It's possible this may be better placed in a more general forum, but since I own a G550, I figured I'd post my thoughts here...
I just finished reading the subject article in the Summer 2015 issue of Overland Journal. Overall, I thought it was a fairly well done and balanced article and have no dispute with their Editor's Choice. But the article left me with a few questions and comments.
First, how is it that the G-Wagen has around 700 lbs more payload capacity than the Toyota and the second best cargo volume in the test, but received the same score as the Toyota for capacity? Based on their description, the capacity rating doesn't take other factors such as fuel capacity into account, so it would seem that the G-Wagen probably should have scored 7 (given that the highest score of 8 was given to the HD Land Rover Defender which has slightly higher numbers). That would have given the G-Wagen and Toyota the same overall score, but the Toyota should probably still win in reliability and global service network to edge out the Editor's choice anyway.
Second, though it would be different from how they decided to do their article, it would be interesting to see similar tests broken up by region comparing vehicles that can be purchased new in each region. As good as the 70 series Toyota is, I don't believe they were ever brought into the USA, so we are limited to 25 year old (or older) examples here. The situation is similar with Land Rover - even though they did bring some Defenders over in the mid 90's, there aren't many of them and they're all around 20 years old at this point. If someone wants to purchase something new and be able to keep it where they live, it isn't overly useful to know about options that are only available new in other parts of the world. For the USA, this would most likely mean comparing the MB G550/G63 to the Land Rover LR4, Toyota Land Cruiser 200 series, Infinity QX80 (essentially a Nissan Patrol with fancy interior), Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, etc.
Finally, I think it would also be interesting to do an article or series of articles that explain the differences between some of the models within a brand. Such as how exactly do the MB W463 and W461 differ other than one having a more luxurious interior (would a current G550 be just as good for the purpose as a W461 if one is willing to spend more than $100k on a vehicle and really put it to use)? How does the Nissan Patrol they reviewed differ from the Infinity QX80? What are the differences between a USA market Land Cruiser 200 series and the stripped down version available in other parts of the world? For that matter, what are the underlying differences between a 70 series and 200 series Land Cruiser?
Either way, I enjoyed the article and the fact that it generated some thoughts probably isn't a bad thing. I suspect they'll get some interesting messages from people who feel "their" brand should have won.
I just finished reading the subject article in the Summer 2015 issue of Overland Journal. Overall, I thought it was a fairly well done and balanced article and have no dispute with their Editor's Choice. But the article left me with a few questions and comments.
First, how is it that the G-Wagen has around 700 lbs more payload capacity than the Toyota and the second best cargo volume in the test, but received the same score as the Toyota for capacity? Based on their description, the capacity rating doesn't take other factors such as fuel capacity into account, so it would seem that the G-Wagen probably should have scored 7 (given that the highest score of 8 was given to the HD Land Rover Defender which has slightly higher numbers). That would have given the G-Wagen and Toyota the same overall score, but the Toyota should probably still win in reliability and global service network to edge out the Editor's choice anyway.
Second, though it would be different from how they decided to do their article, it would be interesting to see similar tests broken up by region comparing vehicles that can be purchased new in each region. As good as the 70 series Toyota is, I don't believe they were ever brought into the USA, so we are limited to 25 year old (or older) examples here. The situation is similar with Land Rover - even though they did bring some Defenders over in the mid 90's, there aren't many of them and they're all around 20 years old at this point. If someone wants to purchase something new and be able to keep it where they live, it isn't overly useful to know about options that are only available new in other parts of the world. For the USA, this would most likely mean comparing the MB G550/G63 to the Land Rover LR4, Toyota Land Cruiser 200 series, Infinity QX80 (essentially a Nissan Patrol with fancy interior), Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, etc.
Finally, I think it would also be interesting to do an article or series of articles that explain the differences between some of the models within a brand. Such as how exactly do the MB W463 and W461 differ other than one having a more luxurious interior (would a current G550 be just as good for the purpose as a W461 if one is willing to spend more than $100k on a vehicle and really put it to use)? How does the Nissan Patrol they reviewed differ from the Infinity QX80? What are the differences between a USA market Land Cruiser 200 series and the stripped down version available in other parts of the world? For that matter, what are the underlying differences between a 70 series and 200 series Land Cruiser?
Either way, I enjoyed the article and the fact that it generated some thoughts probably isn't a bad thing. I suspect they'll get some interesting messages from people who feel "their" brand should have won.
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