An Epic Adventure: The Australian Outback's Ultimate Off-Road Test | Edmunds.com

Edmunds.com's European Correspondent, Alistair Weaver, heads to the Australian Outback in a Mercedes G-Wagen to drive the Canning Stock Route. It's Australia's toughest off-road trail and things did not go according to plan...
EDMUNDS VIDEO
www.Edmunds.com is a car-shopping web site driven to make car buying easy. We post at least two videos every week covering the latest cars and trucks with comprehensive reviews, comparisons, and tips & advice from our expert team of automotive editors.
Subscribe for the latest Edmunds.com videos:
tinyurl.com/8dklalg
Related Links:
Edmunds Price Promise: www.edmunds.com/price-promise....
Edmunds Mobile: www.edmunds.com/mobile/
Follow Us
Twitter: / edmunds
Facebook: / edmunds
Google+: plus.google.com/+edmunds/

[@4xoverland]

The G is brilliant, no doubt about it. I've owned two - and Land Cruiser and Rovers etc. But the luxury versions are soft - and this video has shown this nicely. A proper 461 series G is as tough as anything. I think here the vehicles are overloaded for the springs - which are designed for the city, and the poor shocks were being asked to do far much work. No surprises they broke.

[@DanishArmyMechanic]

4xoverland I am in the Danish military I work as a mechanic and have driven a lot of km in hard terrain both armored and non-armored g class and shock absorber breaks extremely rarely and generally we have no major problems with the g class beyond the brakes that are filled with mud and can not brake properly. when we have been on exercises with the English army their defender always has a drip tray underneath. but mercedes g class it is the best 4x4 you can get

[@operation4wheelz]

@@DanishArmyMechanic you’re comparing apples with oranges, mil spec G wagon are total different kettle of fish. And the Australian is extremely harsh on gear and vehicles.

[@mtadc1545]

@@operation4wheelz pretty sure the 461 is the one that the military use which was also available for civilian purchase as the G300D Professional (which this guy shows at 10:25

[@adanvivaan8251]

i dont mean to be so off topic but does anybody know a trick to get back into an instagram account? I was stupid lost my password. I would appreciate any assistance you can offer me

[@adanvivaan8251]

@Emerson Devin i really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and im in the hacking process atm. Takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@gm16v149]

I live in Australia and my work takes me to the outback, the only 4WDs you see out there are Toyota Landcruisers. They are almost bulletproof.

[@manunerga]

Those W463s were 1) overloaded 2) driven too fast 3) equipped with optional 18 inch street rims and small street tires (small air volume). As You can see there were two other military spec W461s (one of them was a pickup with 4300 Kg GW) which made the journey without any problems.

[@jonfklein]

I guess the moral of the story is, if you're going to buy a G-wagon for an expedition, get the professional model ... or buy a Land Cruiser.

[@bmenzul]

I love the concept of taking a 4x4 out for a proper test and seeing what breaks.Kind of puts the media hype into perspective. I would like to see a series where all the 4-wheel drive trucks and SUVs are taking out and abused, so we can get a more realistic idea of their true capabilities.

[@iamimad123456]

I love these guys they don't fake things like top gear

[@senor250]

I hope the Australian army kept their receipts lol

[@JohnInSale]

Nice honest review !!! Bit embarrassing for Mercedes after one day !!! Did they bring up-rated parts for the 5 outta 12 broken G-Wagens ?? !! Noticed it was the Showroom ones that broke not the Military Spec one, like the Army's ordered 1,200 of !!!

[@samtingwong5027]

That's why the LAND CRUISER 70 series is right tool for the job.

[@subieliftoz4274]

1st rule of outback travel: BE PREPARED!!! Carry a range of spare parts esp shocks lol. Minimum 3L water per person per day plus spare fuel, coolant, oil, brake fluid, filters, shocks, springs, fan belts, radiator hoses, heater hose, fuel hose, tie rod and rack ends, ball joints, duct tape, cable ties, fencing wire, repair tape, exhaust tape plus complete set of tools. You'll also need heavy duty suspension plus thoroughly service the entire car before you leave. Use thread locker on all bolts and fit new wheel bearings all round. If you don't think you need to do all of this, you should stay in the city...

