Poor Turning Circle???

[zimm]

a gx is based on the LC 120 platform. its a gussied up 4 runner. which is nice. ive never driven one, but a friends wife years ago bought one over an lx. i think she liked the lighter truck better in handling.

i think theres a difference between a luxury car, and a car with luxury appointments.

a gwagon is like an 80 series landcruiser. truck first. its got a live axle in the front. the 120 (and 100) platform has an independent front end which invariably is gonna ride better. the g does a great job, but the potholes and washboards come thru. if shes used to a car like suspended sport ute... and aint into trucks... you may have an issue.

make sure you buy it a price you can sell it for.

 

[stevegsmith]

Yes I do appreciate everyones comments. Stats on paper are fine for comparison, but they mean jack in the real world.

I'm looking for a more luxury off-roader (I tainted her with the Audi and she won't accept anything less...oops)

So I'm down to a LR4, G-wagen or GX470.

Turning radius schmurning radius. Between your three choices, I bet there ain't much diff in reality.
If it were me, it'd be between the G and the GX.
The GX seems like a great vehicle for the price (from what I've heard) and it will be less expensive to maintain. Supposed to be reliable and you'll have a greater variety of accessories (for now). But the G is a G and I'm too biased to offer an objective opinion really. Remember, G's for the most part are still hand made.
I'd suggest you drive both. New G's are well appointed and really really fun to drive. Drive the GX first though.
My two pennies.

 

[Mack73]

Yes well the wife want's interior features (bluetooth, nav. blah blah) and leather in a package that looks good. Ride quality really isn't a concern thankfully. Although she really loves the 7 seat (adult sized) ability of the LR4, which is why it is on the list... the reliabilty and excessive use of air bags on the other hand.....

My job is to get the most offroad capability with those restrictions :ylsmoke:

For giggles, here are the turning radius of each (info pulled from edmunds)

G-Wagen: 43.5 ft
LR4: 37.6 ft
GX470: 37.4 ft

So yeah we're talking about an additional 6 ft for the G

 

[Fernweh]

Yes well the wife want's interior features (bluetooth, nav. blah blah) and leather in a package that looks good. Ride quality really isn't a concern thankfully. Although she really loves the 7 seat (adult sized) ability of the LR4, which is why it is on the list... the reliabilty and excessive use of air bags on the other hand.....

My job is to get the most offroad capability with those restrictions :ylsmoke:

For giggles, here are the turning radius of each (info pulled from edmunds)

G-Wagen: 43.5 ft
LR4: 37.6 ft
GX470: 37.4 ft

So yeah we're talking about an additional 6 ft for the G

Yeah, I just made the turn from the I-405 here onto the 101 Freeway and it almost had to be a three-pointer with all the afternoon traffic behind me ;-)

I certainly would get the LR4 and not be sleeping on the downstairs couch.

 

[Desertstar]

Yeah, I just made the turn from the I-405 here onto the 101 Freeway and it almost had to be a three-pointer with all the afternoon traffic behind me ;-)

I certainly would get the LR4 and not be sleeping on the downstairs couch.

Karl, I keep telling you, use Sepulveda !!:wings:

 

[zimm]

hehe. brand loyalists are funny. :coffeedrink:

sure youll get used to whatever you drive. but the radius... its noticeable, im tellin ya. i commented the first time i backed into the drive. .

if shes ok with a wider track truck, id recommend a 2003 or later LC 100/lx470. motor and transmission upgrades.

you cant beat the appointments, the ride or the reliability. wanna cheap lift? move the sensors 1". off road goodies are about 1/2 the cost of g wagons. interior space? well the AO drawers i have in my lx470 are both too wide and too long to adapt to the g.

future offroading when the wife is done? http://www.sleeoffroad.com/

oh... and hand built is the reason my rain gutters werent welded the same on both sides. i had to go from a heavy duty AL weatherguard rack base to a thinner AL casted quick-n-easy base. robots do it better! (although one can make a strong case a german IS a robot)

 

[Fernweh]

hehe. brand loyalists are funny. :coffeedrink:

And we can also make fun about ourselves.....

sure youll get used to whatever you drive. but the radius... its noticeable, im tellin ya. i commented the first time i backed into the drive. .

nothing a CAT D-7 would be able to take care of

if shes ok with a wider track truck, id recommend a 2003 or later LC 100/lx470. motor and transmission upgrades.

