AMG G-Wagen Bests Jeep and Toyota in Wild Off-road Test in Spain
Jeep and Toyota may be have the Benz beat in price, but it scores big in every other way.
The Mercedes G-Class is nearly all things to all people. It’s timelessly good looking, incredibly luxurious, and unbelievably capable off-road. It’s also very expensive. So much so, that many dedicated off-roaders wonder why anyone who wants to leave the pavement would by a big Merc at all. Especially when the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon can do just about everything the G-Class does for a lot cheaper.
Well, it’s tests like this that show why the Benz is the best off-roader in the world.
As reported in Jalopnik, Spanish-based site Dariomotor recently pitted a Rubicon and a G-Wagen against each other in a brutal off-road test, with a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (similar to a US-spec Lexus GX) thrown in for good measure. And on paper, the three 4x4s do have a lot in common. Comparing approach and departure angles, differential locks, traction control systems, ground clearance, underbody protection, and exterior cameras among other things, the Jeep comes out on top. It earns 94.8 points out of 100. The Benz clocks in second with 93.4, and the LC closes out with an 85.1.
A big reality check
Then they take the trucks to an off-road course in Toledo, Spain, and the script flips.
On a course of “axle-twisting” holes, the Benz makes them feel like “slight potholes,” while the Land Cruiser slips, and the Wrangler tries to keep up. Then, the G-class makes it up a steep incline while the Toyota and Jeep high-center. The writer, David G. Artés, praises the Merc’s cameras for giving him a clear view of the ground while the windshield shows nothing but sky.
Finally, there’s a (slightly ridiculous) tow test, where the Land Cruiser tows the Jeep up a 30-degree smooth incline. The Benz handles the Land Cruiser until the tow rope snaps, and the Wrangler can’t muster the power to tow the big Toyota.
At the end of real-world (well, kind of) testing, the G-Class is the clear winner. Artés writes (translated via Jalopnik): “The Mercedes G-Class is an incredible car in its 4×4 skills, demonstrating a power and solvency over its rivals, at least in this particular circuit and in these specific conditions.” We couldn’t agree more.
Sure, your Wrangler can do 80 percent what a G-Class can. But when you need that extra 20 percent, wouldn’t you just rather have the Benz?
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