HEAD TO HEAD
YOU’LL notice the Spartan condition of the cabin immediately once you get into the G-pro, which almost makes the Cruiser look and feel luxurious in comparison. You’ll notice it even more when you are moving, especially at 110km/h on the freeway.
Loading up both vehicles with 1000 litres of water sent the Cruiser to its maximum GVM (as standard, although there are many upgrades in the aftermarket), which resulted in its back-end squatting down quite a bit. The same weight on the Merc settled the suspension a little but, being only half the maximum allowable payload, did little else. Certainly the vehicle’s stance and drivability was hardly affected, with the longer wheelbase helping here. In fact, the suspension offered a much better ride with this weight being carried than when it was empty or lightly loaded.
On the other hand, when the Cruiser was loaded the steering was light and, on corners and roundabouts, it had a wallowing back-end. Still, when the trays were empty or close-to empty the Cruiser was much more comfortable and pleasurable to drive. The Merc was a pig of a thing when empty, especially on slightly bumpy or corrugated tracks.
While the Merc’s performance was hardly blistering it performed adequately, even though you had to be very positive with the accelerator to get it to go – the engine did feel the extra tonne on the back. In comparison the Toyota V8 hardly felt the extra burden and we often took off from a standing start in second gear. Mind you, the auto ’box in the Merc was a highlight, making the manual ’box in the Tojo feel almost archaic.
Lighting and air-conditioning controls in the Merc are woeful and the whole cab layout leaves a lot to be desired. The Cruiser mightn’t be the epitome of design and comfort, but it is way in front of the Merc. You’d also have to put this latest variant of the Cruiser in front of the Merc when it comes to safety, although both offer outstanding 4WD capability.
Then there’s the significant price difference. I never thought I’d say this but the 70 Series Cruiser is remarkably good value for money; certainly when compared with the Merc. For my money I’d take the Cruiser every time. The only time I’d consider the Merc is if I was hauling one-tonne or heavier load all the time... and I mean all the time.