Good choice:smiley_drive:

you cant beat the appointments, the ride or the reliability. wanna cheap lift? move the sensors 1". off road goodies are about 1/2 the cost of g wagons. interior space? well the AO drawers i have in my lx470 are both too wide and too long to adapt to the g.

Nice to have wide drawers for half the price

future offroading when the wife is done?

With whom?

oh... and hand built is the reason my rain gutters werent welded the same on both sides. i had to go from a heavy duty AL weatherguard rack base to a thinner AL casted quick-n-easy base.

What's wrong with the gutters now? I do like them a lot.....

You might have gotten a G-wagen from Austria, built on one side by a Turkish and on the other side by an Armenian craftsman....they might have not been talking to each other....

Robots do it better! (although one can make a strong case a german IS a robot)

Yes, I think your are absolutely right the Germans are robots, programmed by:victory:

BTW I watched a guy taking a G-500 over the Imogene Pass (13114 Feet) in Colorado, not just the truck alone but towing an offroad Adventure Trailer as well. That guy didn't have any problems mastering the tight hairpin turns with his rig at all. No, there were no trees around - at that altitude.
Most hot-air blowing folks will get nose bleeding up that high:wings:

 

[zimm]

the loader would have to take down my garage, which was built before the 10' setback ordinance.. cant loose that!

the gutters are nice and deep... which makes them a bit fussy with standard all purpose clamps.. but what im referring to is the drivers side on mine being a bit tighter than the passenger side. enough so, that i would have had to bend it a bit to mount a weatherguard cross bar. which kinda sucked because i keep those in stock. i figured id have to custom fab a clamp, but i didnt think the casting would be too thick (on one side).

besides adding a trailer having never improved ones turning radius, the biggest limitation there is experience! THAT is something left best to the wide open west. i almost went that way once then thought better of it. ill stick to an rtt.



and wile i got ya.... when are the 50mm spacers coming on line?

 

[Fernweh]

the loader would have to take down my garage, which was built before the 10' setback ordinance.. cant loose that!

and wile i got ya.... when are the 50mm spacers coming on line?

What's wrong with parking on the front lawn?

The 50mm Spacers.....wish they would be produced by a Robot.....

I'm still haggling over the outrages engineering cost (for the additional 20mm) plus buying the minimum production run......

How many sets do you need?:elkgrin:

 

[burquedoka]

Tight SW trails seem WIDE open compared to the forrest's here in the NW (sometimes... I've certainly seen some tight rock squeezes out there)...
Dave

Yes you are correct about the abundance of wide open trails here in my backyard, but do notice I said TIGHT SW trails, since, contrary to popular belief, we DO have forests here in NM. Besides that, I have done Imogene and Black Bear several times, both of which have as tight a hair pin turn as you can get, no problems. I just don't see an issue here. my $.02

 

[spressomon]

Zimm...on the subject of lightly comparing 100-Series and G: How have the overall electrics/electronics reliability been on your G?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Fernweh]

Zimm...on the subject of lightly comparing 100-Series and G: How have the overall electrics/electronics reliability been on your G?

Thanks,
Dan

Let's start a new thread. so we do not have all the "bad" vibes buried just in one.

Something like: " How many times have you been stranded in a G-wagen"

 

[zimm]

Let's start a new thread. so we do not have all the "bad" vibes buried just in one.

Something like: " How many times have you been stranded in a G-wagen"

off to the bad vibe failure thread for my rant....