Watch This Mercedes Unimog’s Tortoise-Like Crawl

Jalopnik digs into the absurd notion of what appears to be one of the slowest gearsets in the world.

Thank goodness Mercedes-Benz SUVs have evolved from the idea of the old-school Unimog.

If not, you probably wouldn’t want a G-Class even if Mercedes gave you one. The agony of the journey would just be too much to bear. We’re reminded of exactly how painstaking that drive could have been after seeing how slow a 416 Unimog can move, as detailed in the video below.

According to a Jalopnik report, the Mercedes Unimog’s “Super Crawler” gear has a tortoise-like crawl ratio of over 3000. That compares to 30 to 100 crawl ratio associated with most vehicles.

When in first gear and “super crawler” mode, the Unimog 406/416 supposedly has a crawl ratio of over 4000. That gives a top speed of only about .08 kilometers per hour or a mere 300 feet per hour.

In all honesty, it’s really out of context to even compare the Unimog’s “Super Crawler” gear to a Mercedes G-Class. There’s literally no real connection between the more commercially focused Unimog and the Mercedes Wagon.  In fact, according to Jalopnik, even the first gear 9.570:1 ratio of the more modern Unimog U500 is multiplied by a ratio of 5.757 when the truck is in “road gear.”

Jalopnik also notes that the Unimog’s absurd speed really works to the vehicle’s advantage as a heavy-duty hauler. Yet, it all still makes us appreciate the evolution of the modern Mercedes SUV a little more than we did before we came across the initial report.