[@daveashy1835]

you'll only need all that if your in a Toyota land cruiser

[@subasurf]

I've done the Canning Stock Route twice in 2006 and 2007. Both times in Toyota Land Cruisers....the only other vehicles I saw during the 12 months I spent in the Pilbara were Toyotas...

[@45641560456405640563]

Landcruiser. No substitute. Driven thousands of K's offroad in the NT, SA and WA. Love 'em.

[@bombardierq400]

We've driven on these roads for 10 hours straight in our Toyota Prado numerous times and never had a single problem....maybe they were driving too fast? Surprising to see how many problems they had....

[@moaski]

@JPCreativePro I'm assuming that Mercedes Benz financially supported this expedition considering all the G-Wagens, banners flying, and trained factory technicians at the ready. I doubt Edmunds could fund such an adventure on their own. Also, if you look at the very end of this film, it was produced by a different production company.

[@the.magnus]

moaski no shit Sherlock

[@jonathansebastianpersaud5864]

the vehicles not the problem it's the drivers

[@Jolinator]

i have done this trail in my 97 subaru forester. its not even close to the toughest trail in oz.

[@number1Schumacherfan]

I am a Toyota fan and have a TRD Pro 4Runner. Having said that, everyone saying Landcruisers wouldn't have issues on this road are full of it. Yiu can't take a heavy road car tuned for a nice on road ride and bomb at 50 mph down this and not expect suspension problems. Off-road tires and suspension improvements are needed. The Landcruisers everyone has in their mind are the ones built for the outback which are much akin to the G professional.

[@hanimusthafa]

A real tough expedition. Jaw dropping. Mind blowing job. Thanks for the video.

[@bcatz454]

Pretty impressive for a STOCK vehicle. I've only spotted G-wagens in lawyer firm parking lots and hospital parking lots in the reserved spaces. Only problem I have with the G-wagen is the lack of aftermarket offroad mods. If I were to do this trip, I would have a Ram 2500 with Carli bits and King or Fox 3.0 shocks.

[@callowaymotorcompany]

These idiots took street tuned lowered AMG's offroad and wondered why they had problems. Next video: Mercedes SLS offroad in Siberia

[@MrEddiT]

😂😂😂😂😂👍

[@r.giovannosdn]

😀😀

[@chrisvanwyk6878]

Stupid ....Wrong tyres ....why dont you depflate

[@visalakshimahadevan612]

😆😆😆😆

[@visalakshimahadevan612]

Land Cruiser Most popular off-road capability vehicles in the world. They cost Rs 1.5 Crores each here in India

[@HVP9]

Great vid. Love this guy. Need more video features like this.

[@vk5dl]

Not one mention here of the all mighty Mitsubishi Pajero, though a lot of people can't see beyond the Land cruiser or Patrol it's no wonder, I have a1997 Pajero NJ and have traveled the Tanami track, Palm Valley, east of Alice Springs, Kakadu, Cape York QLD, and many other outback tracks & it's still going strong, this will go where Land cruiser won't go

[@hdmccart6735]

+King Richard Last time I did the Tanami (06/2015) it was a highway - you'd know the mining companies grade it on a 24/7 basis right? The other 'adventures' you mention are the same...You know why the 'Pajero' didn't sell well in Spain right?

[@MOOSEDOWNUNDER]

That old chestnut, lol.

[@MOOSEDOWNUNDER]

G'day King Richard, i use my Pajero in all my vids and have never had an issue, dunes, rock, mud, whatever the bush chucks at me and the Paj, we smash it every time. Great vehicle, much better than my old Patrol or Hilux.

[@Troffy21]

MOOSEDOWNUNDER you’re everywhere Moose! Any more vids in the pipeline?

[@daveashy1835]

King Richard. I'm 3 years late replying here BUT yes I've been out back driving for years in the Desert in my Pajero and most of the Land cruisers are strapped to my Drawbar my Pajero is always in front of them all

[@The_Opinion_of_Matt]

Perfect example of why "As slow as possible, as fast as necessary" is one of the best pieces of off road advice. And a schedule, even film production schedule, does not count as a necessary reason.

[@GrotrianSeiler]

Really interesting video (really). Thanks to all for putting it together.

