Which Alternative 4x4

  • Total voters
    67
  • Poll closed .
Ryder said:
My friend explored the Sahara for many years... driving mostly solo. He told us that although the Merc was not cheap... it was worth paying for the quality he needed and the reliability was second to none (though it did go into limp home mode once and he had to drive it all the way back to Berlin at stupidly low MPH to get it sorted out.
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Watch this video made by Edmunds InsideLine you will see how "reliable" they are ;-)

An Epic Adventure: The Australian Outback's Ultimate Off-Road Test - YouTube

And a nice comparison between a Disco LR3 and a Shiny New Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 4.0L V6 also very interesting

Land Rover Discovery 3 LR3 vs New Land Cruiser Prado 4.0L V6 - YouTube
 
SpacePig said:
Watch this video made by Edmunds InsideLine you will see how "reliable" they are ;-)

An Epic Adventure: The Australian Outback's Ultimate Off-Road Test - YouTube

And a nice comparison between a Disco LR3 and a Shiny New Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 4.0L V6 also very interesting

Land Rover Discovery 3 LR3 vs New Land Cruiser Prado 4.0L V6 - YouTube
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60MPH on corrugated laterite roads is just plain stupid, it would break pretty much anything. I've run on those kind of roads in West Africa, had a macpherson come out through the bonnet on a Cortina:eek:
That G Waggon looks like what LR should do with the Defender, it's even got 3 proper diff locks.
1200 units for the Aussi army is something LR can forget ever emulating with the new Defender.
 
Datatek said:
60MPH on corrugated laterite roads is just plain stupid, it would break pretty much anything. I've run on those kind of roads in West Africa, had a macpherson come out through the bonnet on a Cortina:eek:
That G Waggon looks like what LR should do with the Defender, it's even got 3 proper diff locks.
1200 units for the Aussi army is something LR can forget ever emulating with the new Defender.
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Can't see the point of diff locks when modern TC can do the job. Especially when front diff locks make the car steer like a turd. The reporter was complaining about constant steering corrections fatiguing him - I'm not surprised if he locked the front diff.
 
Datatek said:
60MPH on corrugated laterite roads is just plain stupid, it would break pretty much anything.
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Well if the military spec vehicle didn't break then the failures were an indicator of inadequate competent quality on the road going versions, these were 4x4s not Cortinas. They didn't look like they were doing 60 to me - which I agree would be too fast.
 
All i can say is that I respect experience. And my mate has forgotten more than I will ever know about overlanding.
 
StuckAgainSteve said:
Merc Quality? For about 20 years now they've been totally ****. Rumour has it they're out the other side of the hole now but I wouldn't trust a Merc. I'd rather put my trust in a Ssangyong - a Merc under the skin but it's been put together properly! :D
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Bloody ugly skin though, mind... :puke:
 
Datatek said:
60MPH on corrugated laterite roads is just plain stupid, it would break pretty much anything. I've run on those kind of roads in West Africa, had a macpherson come out through the bonnet on a Cortina:eek:
That G Waggon looks like what LR should do with the Defender, it's even got 3 proper diff locks.
1200 units for the Aussi army is something LR can forget ever emulating with the new Defender.
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I am not sure that they are driving that fast, speed on camera could be extremely deceiving. A bad cameraman will turn a fast moving car into a snail on screen and a good one can turn a slow moving car into a road devil.

Still, this example is extreme for sure, but Mercedes did not expect the outcome and you must admit that these car were not up to the challenge put in place by the Manufacturer. The G Wagen is fragile, more fragile than a Defender? Disco or RR? Well I am sure that in these condition any stock RR would not have done better but a Disco or a Defender would have, in my opinion, done better
 
SpacePig said:
I am not sure that they are driving that fast, speed on camera could be extremely deceiving. A bad cameraman will turn a fast moving car into a snail on screen and a good one can turn a slow moving car into a road devil.

Still, this example is extreme for sure, but Mercedes did not expect the outcome and you must admit that these car were not up to the challenge put in place by the Manufacturer. The G Wagen is fragile, more fragile than a Defender? Disco or RR? Well I am sure that in these condition any stock RR would not have done better but a Disco or a Defender would have, in my opinion, done better
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Listen to it agian, the commentator say's they are doing 60mph:)
 
StuckAgainSteve said:
Can't see the point of diff locks when modern TC can do the job. Especially when front diff locks make the car steer like a turd. The reporter was complaining about constant steering corrections fatiguing him - I'm not surprised if he locked the front diff.
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Traction control only operates at low speed and only for short duration as the brakes soon overheat. When ABS is fitted, it costs the best part of bugger all to adapt it to give so called traction control which is why cheap skate LR fit it instead of a decent LSD/diff lock. Best of all are Torsen diffs:)
Try driving laterite roads and you will know why constant steering corrections are needed and it's got nothing to do with locking the front diff which is inhibited at speed in any case.
 
StuckAgainSteve said:
Assuming he realised the clocks would be in kilometres per hour for the Aussie market and read the speed correctly?
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They would not have broken the way they did if they were not being seriously abused, I've done thousands of miles on roads like that mostly in a VW combi or Peugeot 404 break and nothing ever broke:) The Cortina was crap.
 
Datatek said:
They would not have broken the way they did if they were not being seriously abused, I've done thousands of miles on roads like that mostly in a VW combi or Peugeot 404 break and nothing ever broke:) The Cortina was crap.
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They don't make them like that any more. I have many memories of childhood in the back of a 404 going over corrugated roads in Africa. My father used to wax lyrical about its reliability. I remember it being far better at keeping the dust outside that the Vauxhall Velox that preceded it. I didn't like the fact that it didn't have a bench front seat (although it was a column change), thus me being relegated to the rear.

G~
 
gencybay said:
They don't make them like that any more. I have many memories of childhood in the back of a 404 going over corrugated roads in Africa. My father used to wax lyrical about its reliability. I remember it being far better at keeping the dust outside that the Vauxhall Velox that preceded it. I didn't like the fact that it didn't have a bench front seat (although it was a column change), thus me being relegated to the rear.

G~
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Big Peugeots were legendary in Africa for their ability to keep going over rough terrain. Long-travel soft suspension - perfect.
 
Well spotted "Pete the Biker" so the speed was 60 km/h - not even 40mph. Which shows what I thought in the first place - Mercs are crap fitted with poor quality components. :D
 
StuckAgainSteve said:
Well spotted "Pete the Biker" so the speed was 60 km/h - not even 40mph. Which shows what I thought in the first place - Mercs are crap fitted with poor quality components. :D
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Well at least they are well fitted for Tokyo's Jungle... I am always amazed by the number of G-Wagen I can see here... Many of them are AMG by the way... :eek:
 
you dont see many pug 505's anymore!

I always liked the look of em for a french motor
 
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