What to Know About the Mercedes G-Class Desert Expedition Experience

The radio crackled as a wall of orange sand filled the view through the windshield. “Accelerate! Accelerate! We need lots of speed here.” I punched the gas pedal, the 577 hp twin-turbo V-8 bellowed, and the Mercedes-AMG G 63 4×4² stormed up the wall like an F-35 jet fighter punching a hole in the sky. I steered gently left, following the wheel tracks of the G-Class 100 yards ahead as we rim fired around the top of the dune before popping out onto a flat terrace of sand. All around, empty orange dunes rippled under an azure sky, a still-life sea of sand baking under the burning sun. I steadied the big Mercedes and immediately got ready to plunge it down the other side of the dune.

In America, the limited-edition G 63 4×4²—priced just over $350,000 when launched in 2022—usually works cruising the boulevards of South Beach or Beverley Hills, though it’s no longer imported stateside. With its wide-track portal axle driveline, 22-inch wheels with giant tires that give it 13.8 inches of ground clearance, and the towering stance of a monster truck, this high-riding Mercedes is mostly seen as a loud and showy toy. But underneath the swagger is a meticulously engineered, industrial-strength off-roader that, when the road runs out, will take you almost any land-covered place on the planet. And, more importantly, bring you back again.

Like Porsche and BMW, Mercedes has for some years now given customers the opportunity to buy time behind the wheel of one of the marque’s cars during mid-winter and spend a few days driving them near the Arctic Circle. The Mercedes-AMG Experience on Ice offers seat time in high-performance cars such as the AMG GT, and provides experts who will teach you the art and science of drifting on tracks carved across frozen lakes. For those who want a little more time to enjoy the scenic winter landscapes around Areplog, Sweden, they can take part in one of the Ice x G-Class Expeditions. Now Mercedes is bringing the same idea to the rocks and sand of Morocco in North Africa. As with the ice-driving program, the desert version is inspired by the extreme testing done by the automaker’s vehicle-development engineers.

For about $17,300 (at current exchange rates), the G-Class Desert Expedition experience offers you the opportunity to spend three days driving different versions of the iconic Mercedes off-roader—not just the G 63 4×4², but also the G 63, the G 500, the all-electric G 580, and the diesel-engine G 450d. Although also not available in the U.S., the G 450d is the pick of the G-Class models if you’re a serious overlander, thanks to its smooth, torquey, and economical six-cylinder 3.0-liter turbocharged diesel engine.

The route starts in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh and heads through the rugged Atlas Mountains on roads and trails few tourists ever see, out to the towering orange dunes of the Merzouga Desert, and then on to the provincial town of Errachidia, where you board a private jet and, in just 40 minutes, are whisked back to the luxury of Marrakesh’s legendary La Mamounia hotel. (Or you can do it the other way around: Jet out to Errachidia and drive back to Marrakesh.) Mercedes supplies the G-Class vehicles, a support crew that includes expert off-roaders and a doctor, and arranges all the accommodations and meals. You just arrive and drive.

Situated on the flatlands just west of the High Atlas Mountains, Marrakesh, from which the name of the country of Morocco is derived, was founded 1,000 years ago by the Berbers, who by the 13th century ran an empire that arced across the northwestern corner of Africa—from today’s Libya to the western Sahara—and covered much of southern Spain, including the cities of Seville, Cordoba, Granada, and Valencia. The city’s exotic mix of Arab, Berber, African, and European cultures—Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 to 1956, and French is still widely spoken—gives it a unique feel that’s typified by the ambience of the quietly opulent La Mamounia hotel.

Opened in 1929, La Mamounia, built on the grounds and gardens of a sultan’s palace, combines traditional Moroccan architecture with 20th century Art Deco flair. Winston Churchill, who stayed there in the 1930s, called it one of the best hotels in the world. Inspired by the hotel’s name, Paul McCartney wrote “Mamunia” while staying there, the song appearing on the 1973 Wings album Band on the Run. Other notable guests over the years have included Ronald Reagan, Charlie Chaplin, and Andy Warhol.

The Atlas Mountains essentially separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean and run 1,600 miles through Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. They are rocky and remote, and the highest peak, Toubkal, which on a clear day you can see from Marrakesh, soars to 13,671 feet and is covered in snow during the winter. The G-Class Expedition takes you through these peaks, up over remote passes—our highest was almost 9,200 feet—and through remote villages clinging to the sides of mountains above rivers that can rage when the meltwaters come each spring. Even the paved roads here can be challenging: Heavy rains cause flash floods that not only wash away bridges and causeways, but also cascade tons of loose rock off the mountainsides and across the road. Yet the lead-follow system, our guides in constant radio contact with the vehicles in their group, takes the worry out of what might be around the next corner.

The Anti-Atlas Mountains, which run to the southeast of the High Atlas, have quite a different visual character and are less vertiginous. Our highest pass in them was 7,545 feet on a smooth, paved road. Among the highlights of this stretch is lunch inside Gara Medouar, a crater-like rock formation just past the eastern extremity of the Anti-Atlas range. The site was used as a location in the James Bond movie Spectre. The Mercedes guides also get you to bring your G-Class to the top of the eastern rim of the formation to view the flatlands stretching off towards the Sahara and Merzouga Camp, where participants spend a night before tackling the giant dunes.

Merzouga Camp is one of numerous glamping facilities that nestle along the southern edge of the Merzouga Dunes. It’s not the La Mamounia, but with each “tent” having its own bathroom and air conditioning, it’s a lot more comfortable than roughing it in the sand with a sleeping bag. One of the highlights of the stay here is a ride to the top of one of the tallest dunes in the desert so you can watch the sun set over the sea of sand as you have a cold beer or chilled glass of wine.

Yes, America has deserts and sand. But the Mercedes-Benz G-Class Desert Expedition experience is a unique adventure, not the least because of Morocco’s exotic culture and fascinating history. And there’s one more thing: You get to do stuff most owners would never do in their own G-Class vehicles. You get to learn first-hand that this Mercedes-Benz SUV–prices start at $148,500 for the entry-level six-cylinder G500 and stretch to $186,100 for the thundering G63–is more than just a luxury truck. It’s a proper go-anywhere 4×4 that’s as tough as a Toyota Land Cruiser and as capable as a Land Rover Defender, while looking better than either when in South Beach or Beverly Hills.

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