[@nikos-giorgos]

1:48 Corrugations... If you drive at over 70kph you just don't notice them, the vehicle flies over them...

[@wsbill14224]

I'm only 3 minutes into this video and their truck is falling apart and the terrain hasn't gotten particularly rough yet. I can't wait to see how this turns-out!

[@jeanlucpicard5004]

Should of used a land rover defender or a land cruiser. Before any haters of defenders argue with me I know lots of people who have had land rovers all their lives and haven't had really any problems.

[@deltamobiles6892]

Try a Landcruiser or a patrol

[@cjeremie]

No idea, do they. Toyota's are king in the outback

[@georgegardiner326]

+cjeremie Long live the 80's series!

[@jordanbell9318]

+cjeremie No, the military G Class is. That's why the Aussie military use them

[@danzeman4520]

Aussie military hates them and wishes it still had Perenties

[@jordanbell9318]

Dan Zeman not true

[@danzeman4520]

True

[@vangeliskarachalios5691]

This video played a huge part on the bad press that the G-wagen got in Australia… and for what? A puncture on a very mild all terrain tire, standard shock absorber failures due to corrugations and overloaded springs causing the shock to work even harder, a spare wheel bracket, which honestly it would have meant that the car took a big hit, and a radiator fail due to a yobo backing up without checking his mirrors… and all that on a stock 463 350d, which honestly with the appropriate springs/shocks and tires it would have coped flawlessly with every thing, as the 461 professional did, which is already equipped with the kit mentioned above. The G has a very tough and large chassis, which is even wax coated internally, axles with well over a one ton rating, which are wonderfully supported by tough, large cast radius arms. The steering rods are even placed behind the axle to prevent bends from rocks and such. It is BUILT. Much tougher than a Land Rover ever was. It feels like you are driving a solid block of metal. Yes but it doesn’t have immense articulation! It doesn’t need it. The benefit of the 3 locking diffs and the stiff suspension is that it stays planted and it has traction to get through the tough stuff. Sadly it got misunderstood

[@BenjiDoodle]

when he gets in the shopping car and calls it a true offroader i started laughing and didnt stop till the end. dont take toys out into Toyota country

[@timcheou5649]

G class suck

[@PischkePerformance]

I would have liked to see them take multiple vehicles and then see which one had less problems: Land Cruiser, Raptor, Range Rover, etc. Really surprised Inside Line didn't take advantage of the opportunity to do such a comparison.

[@arsalanjamalfar]

not surprised about the break down!

[@GregsBlueTacoma]

How in the heck did the shocks blow? Did they hit some tough shit on the way? Don't think those ripples would take a out a shock like that... I've ran pretty damn far over ripples like that with no problems aside from the damn sounds of the truck jostling from passenger to driver side.

[@kettlebabii]

Can not wait to do this Trip so keen ;)

[@ianrobinson8974]

MEMORIES REVISITED! I did the Canning Stock Route (2016) as a passenger and do not regret it even tho the "account" was not settled, and still isn't! Sitting in a v8 Toyota roaring up the sandhills was like being (Imagined) in a rocket taking off! Wonderful country, but very forbidding. One has to be very ready to tackle it. What wasn't mentioned was that it was "rehabilitated during WW2 so that people in the NW of the country could use it as an escape route, if the Japanese had landed. 28/04/2121

[@mountainconstructions]

Everyone here seems to have their opinion on what the best 4WD is, What i find ironic, is most locals out those parts get around in beat up old Falcoons and other junk vehicles. Few empties on the floor and spent riffle casings rolling around is about the only after market mod needed. At least these guys didn't hide the fact that their vehicles failed. Although lets face it, no one buys them with reason in mind.

[@MegaRyan123456]

landcruisers are about the only thing that you will normally see out there that an gu deisel patrols normally with some tougher shocks

[@NeatLawn]

This was fantastic, i would like to to see more like this one right here. It reminded me of Top Gear (uk) which i'm sure all gear heads around the world would agree is the best car show in the world. Way to up the game Inside Line

[@danielquiroz9375]

...worst overlanding video ever...

[@speedmatters]

@120Steelers so would I but, they have a saying in the outback: If you want to go into the outback then take a Range Rover. If you want to come back from the outback, take a Landcruiser. There's a lot of truth in that statement!

