Och

iTrader: (3)

UAZ comes to the rescue. Cool video.

http://vasi.net/player/player2.swf?v...1c87b3a824.flv

AKoch

Well, UAZ is much more hardcore off-roader. Comfort would be an entirely different topic, would not it?

pearlLx

holy god. what was that thing? it just towed that LC out of a river!

AKoch

It is totally unknown on the North American shores, while it owns Siberia. Pretty much known as the only vehicle (aside from the Land Crusiers) that can challenge the terrain there and come on top.

GQD_GS4

amazingggg

tigmd99

I beg to differ:

"Taking the “G” to the coldest place on earth

In recent decades hardly any other automobile has provided transport for as many extreme expeditions as the “G”. One prominent example of its absolute reliability took place in early 2006, when the well-known film producer and director Thomas Junker became the first foreigner to reach the world’s coldest region in Siberia with a passenger car in winter. He relied on a completely standard Mercedes-Benz G 500 to get him there. The Stuttgart-made off-roader carried his TV film crew to its icy destination over a distance of more than 18,900 kilometres without problems – at temperatures down to minus 53 degrees Celsius. The reason for this demanding journey was the production of a five-part TV series entitled “Beyond the warmth”. The series is a documentary on the daily lives of people under the extreme conditions of the Russian winter, and shows how these people combat the merciless cold. The journey through the cold began in St. Petersburg on 27 December 2005, and ended in Vladivostok, eastern Siberia on 6 March 2006. Among other destinations the Mercedes-Benz G 500 took the crew to the town of Yakutsk, which regularly has to cope with 100-degree temperature differences between summer and winter, and is built on stilts because of the permafrost. Junker even ventured as far as the village of Ojmjakon, the coldest permanently inhabited place on earth, where a temperature of minus 71.2 degrees Celsius was once measured. Never before had foreigners reached this icy-cold region by vehicle at the height of the Siberian winter. For weeks the mercury refused to rise above minus 42 degrees Celsius during the day, and at night it sank to a low of minus 53.5 degrees."

JakeBreyck

iTrader: (1)

tigmd99, any more info on this show "Beyond the warmth" what station did it come on? (US or other) im intrested in seeing it. google was turning up very few refrances to it.

tigmd99

I could not find anything either. My guess is that it will come out soon. The above was done in 2006...and only in 2/09 did Mercedes include this story in its press release. I remember "Planet Earth" took forever to come out.

JakeBreyck

iTrader: (1)

Haha ive been waiting on Dana Brown's High water for like 4 years now, ARG that movie will never come out.

AKoch

Tigmd99..... I am not sure what to tell you. There is marketing, and there is reality. If you want a taste of reality just go there and check it out yourself. You will see plenty of LandCruisers there, and lot of UAZ'es. Hardly any Gs, despite the Gs are not that expensive there (relative to the NA pricing). The Gs just don't have the reliability, ease of maintenance and necessary off-road reputation there. Like it or not, but the Landcrusiers, UAZes and Nissan Patrols are the primary choice there. Gs, LandRovers and Cayenne's are choice of big city crowd who dont make it out outside of the city, well... may be 'dachas' ones in a while.

tigmd99

Yeah, tell that to the Australian army, who is using G-wagens now...isn't that place the land of cruisers??!!

Remind me...is there an army (anywhere in the world) that uses the TLC100 as their military vehicle of choice??

Reliability? Ease of maintenance? You mean, how my brother's '01 LX470 is costing him a fortune to maintain while my G has been flawless? You mean how your starter goes kaput? or your exhaust manifolds crack? ALL BEFORE 100K MILES! Oh yeah, my brother has been through all that...just like every LX owner...and he babies his LX! Or how about that air suspension that needs tuning every 60k? That must be the reliability and ease of maintenance that you're talking about, right?! Sorry, gotta admit, i have to deal with crappy window regulators...such a nightmare i tell ya!!

Off-road reputation? Come on, Akoch, who are you kidding??? One is made to military standards and one is not. One is military. The other is luxury cruiser for the city. It is not even on the same playing field in regards to off-roading. You have a weak IFS...control arms crack under pressure in Aussie. I also like those plastic skidplates. Hey, while you're on IH8MUD, read up on "dclee"...he dumped his TLC for older Gs...and loving it! You can read him here: http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-te...-94-fzj80.html (BTW, dclee used to argue till the sun set about how TLC was superior...until he owned one.)

And you simply cannot compare the build strength between the two. Let me make it real simple. My G500 weighs about 5500 lbs. It is shorter than a 4runner...much shorter than a LX470. It is much narrower than a 4runner and LX. It is tall. In other words, its footprint is SMALLER than a FJ Cruiser..about the same size as the previous 4runner (3rd gen)!! YET, it weighs THE SAME as your huge LX470. Both have V8 engines and plenty of luxury stuff. High-strength steel. No plastic parts (except for rear bumper). Wax covers the whole frame and body cavities. Hell, just shut the door and you see the difference between the two...one is built like a tank...the other is built like a strong luxury SUV for civilian. Or just look underneath...NOTHING is below frame level, not even those stinking control arms mounts that are so vulnerable on Land Cruisers/LX!!

Tell me, do your LX470 differentials, transfer case, and automatic transmission have breather tube extension?? This is a must for any honest off-roading machine, right? The answer? Only your front differential has a breather tube. None of the other main components are vented high enough for water crossings (despite what Toyota "claims"). Don't believe me? Go check it out yourself.

On the G-wagen, ALL major components are vented all the way to the top of the engine compartment (like the Humvee)...to protect these vital components from drowning in water.

Now, if you talk about on-road ride and quietness, then yeah, the LX is a lot better...a whole lot better. I will go as far to say that it is a better all-around vehicle than the G.

But off-roading?? Maintenance?? Reliability?? Reputation?? I don't think so...better check your facts again.

Oh yeah, the G-wagen has been made for over 30 years (1979-2009+)...with not a single redesign of the body, frame, nor suspension. I believe that it is the longest running production vehicle on the planet, bar none. In those 30 years, how many generations of Land Cruiser have there been?? Plenty. Make it right the first time...and it will last forever...and from recent news, the G-wagen will be made in some form till 2025 (for NATO armed forces)...same design.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Well, UAZ has probably been in production since WW2, with no redesign

But sometimes even UAZ doesn't cut it, and then you need one of these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqBFmnFrFWY

Och

iTrader: (3)

You guys gotta see this UAZ commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuKt4...eature=related

AKoch

Hey, Tigmd99, let's not beat a dead horse. We have been through this before, have not we? And we both had the Gs in the past (OK, you still have, I don't anymore). And I have had an LX since 98, and the TLC80 prior to that. So hope I am entitled to my opinion as well And I also have experience running both a G and TLC in the place we are talking about.

And if you are concerned about what armies are using... just take it that an UAZ is an army vehicle, to begin with. On the other hand, if you take Japanese army, what they are using is a TCL70 and MegaCruisers. And let's have a look what UN is using? (TLCs and Patrols).

The G has its place, and I still like it. And would not mind getting one again, but not for its 'virtues' or abilities (I am not as impressed as you), but for staying true to the roots, timeless design, and.... size. I don't like the current TCLs became so big.

AKoch

"Remind me...is there an army (anywhere in the world) that uses the TLC100 as their military vehicle of choice??"

Oh, speaking of which, the Australian army you mentioned: TLC70 troop carrier modification. Again, since I lived in AU for some time, believe me or not: the TLC are plentiful on the roads there and people generally like then VERY much. I don't think I ever saw a G-wagen there ever (Sydney and Brisbane areas). At least I would not call it a common sight.