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Originally Posted by ILUVMILS
The 463 chassis is a proven, durable platform on which to build a capable off-road vehicle. It looks like a heavy duty vehicle and it drives like a heavy duty vehicle. Since the chassis and drivetrain are relatively simple, they don't seem to have many issues. Some early U.S. G's needed modified steering damper brackets to cure a vibration when driving on bumpy roads. Others had problems with premature traction system intervention due to the vehicles' high center of gravity. This was cured by modified software in the ESP control module. All in all though, pretty reliable.
Some of the G-Wagen's electrical systems are nearly identical to the W203 C-Class. The climate control system, power seats, and a few other things are all borrowed from the 203.
Before you take the plunge though, make sure to get as much "seat time" as you possibly can. If you plan on owning a G-Wagen as your daily driver you've got your work cut out. I had the use of a G500 for two weeks back in July and I was glad when it was over. The steering requires much more effort than any of the other MB trucks, the doors are hard to close, and the ride just plain sucks. At the end of a tough day, the G-Wagen doesn't offer much in the way of comfort. Another thing that bugged me was driving at night. Every piece of glass on the G-Wagen is flat. It was like driving around with a bunch of mirrors in the truck. The headlights of the surrounding traffic coming and going made for a distracting ride. Of course, these are personal observations. You may find the G-Wagen to be a dream ride. Good luck
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The G500 can seem like a handful especially when turning. . Why? The G understeers. And it is heavy.
To help make the car more neutral, one can add pressure to the rear tires. This is why the tire pressures with the standard tires is aproximately 5n lbs rear, 4n lbs front, ie, to compensate for the understeering.
How does one compensate for the understeer when driving?
Because it is full time AWD, I find the best thing to do, reasonably, is to turn smartly into turns and apply throttle early. This will tend to make the car turn in better and avoid body roll. Body roll aggravates the understeering and you can get into trouble because of inertia.
I suggest you practice this and get used to it in a safe place. Or better yet, go to an inexpensive safety driving school such as sponsored by the Corvette clubs, etc. Can you imagine wha they will say when you show up with a G?
Now this is a much different technique than you would use with a rear or mid engine car where you use trailing throttle going into curves and accelerate out. Think of a 911.
If you get this technique down a G500 can handle quite well, but its still a heavy truck!
Proceed with caution.
Grane