[@calvingreene90]

When you brake your shocks you are traveling to fast for conditions in your vehicle.

[@MrSaudi098]

Next time bring Tyotoa land crusir

[@clairmatinaustralia]

you do into the Aussie outback with those cars, you're looking for trouble!

[@londitlugg]

This G Wagons are not with stock suspension. They are with a AMG Special Suspension for public Roads and Highway driving. This AMG Suspension takes the G Wagon 30mm deeper than stock.

[@calvingreene90]

I have taken a Chrysler Fifth Avenue over worse roads than they showed without damaging the car but I did go slowly.

[@Kiddomike]

I just have a question on shock absorbers. I'm only familiar with Bilsteins, which was used on these G Wagons, Tough Dog and Old Man Emu. Which of them are durable, especially on tough terrains like corrugations and give you good ride quality on the road?

[@flybyav8tor]

A good aftermarket racing shock such as fox or king will outperform all the above.

[@fsgapfelcommunity1]

You are completely right Sir!

[@The911SONIC]

i was watching this with out sound. i saw the 4wd buttons and theres 3 of them. but does it mean it can be in fwd, 4wd or rwd? bit weird having it to choose between fwd and rwd id rather rwd with 4wd option. or are they diff lockers? and the middle button is to put it in or take it out of 4wd?

[@SCHRUBBE1966]

I drive a 1992 pajero 2.5.. Big, nice reliable boat. Still looks modern.But then all boxes are about the same. still i love it.

[@NVJeepXJ]

My Jeep XJ could have done it without a problem. I live in the most isolated area of the lower 48 U.S. states, and deal with air temps of -40c and highs 45c; temps can go from 45c in the day to 5c in the 5 hours after sunset, and we can get snow 10 months of the year. This is all at 2200m above sea level. My Jeep XJ has never missed a beat.

[@neevenpatten610]

Gotta feel sorry for those mechanics! sum idiot thrashes the 4wd and they get stuck having to fix it.

[@patawic]

its actually better to drive across corrugations at speed so then the suspension doesn't compress at much and the wheel just bounces across the bumps.

[@Lyashart]

looks like a fun job!

[@landcruisertroopytouringan2166]

Been down the CSR 3 times of the last six years in my Troopy. No punctures, No mechanical problems, no suspension problems.....Maybe broke a fingernail..... but nothing like these guys. WTF 🤦‍♂️

[@TrailsTrailsTrails]

Everyone will tell you to bring spares... It's videos like this which gives people the idea they can just do anything without preparation.

[@fredbrackely]

Love the Toyota support vehicle.

[@angrysoybean1012]

+fredbrackely big G fan but saw that 2 lol. The version they drove are used in Moscow and Hollywood. the real thing is the army version or the 4x4 square . But then you you could buy a UNIMOG and a SL to cruise around Bondi Beach and get laid.

[@tsakitx8190]

The support vehicles where g300 processional (there's a single cab and some wagons) I mean the G that brought the spare part didn't even sweat

[@Rick2010100]

The Australian Army has tested the G-Class intensively and ordered last year the Military version with the 3 l diesel engine. The newest G version is a 6x6, but actually only as posh AMG version presented, the following military version would be also more plain and practical. watch?v=n9Kr5RKej-Y

[@RiderVSRoad]

to be fair, the merc is not the only problem. You gotta lower the tire pressure driving in these conditions and you should not got that fast too. And of course a stuck streetcar g wagon is not made for this, the army version has different and supported suspension or just get some ARB Old Man Emu 4X4 Suspension.

[@ericm3991]

Should have put Old Man Emu suspensions on them!!

[@GolzeD2009]

I live when British people do car videos, i don't know but their accent make the video better and more enjoyable!

[@melmelcorvette]

Top gear was on a road with a Subaru just like this and the whole front axle of the Subaru broke and the wheel fell off lol so no a Subaru wouldn't unless the suspension is upgraded.

[@SUVTouring]

Good stuff !

