on the Wagoneer for 5 years and unlimited miles. Jeep will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the G-Class.

There are over 6 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Wagoneer’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Wagoneer third among large suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The G-Class isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jeep above average in initial quality. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

The Wagoneer’s standard 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder produces 4 more horsepower (420 vs. 416) and 18 lbs.-ft. more torque (468 vs. 450) than the G 550’s standard 4.0 turbo V8.

On the EPA test cycle the Wagoneer gets better mileage than the G-Class:

Regenerative brakes improve the Wagoneer 5.7 Hemi’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The G-Class doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Wagoneer has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The G-Class doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better stopping power the Wagoneer’s brake rotors are larger than those on the G-Class:

The Wagoneer stops shorter than the G-Class:

The Jeep Wagoneer’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Mercedes G-Class only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Wagoneer has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The G-Class doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For superior ride and handling, the Jeep Wagoneer has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Mercedes G-Class has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The Wagoneer offers an optional automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Wagoneer’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The G-Class doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Wagoneer’s wheelbase is 9.2 inches longer than on the G-Class (123 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Wagoneer is 3.7 inches wider in the front and 3.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the G-Class.

The Grand Wagoneer Series III handles at .65 G’s, while the G 550 pulls only .61 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Grand Wagoneer Series III executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.5 seconds quicker than the G 550 (29.2 seconds @ .57 average G’s vs. 30.7 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Wagoneer’s turning circle is 6.6 feet tighter than the G-Class’ (38 feet vs. 44.6 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Wagoneer Air Suspension has a greater minimum ground clearance than the G-Class (10 vs. 9.5 inches), allowing the Wagoneer to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Wagoneer has standard flush composite headlights. The G-Class has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

The front grille of the Wagoneer uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The G-Class doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Wagoneer uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The G-Class doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Wagoneer offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the G-Class can only carry 5.

The Wagoneer has 72.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the G-Class (179.2 vs. 107).

The Wagoneer has 2.2 inches more front legroom, 8.3 inches more front shoulder room, 3.2 inches more rear legroom and 7.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the G-Class.

The Wagoneer’s cargo area provides more volume than the G-Class.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Wagoneer’s optional second and third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The G-Class doesn’t offer automatic folding second row seats.

The Wagoneer’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The G-Class’ swing out door blocks loading from the driver’s side.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Wagoneer’s power cargo door can be opened or closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The G-Class doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening cargo door.

Maximum trailer towing in the Mercedes G-Class is limited to 7000 pounds. The Wagoneer offers up to a 10,000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Wagoneer 4WD with optional equipment can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Wagoneer can be unhitched and driven around locally. The G-Class can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Wagoneer’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The G-Class does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Wagoneer offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The G-Class doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Wagoneer has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the G-Class only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Wagoneer has standard extendable sun visors. The G-Class doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Wagoneer to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The G-Class doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Wagoneer has standard front air conditioned seats and the Wagoneer Grand Series III also has them in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The G-Class doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats in the rear.

The Wagoneer has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the G-Class.

The Wagoneer is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The G-Class doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Jeep Wagoneer outsold the Mercedes G-Class by almost seven to one during 2022.