Taking a Mercedes-AMG G 63 to a dirt road is like going to a kiddie tea party on a first date (no offense to the tiny humans). While it's thoughtful, it's risky business. Don't get me wrong, the G 63 comes with impressive off-road capabilities but prefers life on the fast lane. Mat Watson of CarWow put this celebrity car against the Toyota Land Cruiser in an uphill drag race.
We don't know where Watson gets these crazy ideas or who in their right mind offers their cars for these stunts, but we love watching them anyway.
The Mercedes-AMG G 63 spends more time in posh neighborhoods, which explains its £157,000 price tag in the UK - but that doesn't mean it's lazy on its feet. This box-shaped cruiser has enough juice to shame popular brands on the drag strip. It's a tricked-out G-Class with a heart of darkness.
Under the hood, it packs a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making 585 HP and 850 Nm of torque. That raucous engine is paired to an automatic gearbox on a four-wheel-drive set up. It will do 0 to 62 mph (100 kph) in just 4.5 seconds.
The Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial, on the other hand, is a king of Safaris. It's not as pricy as the Mercedes-AMG G 63, with a starting price of £37,000. Forget the ugly steel wheels. This off-roader will take you to wild and beautiful places. It's an off-roader with a seal of approval for its agility in the toughest of terrains.
The Land Cruiser comes with a 2.8-liter turbo-diesel engine making 204 HP and 420 Nm of torque, paired with a manual gearbox. It also has a low range mode and a central locking differential but without a front and rear locker like the G 63.
Watson put the Mercedes-AMG G 63 and the Toyota Land Cruiser through a series of challenges off-road to determine the ultimate king of the hill.
On the uphill drag race, the Land Cruiser experiences some wheel spin during take-off but immediately catches up with the G 63. It almost felt like it would end in a tie, but the Japanese off-roader had one more trick up its sleeve in winning the race - a jump at the end.
It wasn't a total loss for the G 63 though, as it won the down hill challenge, and the obstacle challenge.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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