[@gm16v149]

I bet Mercedes were disappointed in all this, but the fact is a lot of overseas companies bring their vehicles over here thinking it's going to be a walk in the park, but it ain't. A couple of weeks ago it was 49 deg C in Halls Creek, that's 120 deg F. Every year people break down or get lost and die in this part of the country, so you want something reliable. I like the way he said they were back in civilisation in Halls Creek, it's a wild old town especially on pension day.

[@whyalwaysme2522]

Land cruisers land.

[@yugoboss2679]

jeen-clawd Gahd Damn patrol

[@QuangNguyen-tb4yn]

Yes, absolutely right

[@Gun1ld]

500km into the outback he thought: "At least it will be impossible to crash into someone else here".

[@JSSJeepin]

A lot of people here don't realize exactly how harsh these conditions are. Your average SUV will NOT handle washboard roads for 10 hours on, they will suffer a lot more damage then just 2 shock absorbers. There are only a handful of SUVs in the world that can take such punishment, but each one will have SOME fault arise, the question is whether it will be minor enough to repair in the bush.

[@nth1nK]

Best car made ever!

[@88stretched]

is that why patrol GU's have the strongest diffs and transmissions?

[@savageZA76]

I love my Mitsubushi L200 , but why didnt the military invest in the land cruiser pick-up, for all conditions they are the 4x4 camels for the outback, unbeatable!!!

[@mangomonkey278]

There is nothing wrong with a G-Wagen, check out some of their customisations, can be built tougher than a Landcruiser

[@onoff314]

Love this. They are mean't to be a tough vehicle and even the military spec got fucked up

[@120Steelers]

@speedmatters yes i thought about that becase of relyibility and the range rovers rep of always breaking down is true the ride would be alot smother

[@sainteustatious]

i love this g-wagon. think they are some of the best off roaders available. but for this surface i would think more a ford f-150 raptor 6.2 because they are designed to deal with those rutts

[@mikahakinen6106]

G class has proven itself numerous times! That could happen to any off roader. They need to lower tire pressure to save shocks and to fit steel rims. There is a reason why non luxury version of G class is the real deal. You don't go in to outbaack with alu rims, leather seats and other luxury things.

[@Rick2010100]

The G Class is excellent for hard off-road tours, but like the guy in the video has also said, it must be the "Professional" edition, witch is less luxury, but much more robust.

[@kevinward4714]

That Weaver bloke has never had dirt in his toe nails.

[@JordanAndrew227]

Me being an Aussie, I would definitely take the Toyota Landcruiser over anything. Extremely reliable and tough and will pretty much go anywhere! The Merc is a good 4WD as well but to be honest, its no match for the Landcruiser!

[@juukame]

@JPCreativePro I was thinking the exact same thing, to be honest i was kind of disappointed that 5 of the mercs all had their rear shocks mangled, and it made me wonder how say a range rover would have done.

[@gelandewagen4376]

super legendary SUV I love helik

[@purplepurposee]

what years were thoes g-wagons ? anyone know .

[@timothybutton1953]

Ive seen troopys that are like fifty years old and run amazing if not better than what they where new, id like to see one of these plastic covered road cars 50 years from now

[@MaMahmod]

i drove my stuck fj cruiser more than 50000 km i done some serious offroading and some crazy shit to it and it did not break on all it need is oil change an gas fill( i do it my self at home!!!! i even changed the break pads hahaha ) fj cruiser is the best

[@norwester7018]

If you're trying to imply your FJC is "better" then a Glandewagen you're nuckin futs... FJ Cruisers are so not up to the level of quality of the G-Wagen (how do you drive a "stuck" truck 50000km btw???) , and I'm a Toyota fan through and through. The FJC was based off of the "not up to Hilux standards" US Tacoma... Hilux's and 70-series trucks are SO much better/tugher then the stupid looking, bloated FJC and the Glandewagen is more then comparable to those amazing trucks. Can't WAIT till they kill it off and build a real truck to replace it. Dear Toyota: If you brought us the 70-series and made a soft-top swb variant like in the past you'd likely take a LOT of sales from the Heep Wrangler... Just sayin. Hell a "new" 1st Gen 4Runner would probably wipe the smirk of their faces too... Just don't make another disaster like the FJC.

[@MaMahmod]

stuck means no modes and no after market kits( im from saudi arabia)

[@norwester7018]

Mahmod Mokhtar Ah, understood... Actually as much as I don't care for the FJC personally in the Saudi Desert with that petrol V6 I can see it making a great "not as much as a full blown Landcruiser" option. Long-Travel suspension and that much sand would be pretty sweet. How restricted (if at all) is driving off-road in Saudi Arabia and how much is there to really explore off-road??? is it all sand/desert or do you guys have mountains as well. I always see people off on these epic treks through the desert with their Falcons and Landcruisers in videos but they look like the kind of people who have the money to do whatever they want. Is it that free/open for the average citizen??? Is it a safe thing to do for the average person and is there anything other then break-downs and Sand-Storms to watch out for like in say the Empty Quarter??? I've been all over the globe but sadly I've never been to the Middle East and as much as I'm not typically a "desert guy" I just want to see it because as a US citizen I get fed so much BS about the area in general I really want to go explore it even more.

[@paulndot]

D King The FJC is based on the Prado - not the Tacoma. I love my FJC too, but even the little 'villa has it's limitations. The G-wagen is a military grade vehicle. but at $100K, I'd still rather buy 3 Trail Team editions over a Merc. Better yet, spend half that much on an overland prepped land cruiser 80 or 100 and see if the Merc can keep up.

[@norwester7018]

paulndot 6 of one... The current Prado is the same chassis as our USDM 4Runner/Lexus GX and Tacoma (although the Taco's rear frame section is different) and the Front suspension is the R/P/coil front IFS vs the "Hi-Trac" T-bar based suspension used in the early IFS trucks and later in the 100-series. Tire size being equal, the Glandewagen is far more capable then the FJC in everything but maybe sand/mud and one of the best "Overland" vehicles around. I'm a certified Toyota nut, having run them on 3 continents (Australia/Africa/N.America) and seeing as I own a 1st and 2nd Gen 4Runner (1st Gen's been my DD/Expo rig for 8 years and is 22RE powered/OME'd etc. the 2nd Gen is in the middle of a 1KZ-TE Diesel swap/SAS and build-out right now) but the Glandewagen is a very special rig. I've also Run Unimogs as Wild-Land fire engines and Mercedes knows a thing or three about 4wds aye. I fully agree that the price of the USDM G-wagens is ridiculous esp. since the NA market is only offered the "blingy" models and no diesels, but they're a very "special" vehicle underneath that beautifully boxy body, "bling" model or no. I love the 80's and 100's (they're amazing rigs), and they're certainly some of if not the best N.American expo platforms around, but again, in N.America the 80 is held back by it's engine (low on power and fuel econ compared to diesel models) and the 100 still won't get you the range/mileage that I'm used to in the "ROW" Diesel trucks like the HDJ80 and 105's. I left a LP Turbo'd HJ75 Ute in Australia (we also had 2 Troupies, an FJ45 P/U, a 105 and an HDJ80 all at my disposal) and it was one of the saddest days of my life... So now I'm building a Diesel Toyota since they won't give them to us here in this crazy country I call "home"... Were I to have my pick of any truck in the world, it'd be a 70-series LC no hesitation (probably a Troupie, maybe a D4d V8 TD 76 Quad Cab Ute, THAT would be the hard part of the decision), but the Glandewagen would be in the top 3, probably with an manual-trans 105-series.

[@Jkmatt112]

Trust a pompus brit to bang on about the G wagon. Jakes on him, its landcruiser country son!

[@In0centz]

Lucky it was only 35 not 45. Maybe they should have taken some 70 series cruisers

[@delightk]

No matter what car you bring, Mick Taylor is going to get you with his F500.

[@yanni6556]

Theres no mention of the G class ute?

[@3XICS]

I'm not a pro but the high tyre pressure + high speed ruined the dampers, the tyres look pretty pumped up which you wouldn't feel on smooth tarmac but in rough off-road conditions it will make the ride much bouncier and damage both machine and man, rookie drivers I guess. The G Pro had no problem despite having similar suspension setup but probably a pro driver. FYI I know a LC is more reliable but the G-Class isn't far behind and definitely not as bad as shown in this video.

[@eltfell]

2:47 Air condition gone? Mercedes seems to use the same air con as the DB in their ICE trains.

