Ram 2500 VS Mercedes-Benz G-Class

The strong whiff of leather is a nice way to start each journey. The full-length side steps and grab handles are required for every climb in and out of the elevated cabin which provides a commanding view of the world, even though the outer edges of its vast bonnet and front mudguards disappear from view.

The front seats are wide and comfortable with good lateral support and rear seat passengers have generous head, shoulder and legroom as you would expect. Although it feels huge when you first climb aboard, the RAM starts to shrink around you the more you drive it, aided by front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera for tight parking situations (which is most of the time).

Its height of 1974mm (Ranger 1848mm) will still clear most undercover car parks (usually 2100mm limit) and its 2009mm width is only 150mm wider than a Ranger, so it will also fit within most car parking spaces. The biggest parking handicap is its oil tanker-like 6030mm length which is 675mm longer than the Ranger, so you need plenty of room for reversing.

Ride quality when empty is generally good, although you do notice the firmness of the heavy duty spring rates over larger bumps. Acceleration is spirited, too, with an unbridled 1084Nm shoving you in the back and the steering is nicely weighted and relatively direct for an old-school steering box set-up.

The quartet of disc brakes, though, do not have the bite relative to pedal effort one might expect. ASV engineers claim it's the result of pad compounds which have to withstand the heat of up to 7.0 tonne towing loads, so they tend to be relatively hard.

On the highway it has a remarkably quiet cabin environment thanks to substantial ASV-added sound insulation, low wind noise and minimal tyre roar. At 100km/h with no payload, the 6.7 litre Cummins barely ticked over at 1400rpm and that hardly changed when we hooked up a dual axle New Age Caravan with a 3270kg tare weight.

Given that was less than half of its peak towing capacity, the big RAM barely noticed it was there. The engine's massive 1084Nm of torque at only 1600rpm was most impressive on long gradual climbs, allowing the truck and caravan combo to squash each hill in top gear with minimal throttle.

Each time you ease off the accelerator, too, the exhaust brake provides more than enough retardation (and Kenworth sound effects) to ensure you rarely need to push the brake pedal. And when you do, the electric trailer brake control provides powerful and sure-footed stopping power. The door mirrors were also wide enough to see along each side of the van and approaching rear traffic.

Have you ever driven a G-Class before? Nope, well then have you ever ridden an elephant, then? Passed time hanging out on the roof of your house just drinking beer? Sat on somebody shoulder’s in a game of swimming pool volleyball? 

Okay, well you feel very high up and the bonnet stretches out before you like the hood of Mack truck, and that’s when you realise those weird-looking indicators on the guards double as signposts letting you know where the edges are.

But even then, it doesn’t feel big to drive, even the cabin feels a bit tight up front.

What it does feel is fast. Very fast. Dab the accelerator and the nose rises up and you better be pointing in the direction you want to go, because hold the pedal down and the G63 will yank you down the road at warp speed.

Acceleration isn’t supercar brutal by any means, but how it gets there is roaring through that side exhaust like a Viking running into battle, after waking up on the wrong side of the bed. With the windows down its deafening, but in good way.

Complaints about the old G63 centred around steering, ride and handling or more specifically the absence of those three things. In this new generation G63 those pain points have been addressed by replacing articulating ball steering with electric power steer, swapping the live front axle for independent front suspension and revising the chassis rails.

Now, the G63 can go around corners – incredibly well. Our test track was Victoria's Great Ocean Road, and if we were in any other large SUV, they would have been fishing us out of Bass Strait.
 
Steering is now accurate and progressive; the front end feels pointable and light.

Comfort drive mode is too comfortable for me, giving the ride a wafty bounce. Sport mode firms the dampers for good handling but keeps the ride comfortable, which adding weight to the steering. Sport Plus firms the adaptive dampers further and combines great cornering without an unbearable ride.

The G63 isn’t a vicious animal unlike some big grunt sports cars, but you have to keep reminding yourself you can’t drive it like one. Not because it will bite you, but because it’s 2.0-metre tall, 2.5-tonne metal box. A hilariously fun one.