Seems like there is a lot of misinformation around the Gelaendewagen.
The history of the Gelaendewagen is very similar to the Hummer. It was originally developed for the German Army in the 70s. The original version was a military stripped down two door open cab, a little like the Willy. It was immediatly augmented by the closed cab, four door version.
Only later was the car introduced to the civilian market but still targeted at commercial use: forestry, etc.
Only in the late 90s did MB decide to really dress up the interior and starting putting the same engines as the MB s-class into the top of the line Gs.
What everyone needs to remember is that the G500 available in the US is not the mainstream model that is mainly sold in Germany. It is top of the line (now the AMG version) not really meant for off-roading anymore.
In its original state, at the time, the MB Gelaendewagen beat the pants of any other SUV out there. But the platform has aged and the target audience as well.
|