[@seanzappulla71]

What i would have done is to have aftermarket shocks fitted as well the coil springs and have a aftermarket front and rear diff locks fitted.

[@CarsandGuns66]

@skhochay G stands for Gelandewagen, meaning "Cross Country Vehicle".

[@nikos-giorgos]

I like how out of 10-15 people on the "team" he's the only one doing the talking and he's the only person we really see...It's like the others don't exist or something! Talk about big ego and poor production...

[@machusi1989]

The others of the "Team" are also journalists... There were 2 from Australia, one from new zealand and the other 5 were german journalists along with some guys from mercedes and the Doc. So i think they hade their own story to tell

[@RCCARTV100]

whats the song at the end called?

[@dkphantomdk]

I drove these G-wagons for 2 years in the army, alot of hard offroad, we never lost a single vehicle due to a breakdown, even we trashed them around everywhere. - but we "lost" one since the driver drovned it in a lake.. - water in the air intake. soo, I have no idea why they got so many breakdowns.. - maybe the army version is alot tougher

[@chewy77snipedyou]

the civilian versions of any military vehicle is probably made from lower quality materials (or some other changes) to cut costs or to make it comfy for civilians by adding extras which reduces the performance, so really it's the opposite, the civilian versions are just weaker than the military vehicles...which should be expected i suppose

[@norwester7018]

Srishunbagasundaran Nope... same chassis and build (GVW's and axles ratings will be different but you can spec that vehicle by vehicle from Merc meaning that a Civvy G could have the same suspension/axles as a Mil. Spec unit), these just had street suspensions, were over-loaded and driven too hard by stupid people. This was failure by the marketing department, not the trucks. Even still if ONLY the shocks failed I'd say that's a pretty good example of how well built they are. Hell 16" wheels and bigger tires alone would have made a HUGE difference to this situation. I'd imagine if this were a street-queen Rover they tried this in there would have been MUCH larger, catastrophic failures...

[@drewsuppa]

D King I agree with all of this except for the chassis part. The civilian G is the W463 chassis... the military is the W461 which replaced the earlier W460.

[@srishunbagasundaranbathman9242]

flight2k5 i wasn't referring to the stuff that is intrinsically G-wagen such as the off road capability design, they are probably the same. When i say lower quality i'm talking about non-military grade components. Military vehicles are designed for near perfect performance in any terrain and a level of protection depending on the type of vehicle use. Otherwise the military wouldn't buy them. So a G-wagen for the military is light transport so it would have all the protective capabilities a light transport vehicle would have whilst also capable of functioning in any terrain. So light armour is probably in there, even though it is light armour it adds weight to the vehicle, so the chassis and the shock absorbers used are designed to handle that weight and the terrain. Whereas the civilian design it doesn't need all that so cheaper components are used, still expensive and probably good stuff but not military good, because military good is definitely helluva lot more expensive. mind you i'm just guessing here, i am no where near as knowledgeable about off-roading or cars in general as you guys seem to be, i just think it's logical that mass producing military grade vehicles would be quite expensive and very few people could buy them and any knowledgeable off-roader (who liked g-wagens) would have bought a g-wagen of their preferred customisation

[@norwester7018]

Drew Suppa Yeah but that's more down to the "vintage" of the truck... The 460/461 chassis were used under civilian trucks at the time too were they not??? I'd imagine It's more down to the engine's used in the Military versions and the simplicity of the Military versions with regards to secondary systems that are NOT used in the Mil-spec trucks vs the "blingy" Euro/N.American trucks then any real changes to the chassis at it's core. Today's G's are rolling on the same basic platform that they were when they were first designed and I've always loved that fact...

[@nissan9661]

not doing a good job advertising the g class

[@TheDivino21]

Inside line should do more stuff like this

[@DevPack]

@holance no...unless its an old land cruiser those were badass.

[@select20]

Great vid.

[@sheara13]

The canning stock route is NOT the toughest road in Australia. There are dozens of roads twice as bad as the stock route. This is landcruiser territory. Try driving the Tanami for 900 kms at 120 km/hr non stop.

[@africanhunter416]

Try Botswana offroads 12 hr 196 km that was wonderful, saw lion, elephant, buffalo, hippo, and countless plainsgame and birds that was fun