G wagens, a reason to avoid

[st4]

http://www.prochan.com/embed?f=c05_1351172948

Small low speed crash and roll over. Look at the state of it.

 

[grober]

As I have said many times before- a cross country vehicle with enormous abilities but with a body shell / chassis combo designed in the 70's= 40 year's old= death trap in many collision /roll over situations on today's roads. To be fair it looks like a truck cab vehicle with a detachable fibre glass top- which would not have helped

 

[st4]

Mercedes pride themselves in the safety of their cars, why do they still sell this at a cost of over £100k in many guises to the public to put their families in. At times where you may rely on the car the most (when its out of control and about to meet a tree, ditch or wall, you can depend on that one out of their range the least, yet its one of their most expensive models.

 

[Blobcat]

That'll T-Cut no probs....

Yes it rolled and hit heavily but the driver and front passenger will be fine, whilst the passenger compartment is somewhat compromised there's still plenty or room.

Totally inappropriate speed lead to a silly accident. I had some pictures sent to me of a friends Toyota Land Cruiser which rolled sideways whilst green laning, the cab was a lot more squashed than one.

 

[d215yq]

Mercedes pride themselves in the safety of their cars, why do they still sell this at a cost of over £100k in many guises to the public to put their families in. At times where you may rely on the car the most (when its out of control and about to meet a tree, ditch or wall, you can depend on that one out of their range the least, yet its one of their most expensive models.

Maybe the people who drive their families about in them are capable of driving them in control without hitting a tree ditch or wall. In a crash with a car (far more likely than rollover) i'm sure it would do well (at the detriment of the people in the car)...maybe cars are unsafe too now because of all the 4x4s on the road that go over all their safety systems.

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I think it was more to do with the inability of the driver to climb that ascent in the right way. He hit the hill at high speed to the right of the highest point, this acted like a ramp lifting the front wheels from the floor and all its weight.

A little less power and a little more accuracy and I think he would have made it without rolling!!

 

[Blobcat]

What I've noticed driving around in my 1992 110 Land Rover is that traffic calming just doesn't affect big 4x4's, however in my smart and Porsche I really have to be careful. So traffic calming that is allegedly put in place to reduce the speed of traffic makes no difference to large 4x4's which would be the worse thing to hit a pedestrian with...

 

[Developer]

I'd avoid one cus it's fugly and ridiculously overpriced.....

 

[as400]

I don't think the car was designed to do that?...if you really want to attempt climbs of that nature for fun some kind of roll cage would be a good idea....

Young Jeremy In Iceland

 

[st4]

Maybe the people who drive their families about in them are capable of driving them in control without hitting a tree ditch or wall. In a crash with a car (far more likely than rollover) i'm sure it would do well (at the detriment of the people in the car)...maybe cars are unsafe too now because of all the 4x4s on the road that go over all their safety systems.

That will crumple like a tin can vs a tree, a car, a lorry. I'd take my chances in a normal car over a G Wagen.

 

[grober]

A triumph of advertising over reality. If it was so damn safe you would think they would volunteer it for the Euroncap crash test --- BUT they don't- as officially it's exempt as a commercial vehicle------ wonder why. [YOUTUBE]_p1c8d_Hieg[/YOUTUBE]

 

[st4]

Graeme, completely aside I see you have a W204 220cdi. Is it a pre BE car?

 

[grober]

Nope Steve its a OM651 engined model http://translate.google.co.uk/trans...a=X&ei=BqvMUJn2H4zP0AXjg4DoDw&ved=0CEkQ7gEwBQ but being the lowly 136 hp C200cdi it came with a single variable vane turbo and Solenoid operated injectors unlike the more powerful C220cdi and C250cdi models with the twin turbos and [ until recently] BE piezo injectors.

 

[st4]

Nope Steve its a OM651 engined model http://translate.google.co.uk/trans...a=X&ei=BqvMUJn2H4zP0AXjg4DoDw&ved=0CEkQ7gEwBQ but being the lowly 136 hp C200cdi it came with a single variable vane turbo and Solenoid operated injectors unlike the more powerful C220cdi and C250cdi models with the twin turbos and [ until recently] BE piezo injectors.

Wheres the timing gear on those ones?

 

[syncropaddy]

As someone who has been off roading for many years I can say that the only thing wrong with a G Wagen is the initial cost. As someone who owns vehicles made by Magna Steyr I am also aware how well these things are built. The vehicle in the initial clip is a convertible (with after market hard top) and anyone who goes off roading in a convertible without roll over protection deserves everything they get.
The G Wagen is a heavy and sturdy vehicle and it is a testament to its design that the idiots who were in it walked away. If they had done that in a Land Rover Defender 90 they would be dead!
"Mercedes pride themselves in the safety of their cars" as the OP says and if everyone sits down and has another look at that clip, then that statement will turn positive and the post heading should read ..... G Wagens, a reason to buy one!

 

[grober]

Where's the timing gear on those ones?

Its at the back of the engine unfortunately. As the balancer shafts are driven by gears the single!! chain is quite short. However remains to be seen if it can be renewed without removing the engine?? There were isolated reports of timing chain problems on high mileage versions of this engine in German Taxis early on- don't know if any manufacturer engine mods have been done since then or not.

 

[st4]

When you say high miles I'd assume over 100k. By then engine mounts may be tired and removing the engine not that big a deal if you are doing big repairs to the car

 

[PeterCLK]

I did a similar thing (when I was about 15) on my brother's trial motorbike on the fell. I managed to twist out from under it so it didn't fall on me.
Put me off motorbikes for life. (my mother was very relieved)

A novice off road driver methinks.

 

[clegsr]

On the other hand...

G Wagen Crashes through Police Roadblock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A4WJj0uWTc

 

[grober]

I rather liked this similar eastern block dash cam video.
I'll see your baseball bat and raise you one sharp hand axe! [YOUTUBE]yu2_h7xwCLE&feature=fvwp[/YOUTUBE]