G500 Amg

[svandamme]

Originally posted by dd74
i.e. "suckers."

But whatever: I wouldn't sneeze at a Unimog or a Lamborghini SUV, so I guess I have a little bit of sucker in me as well.

screw unimog.... i want an Oshkosh M977


bodykit in the front,put some spinners on that puppy , some Naws, couple of 60inch plasma screens and a playstation yo!


i'de like to see all the amatueurs with them Bummers, and G-unit 55 AMG's or even Arnie the Governator with his silly little Pinzgauers. the Oshkosh M977 will do em all in without even breaking a sweat !


EDIT , if anybody knows anybody working @ Oshkosh , tell em to gimme a shout , i can be for them , what AMG is for MB !!
gotz me some wicked ideas that will blow the competition out of the water, fow sure

[ChemMan]

I have only sat in a G500-never driven. I really was not impressed. For the price, there was too much plastic in the interior. I dont care for them because they are supposed to be off road vehicle, but obviously they are not. The people who drive them are more of the "look at how much money I make" group. You know the kind, the ones who wear cars as fashion accesories. If it is a 4 wheel drive mercedes you want, the M class is really good. We have had one for several years. It really does good in the winter and there have been few mechanical issues. The only ones that have come up have been regular maintence. There is a guy on the benz forum who takes his off roading. He really knows his stuff though. You can pick up a used M class for under $20K. I also saw a low mileage 2005 G500 in the Dupont registry for $66,000 or so.

[grudk]

Actually, I have a friend who does a lot of off-roading. He's owned pretty much all of the usual vehicles, and tells me the G500 is one of the most capable. But you are right, it's clearly built to 'show' and has all the luxury appointments you would never need/want driving in the dirt. But aren't all SUVs that way now?

The supercharged G55 was really a hoot to drive, though. Much more so than Cayenne. Also drove the Range Rover sport yesterday -- nice but too soft for me.

Anyway, was hoping someone would chime in on maintenance costs, not just comment on image

[kaisen]

Originally posted by Michael Pillay
I dont care for them because they are supposed to be off road vehicle, but obviously they are not.

Obviously you are mistaken. The G-Wagens were crawling Alps in Austria more than twenty years before G-Unit was rapping about them in videos.

The Geländewagen was co-developed between Mercedes-Benz and Steyr-Puch in Austria. It was intended for military use ala Land Rover and Jeep. If Unimogs were workhorses, G-wagens were faster lighter quarterhorses. They were designed and built for off-road capabilities. Approach and departure angles were more important than skidpad figures. Original G-Wagens were very spartan off roaders - no leather or wood or power equipment.

It was only when MB-USA thought they could cash in on the SUV craze that the G's became luxo barges.

The G55 baffles me. It would be like taking a military Hummer H1 and dropping in a Corvette drivetrain and wheels. Like lipstick on a pig.

Yes, I have driven them. They're fast enough, and handle okay, but they ride like crap and their utilitarian roots are clear as day. I would much rather have a ROW basic G than the US fat sow.

E

[kaisen]

Originally posted by grudk
Anyway, was hoping someone would chime in on maintenance costs, not just comment on image

The engine, transmission, and misc switchgear are common to many MBs so they are easy to service.

As they age, body hardware and other G-specific items will be the killer expense. They are pretty esoteric, and never came into the US in any numbers. You're gonna pay through the nose.

G-wagens are also known to be rust buckets for what it's worth.

E

[grudk]

Thanks for the info. That's useful

[svandamme]

so , you wanna order a pimped out M977 from me now??

it's made in America , parts will be cheap as piss compared to the german mini thing ..

seriously , you'll make GGG-unit soil there baggy pants ..
handling ? why bother, you drive over everything , not around it ...

i got a special deal on 30 inch platinum spinners, but that's a limited time only..

[grudk]

Won't fit in my garage.

otherwise...

[svandamme]

Originally posted by grudk
Won't fit in my garage.

otherwise...

why hide an object of Bling in a garage??
that's what neighbours lawns are for !

it's not like they can tow it away or something... lol , i'de like to see em try

[kaisen]

grudk - what do you find interesting about the G55? What are you looking to accomplish? If you are looking for a hot rod SUV that performs well, have you driven or considered the Jeep SRT8? 425hp, huge brakes, great handling, German engineering.....

[grudk]

I want something that can tow, serve as a daily driver and be 'fun' to drive

I'll check the Jeep out. Thanks

[ChemMan]

Originally posted by kaisen
Obviously you are mistaken. The G-Wagens were crawling Alps in Austria more than twenty years before G-Unit was rapping about them in videos.
E

Maybe I should rephrase. The people who buy them are not the kind who go off-roading. At least on the ones around here.

[grudk]

Interesting -- Jeep SRT has tow capacity of only 3500, so not an option. Otherwise seems very cool

[dd74]

Drove in one of these while in K'auai last week.

This thing is the balls. Quick enough on the street, and soaked up off-road terrain like nothing. We had to take it to the the up country where we went intertubing through sugarcane plantation canals and caves.