Lincoln's Mercedes G-Wagen Fighter is More Likely a Lexus GX Rival — That's Probably a Good Thing

Is there a more elusive bogey for luxury SUV builders than the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen? This boxy throwback 4x4 has been defying industry trends for decades by drawing in thousands of deep-pocketed customers with its anachronistic charms. Only recently updated to reflect — at least through a funhouse mirror — the kind of genteel comfort and handling typical at its price point, the G-Class has stubbornly remained stuck in time, unassailable by rivals (it truly has no direct counterpart), and unique in its Lego-block styling.

That doesn’t mean high-end automakers aren’t lining up to try to dethrone the G-Wagen as the ultimate off-road status symbol. Over the past 12 months, there have been reports that both BMW and Audi are looking to build all-terrain SUVs designed to directly challenge this vaunted corner of the Mercedes-Benz showroom. We can now add Lincoln to that list, with the American brand seeking to borrow the body-on-frame bones of the very capable Ford Bronco to build what is also being described as a G-Class challenger.

To us, Lincoln diving into the “let’s clone a G-Wagen” pool comes across as more of a record scratch than a sure bet. Is the idea of an off-road-ready Lincoln ready for prime time? Undoubtedly. Is aiming for the Benz’s lofty perch a guaranteed misfire? Also yes.

Bronco Roots and Showroom Space Are a Match

Basing a Lincoln SUV on Bronco bonafides is a logical choice for a brand that already has every other SUV base covered. Currently, buyers with truck-sized appetites can avail themselves of either the Navigator or Navigator L, while anyone seeking an upgrade over the humbler Ford Explorer will find similarly roomy, and far plusher confines within the Aviator. Hybrid fare awaits at the entry-level, with the Corsair and the Nautilus combining upscale attitudes with electrically-assisted drivetrains.

That leaves plenty of room for a rough-and-tumble Lincoln, or rather, a sport-utility wearing the Lincoln badge that delivers a posh drive on the asphalt without compromising when it comes to tackling more wild environs. A Bronc-Linc wouldn’t step on any toes in the automaker’s existing lineup, and it also wouldn’t incur much in the way of development costs given that the next-generation version of Ford’s 4x4 is already well underway.

Mount G-Wagen is Too High a Summit

Where the concept of an off-road Lincoln stumbles is in targeting the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Simply put, not a single one of the models listed above go head-to-head with any Mercedes-Benz products in terms of pricing or prestige. While it’s conceivable that Audi or BMW might be able to breech the G-Wagen’s six-figure starting price with their own take on the SUV’s ex-military cosplay, the idea of a new Lincoln sport-utility that eclipses the top-dog Navigator in terms of MSRP is a non-starter.

This is far from a death knell for a potential Bronc-Linc, but it does mean brand bosses will have to ditch their aspirational glasses and take a long, hard look at Lincoln’s actual market position. Helpfully, there’s another luxury badge out there that’s already building its own version of a gussied up Bronco that offers a clear starting point for Detroit’s own forays into this ultra-niche segment.

Enter the GX

The Lexus GX has been lingering on the fringes of the luxury SUV scene for more than two decades, adding a layer of glitz and glamour to Toyota’s global Land Cruiser Prado platform. Like the Bronco, the Prado is inarguably the more famous member of this twinned pair, renowned for its all-terrain chops and massively outselling the GX, but the additional profits reaped by even this bit player Lexus offer a low-effort cash funnel to pad the mothership’s accounts, year in, year out.

Upright and chunky, the GX’s styling is in the G-Wagen’s ballpark, and while it might not rock the same boxed-frame bonafides as the Mercedes-Benz, it does deliver a level of off-road equipment that makes it an outlier among other luxury SUVs. Although past models were more hardcore, even the current edition can be had with an active suspension, a locking rear differential, and a Torsen centre differential lock, in addition to several off-road driving modes that tweak its various driver’s aids to deal with harsh conditions.

Reset Those Expectations, Reap the Profits

It’s certainly less sexy to position the Bronc-Linc as a “GX Fighter.” While the G-Wagen’s cultural cachet is significant even among non-enthusiasts, the GX is a virtual non-entity outside of the Lexus faithful (or the hardcore overlanding fans who seek them out secondhand).

Still, even if the idea of a Lincoln “G-Wagen fighter” is simply shorthand for a ruggedized truck, and not an actual product strategy, it’s risky for the company to invite comparisons to a model whose capabilities it can’t hope to match without pushing its asking price into the stratosphere. That’s over and above the inability to match a street presence based on nearly 50 years of heritage.

Targeting the GX instead isn’t just a safer path for an upcoming Lincoln 4x4, but it’s also a chance to plant a flag in a segment that’s been almost entirely ignored by its peers. Part of the reason that Lexus has been able to enjoy reasonable off-road success with minimal effort for so many years is that it had no direct competition. In fact, it was only when Land Rover began officially importing its very similar Defender line of SUVs to North America for the 2020 model year, that Lexus had to actually get serious about modernizing the GX’s value proposition. This no doubt played a role in its move to its new, more civilized platform in 2024.

The GX, Defender, and Bronc-Linc makes three. Aiming lower is a chance for Lincoln to not only right-size its aspirations among off-road luxury fans, but also get in on the ground floor while Audi and BMW snipe at each other for a slice of G-Wagen glory they’re in a way tougher position to wrangle.