QOTD: Land Rover Defender Vs. Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon – Pick Your Poison
Let’s say you had around $50,000 to spend on a vehicle purely as an indulgence. In this indulgence, you desire a somewhat rare SUV that’s basic, yet carries substantial prestige. In the same way, your SUV of choice would be very capable off-road, but you’d never take it there (as it’s simply too valuable). This vehicle would be for around-town jaunts on sunny days only.
A tough and specific decision for you, as imaginary well-heeled buyer of this used SUV. But never fear, as we’ve narrowed the choices down to two for today’s QOTD.
So, between the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, which do you choose to lighten your wallet?
This isn’t the first time we’ve presented the B&B with a Pick Your Poison Question of the Day. The inaugural honors go to the Lincoln versus Cadillac QOTD. But before we cover the two options, let’s go over the very simple rules of this engagement — there are only two this time.
- The Defender or G-Wagon are your only two choices today, and you must choose one of them.
- Suggestions of “neither,” or of any vehicles outside the two outlined below are invalid. Consider yourself warned.
Option One: 1994 Land Rover Defender 90
This short wheelbase Defender has around 78,000 miles, and is for sale right now for roughly $56,000.
As we detailed previously, the Defender was on sale in the US for just a handful of years — 1993 to 1997. It has a 3.9-liter V-8 engine hooked to a manual transmission, seats two on cloth buckets, and is in excellent condition.
Used Defender prices have increased ever since its cancellation, and the asking price for this clean example is not outside reality.
Option two: 1990 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon
The two-door G-Wagon you see here has travelled 38,000 miles in its lifetime, and is on offer for just under $55,000.
It has a small four-cylinder gasoline engine, a manual transmission, and seats five on simple cloth seats. This G-Class was never actually on sale through Mercedes dealers in the United States. It was a popular grey import vehicle, however, brought over in limited numbers in the 1980s and 1990s through importers via legislation loopholes. On these shores, customers were eager to pay top dollar (think six figures) for these rare vehicles. Prices started out high and have stayed there ever since.
This two-door model was never officially sold in North America at all. Mercedes, keen to put the grey guys out of business, began selling the G500 version of the G-Class in North America starting in 2002, but it always had four doors and a luxurious interior. The example above harkens back to a simpler time for the SUV.
Same color(ish), same concept, different execution. Which is your poncy poison SUV of choice?
[Images via eBay]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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- ToolGuy Let's count the poor decisions: Honda 18 model years past peak Honda. Ohio. Following too closely ('rock on the highway' doesn't leap up and attack your vehicle by itself, it is riding on a vehicle or thrown up by a vehicle, and you should be alert to this). Ohio. Not enough doors. Choosing to expand family -- in Ohio. 😉
- ToolGuy Took me a minute to post; had to go back and see which account I was using the last time I commented on this topic (consistency is important). Thank you for your patience.
- ToolGuy Ok wow, just wow. I used to live in America. Land of the free -- have I heard that somewhere? And here come TTAC writers and commentariat goose stepping in lockstep, dancing on the grave of liberty. Didn't your dysfunctional homeowners association get all that government overreach out of your system? I thought we won WW2, guess I was mistaken.
- Dartman If one is so hellbent on drawing attention to themselves just mount a big “Trump 2024” or “Black Lives Matter” flag (your choice) on your truck and call it day. Lot cheaper, same result.
- AZFelix I'd buy a 'harlequin' edition if it was composed of a company's complete palette of greys and silver.Family had a couple of Pontiacs in teal and purple in years past. I was not a fan.My current ride is Lakeside Blue.
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G-Wagon on the account that I have more Merc dealers around town. G500 as the diesels moved on from the reliable CDI to these funny blueTEC motors.
50.000$ for a defender??!! why don't you buy 10 defenders here in europe? G class no doubt