This $24,000 'E-Wagon' Golf Cart Is Basically a Power Wheels for Grown-Ups
A country club membership can make you feel elite, like you're a class above the plebs who get stopped at the door. But what if you're elite even by country club standards? What if you're at the tippy-top of the financial food chain, a real one-percenter? You can't be slumming it on the green with every dentist and lawyer in regular golf carts. Instead, you need to get a Bodo E-Wagon golf cart, like this one that recently sold at a Mecum auction.
OK, so aside from the fact that this is essentially just a rich grown-up version of a Little Tikes car, it's kind of fun. At a very quick glance, it could pass for a real Mercedes G-Class, at least until a human stands next to it, for scale. The proportions have clearly been tweaked for golf cart duty. Bodo has also traded Merc's three-pointed star logo for its own, but of course, anyone determined enough could always just change it out. Especially if they desire that badge as much as, or perhaps more than, the vehicle itself. Mecum
The E-Wagon (or 'G-Wagon'—the official name and even solid info on the company that makes it is, perhaps unsurprisingly, hard to find) is a bit more sophisticated than what golfers normally use from tee to tee. For starters, it's fully enclosed, with power locking doors and even power windows. As someone whose allergies would be running wild on a golf course, that sounds nice. Once inside, it has caramel-colored leather seats, heating, air conditioning, four-wheel disc brakes with a brake boost, a backup camera, and entertainment screens for backseat passengers. So it ain't just for looks—the E-Wagon is a genuinely luxurious golf cart. It's nicer inside than my actual car.
Speaking of actual cars, this E-Wagon is capable of driving on some public roads. Some states allow for low-speed vehicles (LSVs) to drive on streets with speed limits of 25 mph or less. That said, it's actually too fast for states like New Jersey, which only allow an attainable top speed of 25 mph, and this faux Merc golf cart can do 35 mph. But if you do drive it on the road, it has fully functioning headlights, turn signals, and even windshield wipers. Mecum
You can drive it pretty far, too. Its 10-kWh battery gives it an impressive 80 miles of range. That's about as much as the original BMW i3. Of course, it only has a 20-horsepower electric motor, and it's considerably smaller and lighter. Still, not bad at all for a fully loaded golf cart.
This specific E-Wagon recently sold at a Mecum auction in Glendale, but there are others available at Florida-based dealer Gulf Carts. And not only G-Class replicas, either; you can get Range Rover, Porsche Cayenne, and even Ram TRX-themed carts, too. Perfect for those kings and queens of the green who want to flex their pockets at the club.
Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com
Nico DeMattia is a staff writer at The Drive. He started writing about cars on his own blog to express his opinions when no one else would publish them back in 2015, and eventually turned it into a full-time career.
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