Landrover VS G wagon

P

Peterb

Well-known member
Apr 23, 2004
70
0
58
Philadelphia Pa.
I am wondering if you had a G and now drive a Rover--- Why?
I have a 97 disco with ome lift, detroit in rear, BFGMT 235-85-16, and lots of extras, I have found this rig to be great offroad, smooth on road, and very reliable, I am keeping this disco for my love of offroad, I dont have to worry about parts, availability, ease of replacement, ect as you all know,
Now i have also bought a 1984 300GD, SWB, 5 cyl diesel, 4 sp manual, fr+rr fact diff locks, I have found it to be a stiffer frame than the Disco, and the suspension is also stiffer(less flexy) But i have also noticed that with the low-low gearing in 1st gear low, the thing will crawl anywhere, easier than the Disco, they weigh about the same, but the wheelbase is about 94" closer to a defenders, I have been up a couple of hill climbs where the disco has a hard time, But the G crawls up
The G has 4.88 ratio in the diffs, and only has a loud/series truck ride at top speed of 65 mph, so a highway truck it is not, But the disco is
There are tradeoffs when looking at each truck, But will be keeping them both on and off road as long as i can!!!
Anything that others here can tell me,
What is your personal expirence?
Peter.
 

Attachments

  • mb1.jpg
    mb1.jpg
    109.3 KB · Views: 621
kennith

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
The G wagon is painful for me to look at. The shape is just not right at all for me. Aside from that, I've had a good look at them, and seen them in action, and they are pretty good vehicles. Out of the box, they are very capable, and that's hard to ignore.

I'd wager they are about the same overall. One does not have an outrageous advantage that the other doesn't cover in another area. The Disco isn't really the fair comparison, but the fact that it keeps up ok is a testiment to Land Rover's former engineering team. The same sort of people buy both. They will both eat a hole in one's wallet. They can both be coaxed across fairly difficult terrain stock, and people will make assumptions about you when they see you in either of them.

A stickshift 90 with a Diesel is a different ballgame entirely. You might find the gap in capability quite narrowed driving one of those.

I just happen to prefer the Rover from a pleasentness standpoint. I feel like I am being slapped everytime I look at a G Wagon.

Cheers,

Kennith
 
vabiro

vabiro

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
575
0
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
www.landroveradventure.com
Peter,

I think if you were to do a fair comparisson it would be between a Defender with front, centre, and rear diff locks and the G-Wagen.

The Canadian military just switched to the G-Wagen for their vehicle. They were compared to the Defender, Hummer, and others, and the G-Wagen won. To top it off, they were paying about $130k each for the G-Wagen, versus about half that for the Defender.

The one thing that the Land Rover will always have over either of them is the comfort level. There aren't many vehicles that can be as comfortable on the long drive to the trail.

Add front and rear air lockers and a 2" lift and tires and you'd probably have a pretty comparable vehicle.

I would also be a bit curious about parts availability for the G-Wagen. Around here you can't stand on a street corner for 5 minutes without seeing at least one Land Rover drive by. Versus the likelihood of seeing a G-Wagen is slim.

Victor
 
Ho

Ho

1
Staff member
Mar 26, 2004
1,495
0
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
www.thehochung.com
Peterb said:
... But i have also noticed that with the low-low gearing in 1st gear low, the thing will crawl anywhere, easier than the Disco, they weigh about the same, but the wheelbase is about 94" closer to a defenders, ...
The G has 4.88 ratio in the diffs, and only has a loud/series truck ride at top speed of 65 mph, so a highway truck it is not,
Click to expand...


numbers? stats? stick with a TJ Rubicon. it'll kick some ass right there.
but life isn't that simple. It's not just numbers. :)
 
O

Onionman

Well-known member
Apr 23, 2004
443
0
Olathe, KS
I LIKE the looks of the G-Wagon: plain, hard-working, functional, like something out of the German Wehrmacht (imagine that!!), as opposed to the M-Class blob of clay or any of the "stick on another piece of plastic" American or Japanese SUV's.

I saw a dark-green G-Wagon on the local dealer's showroom: love at first sight. I've been thinking, can I talk my wife into letting one of these come home with me next time I have to take her S-420 in for service.
 
Eric N.

Eric N.

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,980
0
Falls Church, VA
Those little 2 door half top G's are nice.. I'd take one over a D90.. Those 70,000+ dollar G500s are nice and comfy inside and there are lift springs and such for them too.. I like the smaller 2 doors better though..

The Jeep Rubicon is hard to beat though if you are looking for a brand new trail rig that can hit some serious trails right off the lot that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Not to mention the aftermarket support..
 
noee

noee

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
1,887
0
Free Union, VA
I would also be a bit curious about parts availability for the G-Wagen.
Click to expand...

You got that right. Price a 2" lift with shock mounts. Or, price out a new brake bias unit. To be fair, there is some cross-over in parts, and the resources are out there to help, but it's darned expensive to start modifying one (tires, lift, etc.)

I had the pleasure of a G on the mtn here for about a day many moons ago as a friend was passing thru. Having spent much time in the D2 and the 88", I'd put the G about in between. Rougher than the D2 (smaller and lighter too) but more refined than the 88". Over the standard obstacles (limited) we have around the house (hill climbs, couple of rocks, tight winding trails) it was no better than either the D2 or the 88" (both of which are locked in the rear).

However, after it had the 2" lift installed and the Q78s, it really showed out, the tires and lift took it to another level.
 

Attachments

  • g1.JPG
    g1.JPG
    66.5 KB · Views: 205
  • g2.JPG
    g2.JPG
    73.3 KB · Views: 167
  • g3.jpg
    g3.jpg
    68 KB · Views: 172
discovery12

discovery12

Well-known member
Jan 5, 2006
270
0
The G-wagon is a great truck My brother has a 2002 G-500 black It is very strong but I can't say that the frame is stronger than a disco it's just as strong but to me it's not stronger maybe very slightly heavier but not stronger. To me it's looks like a Defender with a wider top and with out the outside roll cage. Even though I like the g-wagen I would never trade my discovery 1 on it. It doesn't do anything for me I like it's boxy shape but i'm justa rover man My bro drove it out to Cailfornia to show the family it is nice parked beside my D1 their both the same height and I looked under both trucks the frames appear to be of the same strength and size the Disco appeared to have the trans tucked above the frame and my Brother's G-500 looked like some parts could by vunerable but still beefy.We did go off road in the hollister hills and the G is a wheeler won't say it out wheel my Disco but it is good. I like the G even more so now that my Brother showed me his but again I can't part with the rover It's just as good and tough as a G regradless of price and sibiling envy LAUGH. :D
 
S

saigonsmuggler

Guest
My brother has an 04 G500 and I have an 03 lifted Rubicon and 01 D2. We wheel them all. I would say that his stock G500 easily outwheel my stock D2.
 
garrett

garrett

Well-known member
Jun 18, 2004
10,931
5
53
Middleburg, VA
www.blackdogmobility.com
D Chapman said:
Who's Jeff? Your goat?
Click to expand...

shit i meant Peter Blatt. i have no idea what i was thinking of Jeff Bang. maybe his last name has been floating around the farm alot today. i dunno.

no goats yet, but i would love one. 18 horses, 20 head of cattle, 2 aussie dogs, a cat and soon lots of god damn chickens. it's enough to make you weird. very weird.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom