Fortunately, life's a little easier for the aspirant G-Wagen buyer than it is for someone trying to decide which sort of Land Cruiser to plough their hard-earned into. Sure, the big G transmogrified from being a Wagen into a Class part-way through its life, but with that exception, there were actually relatively few changes made to the car.
Life for the G-Wagen started in 1979, with the W460 version, though in its earliest years there was little to suggest it would become the living legend it is today. Sales were slow; Land Rover had just launched the considerably more luxurious Range Rover, and while the G-Wagen was ultimately a more utilitarian beast, prices were high, and it looked Spartan next to the Rangie.
Throughout the 1980s Mercedes rectified this by adding more kit, and a massive refit in 1989 - code-named W463 - meant it could finally hold its own, with wood trim, air conditioning, electric windows and permanent four-wheel drive.
Also fitted as standard were three electronically locking differentials, which meant that while the G-Wagen had never exactly been poor off-road, now it was virtually invincible. We reckon that makes one of these early 1990s models the most interesting buys today - even though they're more expensive. While you can get into G-Wagen ownership by spending as little as £5,000 on a scruffy 1980s example, a 1989-on model with low mileage and in A1 condition could set you back as much as four times that.
That said, that isn't as much as you can spend on a G. The next big re-jig came in 1997, when the G-Wagen became the G-Class, and gained a welter of new engines. More importantly for UK buyers, though, it was removed from official sale in the UK - so any example you buy registered between 1997 and 2010 will be an unofficial import, and almost certainly left-hand drive as a result.
Never mind the luxury - it's still great here
Of these, the G320 petrol is probably the best all-rounder, though the V8-powered G500 is tempting for those with deep pockets, and the ballistic G55 AMG the most hilarious. £15,000 is enough to get you into a decent early car, but like the G-Class's on-road handling, prices are all over the place. We found a high-mileage G320 asking a faintly ludicrous £34,950, for example, which compares poorly with a low-mile G500 we also saw for sale, at £25,000.
Upon the G-Class's return, its range was much-simplified. There were just three models - the tentatively sane option for private buyers being the G350 CDI, and the... er... not very sane option being the G55 AMG, with the G300 CDI Professional also available for commercial operators. If you can find a Professional, it'll set you back at least £40,000 today, while for a pukka G350 CDI you'll be looking at least £55,000. The range continued largely in this vein until today, with one exception: the replacement of the G55 AMG with the G63 AMG in 2012. Want one of these? Don't count on paying less than £80,000.