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Rule, I normally agree with most of what you say but this time I would have to ask if you have ever actually worked on a Perentie. While they look the part they are as far as design and construction goes a giant heap of shit. Terrible build quality, horrific electrical wiring, very difficult to work on, crap layout, noisy and uncomfortable to drive, gutless, piss weak drive line components, difficult to maintain and no diff-locks. The only reason that they ran as long as they did was due to constant maintenance and parts replacement. The only good part about them is the huge tray on the six wheel drive models and the hand brake which is the best of any 4WD.

Compared to the 70 Series V8 Landcruisers, the Land Rover product and Army Perentie's are a joke. The build quality, electrical system, driveline strength, engine power, driveability and reliabilty are streets ahead of the LR product. Don't get me wrong, I love old Land Rovers for their looks and nostalgia but compared to a Land Cruiser they are complete shit. The 70 Series have their faults as well, mainly the handbrake (which can easily be fixed by a Marks Adaptors transmission brake) but on the whole the difference is chalk and cheese.

As for the G-Wagon, the current models are some of the worst vehicles for serious off-road work that MB have ever made, with so many problems of unreliability coupled with an air filter system that is so poor that filters are only good for 1500 KM's of bush work. Engines are needing to be rebuilt at 20000 km, very poor engine braking especially in reverse as they only have an auto transmission with no manual option, Diff-locks that disengage when the ignition is turned off and engines that go into limp home mode if they smell any smoke. Life threatening if you are fire-fighting or in a combat situation. They are nothing like a Uni-Mog which is a superb vehicle with exceptional reliability and driveabilty. You only need to speak to the people have been forced to use them and hear the horror stories. All of that coupled to a dealer network that only has outlets in the major cities, no ability to get them serviced or repaired in the country let alone the bush unlike Toyota which have dealers in every larger country town and most medium and even many small towns. Whoever signed of on those Army and government contracts either knew nothing about 4WD vehicle requirements or how they are used, or was paid very handsomely by MB for signing.

Nothing personal against you, however I work on four wheel drives every day and the worst vehicles by far after a Jeep are Land Rover defenders. Having said that the Defender is a shit load better than any Jeep.

The best by far are Toyota and Nissan.

Matt.

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Waidmannsheil, sorry I am late coming back to this. In essence I agree whit most of what you have said. I had a 109 with the Isuzu 3.9lt donk. Most of the electrics where Nipndenser not Lucas. Most reliable vehicle I have ever had,and easy to work on, leave most Tojos behind. Note I never had to strip down gear box etc. OK that is just one example. In its day the Perentie was regarded by the troops testing the vehicles to be the most comfortable. Says alot about comfort back then. LOL. The US wanted the 6x6 to replace their HUMVEEs in Afghanistan.

Most of my comments are about off road ability and the Rover leaves the Tojo's and Nissan's behind in this area. On the selection trials for the miserable G Wagon the Canning test route was an eye opener. All the old Perenties completed the tract and with less maintenance then the G wagon. The 6x6 from the SASR were sent up the track to assist with the recover the G wagons that broke down, according to a Transport WO I was talking with. Matt what you say about the G Wagon going into limp home mode. An Infantry mate tells me they have an LDA alarm that does this. They call it the Limp Dick Alarm.

Yes they are noisy, slow, woeful electrics - should have ditched Lucas back in the 60's - and construction, yep that is a joke but they still out performed the Cruisers in the rough and Toyota could not make the cut for testing stage. Rover also needed to put larger sized engines in most of their models.

Going to travel around Australia, I say get a Toyota Land Cruiser. Far more outlets and parts availability than any other 4x4, so far no major problems with the $14,000 replacement DPF as on the Hi Lux.Comfortable, great air-conditioning. Whats not to like. Huuuuuummmm, do they come with a heated tail gate
Cheers
Greg