Mercedes-Benz has ramped up testing of its incoming junior G-Class ahead of its arrival next year – and these new pictures give the most revealing look yet at the brand’s new entry 4x4.

Known as ‘Little G’ internally at Mercedes, the SUV will be the new entry point into a wider G-Class range being created in a similar vein to JLR's Range Rover and Defender brands.

Sitting on a bespoke platform, it will be sold with a choice of electric and combustion powertrains. It will face off against rival Land Rover’s incoming 'Defender Sport', which has also been conceived as a new entry-level SUV and is set to arrive at around the same time – albeit with an EV powertrain only.

The Little G was first spotted at the end of last year, but these new images of it winter testing near the Arctic Circle are the best look we’ve had of it to date.

While previous pictures confirmed that the model would be much shorter in height than the near-2m tall current G-Class – it was pictured being towered over by a 1718mm-tall EQS SUV – these new images give a better glimpse at the car’s details.

For example, the test mule – which is an EV, marked out by the big floor battery casing evident at the rear – confirms that the production car will follow a similar blocky aesthetic to the existing flagship models, complete with classic tri-window design and fixed spare wheel case, which in the EV, like the EQ G-Class, will hold the charging cable.

However, compared with the larger combustion and electric G-Class variants, it features a new lighting signature, which appears to be a half- rather than a full-circle in shape, no doubt to differentiate it on the road. 

It also sports roof bars, perhaps suggesting the entry-level G-Class will be positioned as more of a proper ‘lifestyle’ model – which, for example, can transport bikes on the roof – rather than a luxury (albeit capable) proposition like the current flagship car.

Mercedes-Benz 'Little G': what we know

Former tech boss Markus Schäfer told Autocar that the entry model will be based on a unique architecture in order to be “as authentic as possible”.

He said: “The G is a very special, authentic car, and the 'Mini G' has to be authentic. So I cannot take just a platform. I cannot take an existing platform; I have to create my own. It’s a completely new development.”

Schäfer called the platform a “miniature ladder-frame chassis”, which he described as being “not ladder frame [to the G-Class’s] extent”, but with similar qualities “when it comes to suspension and wheel size”.

Schäfer also revealed that the 'Little G' will use a significant number of unique components – “far more than I ever wish to tell you”. These include most of the bodywork.

He said: “Over time, just looking at the car’s capabilities and what’s needed, I came to the conclusion that everything has to be unique – the whole upper body and everything.

“You know, I can’t even take a door handle from [the current] portfolio, because the G-Class has such unique door handles.

“So we spent a lot of time tuning this car, and over time we started to develop so many unique components to make sure it’s a very good-looking car and very capable.”

The new car’s styling will be that of a “tweaked” G-Class, according to former Mercedes design boss Gorden Wagener, which will make it “even more modern” than the electric G-Class, the G580 EQ, which was launched last year.

Speaking about the design, Wagener said: “You cannot change the G much: it’s iconic. I like the new [current G-Class]. That’s a modern G.

“On the little one, we will give a slight tweak: a bit more sharpness, a bit younger [headlight] graphics but still circle. So really it’s details.

“But otherwise we stick to the G, and it’s a modern G – even a touch more modern than the big one.”

He added: “You have to hold yourself back and understand what the icon is about. We strive for iconic design, and there is not such an iconic piece like the G.”