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Dane, don’t the G Wagons all come with locking differentials front and rear? I have already proven conclusively to myself that the “Toyota Crawl” feature in my 2011 Land Cruiser is no substitute for locking differentials.
Dane, don’t the G Wagons all come with locking differentials front and rear? I have already proven conclusively to myself that the “Toyota Crawl” feature in my 2011 Land Cruiser is no substitute for locking differentials.
Not sure about the older ones like Danes, but my newer model has 3 differential locking buttons. Rear, Front, and Center.
Dane, don’t the G Wagons all come with locking differentials front and rear? I have already proven conclusively to myself that the “Toyota Crawl” feature in my 2011 Land Cruiser is no substitute for locking differentials.
The G-Class has three differentials.
One for the front wheels, one to connect the front wheels to the back wheels, and a third to control the speed of the back wheels.
They can all be locked in sequence.
Are there any vehicles that are over-engineered for their uses other than the Toyota Land Cruiser or the Lexus LX (which is built on the LC platform).
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Land Rover is out of the question even though they made tough Defenders back in the day. Maybe the Toyota Hilux but that's not sold in the US. I doubt the Mercedes G wagon is really all that well built? GMC and Chevy trucks have not surpassed the Land Cruiser on foreign country rugged tests and break apart after several years.
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I bought a Land Cruiser, a 2013 here in 2019, w/85K miles that (was, is) about as pretty as any 6 y.o vehicle can be. PacNW so no rust, and good records (not perfect, but good enough). Couple minor issues and I do mean minor. I'll iron them out one at a time if they ever become annoying. "worst" is aftermarket rotors and pads which will probably be all of $800 installed. The stockers don't seem real happy but have lots of life left, and it does stop.
I have one electical squirrel, the other "issue" that is just a bit annoying. Probably a bad ground, but God knows where.
Okay then: those are LC 200s. They are soft. I call mine the "Black Sheikh" because only rich Aussie farmers, oil sheikhs, the UN, and gangsters (okay, same as the previous) run them. I have one in Seattle traffic just because it's a little weird. LX570 are fine, too, a bit more common and more bang for the buck. They look weird, too.
LC 200 is the pinnacle of Toyota's engineering. Highlander and 4Runner are great, but not nearly to that extent. Tacomas are at or near the same pinnacle, so they say, and my former '07 ran 125K miles with zero real problems of-note, and traded in at great money.
I don't off road at this time. Yes LC is over-engineered everywhere, a 5 min crawl under a lift will demonstrate that. Yes American trucks will (still) destroy themselves where a LC will just keep on going...with proper maintenance, which is foolish to skip on ANY vehicle.
Get one. Guess I'll re-read the thread and find out if anything else comes close. I'm skeptical, after thorough research past couple years.
Interesting to see folks here who assume that the newer Wranglers and original Hummer H1 must be tough vehicles. I have read comments on the Hummers, from US military mechanics who actually had to keep the things rolling. Apparently it's pretty common to have a motorpool count of ten of them, with four dead in the shop, and one or two of the remaining six being towed back in to the base, every time the group goes out on a mission.
As for the wranglers, or any FCA product being "over-engineered", head to a dealer and try selling that theory to any of the techs. who actually wrench on them. You will still hear the laughing as you pull off the lot.
Crickey, this whole post was funny as all-hell...it's bashing, but I don't have a dog in the race other than being a Toyota kind of guy through-and-through. Veracity of the above, I cannot answer to.
Americans get stuck on certain vehicles: Wranglers and H-D come to mind. Both maintain absurd resale value NOT consummate with "quality of delivery." As does BMW motorcycle, anymore, as parts continue to fall off those damn things too. I don't think other parts of the world are all that sentimental, just needing "what works" in some miserable place like Runda, Namibia. Yeah, I've been to Runda. Yeah, there were a lot of young guys in the back of Hilux pickups (seriously). Fortunately, none had AK-47s, that particular brushfire war ended in the 1980s I think. It was interesting. Most of the roads are sand and dust. 'Nuff said.
I have a 2005 Expedition which is 200 miles away from 200k. I've owned it the last 9 years and it has been a tank.
I have a 2005 Dodge Durango about the same mileage. I bought it new. Nowadays, it lives at altitude (about 7500 feet) in Park City UT - a few miles from the Deer Valley parking lot. It sees a TON of snow.
I've never been stuck - but passed many other mid-size and full-size SUVs that were stuck. The only thing I've done, besides normal maintenance & consumables, and recalls (e.g., Takata air bags) is the alternator in March of this year. Everything else works like the day it was new.
I'm looking at replacing it in the next year or two, and thinking about a new Expedition. I rented a new Durango a week ago on an out-of-state trip, and it was very nice - but I think I'd like the extra room of the Expedition (we throw all gear in the back rather than put skis on an overhead ski rack).
All you guys who mention Mercedes trucks, that's cool and I know MB makes most of the trucks worldwide. But what about the toughness and reliability?
My co-worker who just bought a new Toyota Land Cruiser has the manual writing in English, Spanish and the 3rd language is Arabic. That means the LC is used extensively in the Middle East in extremely tough environments and would last forever in an American city landscape.
The locals when I lived in the Middle East had the money to buy any vehicle they wanted. 60% of them drove Land Cruisers. If I had the money, I would own own one. I do love my 4Runner, though.
..I've known people who buy Land Cruisers and keep them for over 30 years and this includes all of the electronic issues. Just had a 60 y/o co-worker who bought a LC and said it will be his retirement vehicle because it will easily last over 20 years. I'm not talking about off-roading - these LC owners use their vehicles primarily on the road but since they are over-engineered, they last even longer with civilian duty...
There are a couple flaws with this approach. Number 1, most people who can drop big bucks for a Land Cruiser will not be keeping them for 30 years, or even twenty, because they will get tired of it or just want the latest, greatest thing-like a new Land Cruiser!
They’re just attempting to rationalize an irrational attraction to a heavy duty vehicle that they have no practical use for.
Also, stop to consider what exactly makes them heavy duty and the implications for driving on paved roads.
Their suspension, frame and body are designed to take a beating without falling apart. That’s it, so driving on pavement with them conveys absolutely no advantage, it just wastes gas.
Perhaps their engines and transmission will last longer than most others but it all comes down to the mileage.
The fzj80 Land Cruiser is fairly well known for blowing head gaskets.
So, the drivetrains aren’t exactly indestructible.
And finally, a big Land Cruiser for 80 year old grandpa-really?
Large vehicles driven by those with poor hearing, vision and reflexes are not good combinations.
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