G Wagon - I must be getting old ;)

[smillion]

Whilst wandering aimlessly around the showroom (waiting for a recall on my CLS to be done) I spotted a new silver G350. For years I have thought these vehicles just ugly and old fashioned and have been bemused by their popularity, especially on here.

But then I started to look at it in a different light and came to the conclusion that it is now soooo old, its sort of retro and kind of cool....

until I spotted the price .........




£91,000

Now they are having a laugh !!!!!

 

[A210AMG]

Maybe but they are ICE cool.

They will still be here when all our cars have rusted away.

I agree the price is crazy but then whats a RR TDv8 with a few options?

The G Class is ACE

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Mrs D thought they were, err, I won't repeat what she though they were...

...until she sat in a 2011 UK model, and it really does have an appeal.

 

[grober]

Let's see the crash test data---- oh hang on a minute--- its never been subjected to EURO-NCAP tests----- because its classed as a commercial vehicle!!!!!--albeit a very expensive one. There was also a rumour that MB are trying to move production from the former Steyr plant in Gratz Austria to a line beside the new A class plant in Hungary. Its been granted a reprieve --- but for how long? http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2012/02/mercedes-g-class-will-be-built-until-2020.html

 

[KillerHERTZ]

G crash test ratings? Are there any? Other issues... - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum

 

[219]

Probably the only PROPER Mercedes still in production , and in real terms no more expensive than a lot of cars such as the W126 , W116 , W111 and W180 were when they were new .

Sadly , G Wagens rust , and badly .

 

[smillion]

Sadly , G Wagens rust , and badly

A quick search on www.ebay.de did indeed confirm this earlier .......

The silver one I was looking at was nice, but at £30k more than the C63 I had just been sitting in ???.

In fact it was the most expensive car in the dealership and by some margin for most of the cars in there....and this is the 350.

The guy in the dealership said the 55 was around £125,000 with some options...

Cool, but not that cool.....

 

[Deleted member 37751]

The silver one I was looking at was nice, but at £30k more than the C63 I had just been sitting in ???.

You could apply the same logic to the C63 though, they are 'only' a C-Class after all; what's a base spec, small engine W204 cost? £25k? What's a C63 cost, £40k more give or take a few quid? It's all relative.

Isn't the residuals on these G-Wagons very high as well?

 

[Ted]

Next to a Dodge Viper, the G-wagen is the finest car of our times.
Both are the first things that I will buy when I win the lottery.

 

[ianrandom]

I love em too. Brilliant they still make them. Can't help eyeing up old ones on eBay when they come up.

 

[grober]

G crash test ratings? Are there any? Other issues... - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum

I have seen all the "anecdotal " evidence concerning the G wagon's indestructible nature most of which is irrelevant. Like many vehicles with a chassis it's immensely strong in certain ways and in certain types of accident will protect the occupants very well. However I would contend that in others this strength may act against its occupants. This was originally stated quite well in another forum by a Norwegian. ---- Basically; if you hit a car, cow or another moveable/ crushable thing with you possessing the greater inertia, you will win. The sheer mass of the G will protect you. If you hit a solid, non-moving object or one with considerable mass , like a large truck, tree, or substantial man made structure [ like the pillars of a Paris underpass for example ] you will lose. The mass of the G which protected you before will work against you and the abrupt halt will need to disperse its kinetic energy somewhere, and that energy will dissipate back into the G and its passengers... emergency workers call it the " strawberry jam in a can " syndrome. The vehicle design dates back to the 1970s!!!!!!!
The whole idea of NCAP is to measure crash resistance under strictly controlled reproducible conditions. Most vehicle crashes are of the offset frontal impact into a partially deformable object and this is what is tested. Although roll over strength is not tested the side pole impact test gives a great deal of information on upper body resistance to the deformation forces expected. Specific de-acceleration loads are measured on crash test dummies simulated vital organs -- chest neck and head to see how effective the vehicle cushions the vehicle passengers from de-acceleration forces- usually by a process of controlled destruction of its structure. Often the apparent state the total vehicle remains in after a collision gives no indication of how well the passengers fared.[ assuming passenger cell integrity is maintained- which doesn't always happen admittedly]
The G wagon has many virtues - perhaps being one of the few hand built Mercedes left in production. Its a tough go anywhere vehicle with superb mechanical integrity and standards of engineering. However those virtues don't translate into vehicle structural safety which remains unproven by any of the recognised independent vehicle safety agencies to my knowledge.
So I pose the question if its so good structurally why don't they subject it to the NCAP tests--- for the price of the admittedly amusing but ultimately pointless "crashing thro the wall" advert they could have done I'm sure.

 

[Darrell]

So why are they so expensive?

 

[Charles Morgan]

Partially because they're made in tiny numbers by hand, but principally because they can sell them at that price!

 

[Charles Morgan]

All good points Derek, but I'd rather be in a GWagen with airbag and seatbelt hitting a tree than in my Allard...

 

[finisterre]

All good points Derek, but I'd rather be in a GWagen with airbag and seatbelt hitting a tree than in my Allard...

huh! what about the tree?

 

[Charles Morgan]

It would be oaky..

 

[RBYCC]

The guy in the dealership said the 55 was around £125,000 with some options...
Cool, but not that cool.....

You can't imagine how "cool" a G55K is until you own one...

 

[RBYCC]

The G wagon has many virtues - perhaps being one of the few hand built Mercedes left in production. Its a tough go anywhere vehicle with superb mechanical integrity and standards of engineering. However those virtues don't translate into vehicle structural safety which remains unproven by any of the recognised independent vehicle safety agencies to my knowledge.
So I pose the question if its so good structurally why don't they subject it to the NCAP tests--- for the price of the admittedly amusing but ultimately pointless "crashing thro the wall" advert they could have done I'm sure.

Who cares....it's a specialty vehicle that's not for everyone.....!!!

 

[219]

At one time Mercs were quite exclusive and 'not for everyone' ; nowadays they are commonplace and just about every other car is a Merc .

 

[Benzowner]

Wish I still had my G, great car, 9 seater and superb off road capabilities.