Toyota Land Cruiser Takes on Jeep and Mercedes in Off-Road Battle
A Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Land Cruiser, and Mercedes G-Wagen walk into a bar…there’s a fight, a close one–who comes out on top?
Okay, okay–that was a terrible joke. But the fact of the matter is, when pitted against two of the most renowned and brutal off-road machines, a Jeep Wrangler and a Mercedes G-Wagen, the result is no laughing matter. The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is not a car to be taken lightly.
The Prado is a high-end variant of the Land Rover that is unavailable in North America. It comes standard with a 2.8 liter diesel engine that makes a few horses shy of 200 hp, but produces over 330 ft-lbs of torque. It might be a little light on the horsepower for a daily driver, but it’s all about the torque when there’s a lack of pavement involved. While appealing, the closest we can get in the states would be a Land Cruiser or the luxurious Prado’s close cousin, the Lexus GX. Except, you know, without the diesel.
Diariomotor put these three awesome vehicles to the test in this video, originally done in Spanish. Thankfully, a lot of the translation work was done by Jalopnik‘s David Traci. From the onset, the Spanish auto experts at Diariomotor were banking on the Jeep Wrangler. After all, with an impressive list of features like front and rear locking diffs, quick sway bar disconnect, solid axles, and a reputation for dominance behind it. On paper, the endless list of features and programs would put the Jeep miles ahead of the other two cars.
But, things on paper can translate differently once put into actions. Even the G-Wagen (or G-Class) has a history for prescribing defeat. The Mercedes showed up to the fight with both diffs able to lock, a powerful engine (arguably the most powerful there), intelligent terrain computer, exterior cameras, and other military inspired features.
The test took place in Ocaña, a perfect ring nestled in the Spanish province of Toledo. Here, the three top tier fighters show off their capabilities (or lack thereof) with a series of grueling tests including: uphill crawls, “axle twisters,” steep declines, and towing off-road. When it came to the first test, the axle twisters (or deep holes that showcase a vehicle’s ability to flex), the three all made the test look easy. Notably, though, the Land Cruiser impresses the judges with Toyota’s Crawl Control–which the host, David G. Artés, describes as its “secret weapon.” The Land Cruiser barely breaks a sweet. The G-Wagen also pulls through unscathed. The Jeep made it, but not without scraping the underbelly first. Ouch.
Next they take on a steep incline, giving each vehicles a chance to prove their crawling ability further. First up was the Toyota, that went up the hill in a matter of seconds. As Artés put it, the Toyota did it with “overwhelming authority.” He also noted that no traction was ever lost during the test, and again praised the Crawl Control. Despite having the smallest wheels and least amount of ground control of all three vehicles, it went over smoothly. The Jeep managed to go over the hill, but once again, scraped against the undercarriage, again. When the Mercedes lined up to climb the hill, the lack of visibility was made up for with a front facing camera, and made it up, no problem.
Ground clearance proved to be one of the only issues the Prado brought to the table, when it became high centered in the middle of another test. The Crawl Control feature brought Artés (behind the wheel) right to the top and was almost over, when it became stuck. However, the Prado doesn’t suffer this fate alone, the Jeep Rubicon also fell victim to the crest of the climb. The only victor in the climb was the G-Wagen.
At the end of the grueling comparison, Artés decided to rank the cars in first, second, or third place. Third place went to the Jeep, since the four door Rubicon they tested gave it the longest wheelbase and worst break-over angle of all three cars. While Jeep came with the biggest and most off-road ready tires, Artés said it did not give it any better advantage. The Prado was awarded second place, but Artés made an important note: the Toyota has an excellent reputation for reliability, and despite it being the second, would be his vehicle of choice. High praise.
“The Toyota Land Cruiser would be the car that I would take to travel the African continent from north to south,” says Artés. “It is noted for its reliability and would also be the only one we would be able to find spare parts in any country of the world…Even if we did find part for the Mercedes, we couldn’t afford neither the parts of the mechanic who knew how to fix it…This would be the car to travel thousands and thousands of kilometers.”
Most interestingly, despite the G-Class earning first place, Artés says that the Mercedes would be the last car he’d ever take on an adventure. It’s expensive to fix, a scratch on the paint would be devastating, and he couldn’t imagine getting the plush interior dirty in the mud, snow, or dirt. The only reason he gave it first place was because it went over every obstacle with ease, due to its laundry list of features catered to do what he did with it. So, it won by a technicality, basically.
Truly, the real winner was the Toyota Land Cruiser. It is the ride with the spirit of adventure, and the ability to make it happen.
Now, if only we could pick up a Prado in the U.S.!