Used car buying guide: Mercedes G-Class

If you have a wad of cash to splurge on a capable and luxurious off-roader but don’t fancy following the herds into a new Land Rover Defender, why not consider a used example of arguably its closest rival?

It has visibly evolved even less during its 41-year life cycle than the original Defender did, but regardless of that, the Mercedes-Benz Gel?ndewagen (meaning terrain vehicle, but you’ll know it as the G-Wagen or G-Class) is an overwhelmingly capable off-roader that manages to marry refinement with ruggedness in a way its British contemporary never really could.

Here we’ll ignore the post-2018 and performance models, because they’re different beasts entirely, and turn our attention to the W460 (1979-1992), the W461 (1992-present) and regular versions of the W463 – the evolved W460 introduced in 1990 that turned the G-Wagen into a luxury SUV.

One of the best things about the G-Wagen is how little it has changed. Even the Volkswagen Beetle received more nips and tucks than this two-box trail weapon, meaning you could dress up a 1990 model and convince unwitting friends and colleagues that you’ve just dropped upwards of ?100,000 on a snarling new AMG.

The vast majority of surviving early W460 cars have, however, gone untouched and now represent what the G-Wagen used to be: a stylish yet agricultural family hauler that you would never be afraid to get mucky.

That’s not to say these are budget options, mind you. Even a low-spec, short-wheelbase 1992 model is listed at a whopping ?16,995, while a low-mileage, full-sized 1987 car is asking just a hair shy of ?20,000 for its passable impression of a new G63.

W461 cars are probably safer bets if you’re keen to avoid corrosion and costly repairs. However, they rather lend themselves to questionable modification, so there are plenty of gold-wrapped, jacked-up and window-tinted cars in the classifieds that would be more at home in Kensington than the Kalahari.

Категория: Автотехника