Benz behemoth coming to Canada
OFF-ROAD MONSTER: Do-anything, go-anywhere Mercedes the perfect workhorse for our unforgiving terrain
Perhaps the most capable wheeled vehicle ever built is returning to the country with some of the most challenging terrain in the world.
Willkommen back to Canada, Unimog: we’ve missed you.
When speaking with Hans Mross of Mross Import Service last year, there was an inkling that just such a revival was possible. Last week, the call came in: change was finally afoot.
After review by various boards, including branches of Environment Canada and Transport Canada, brand-new Unimogs may now cross Canadian borders once again. Mross is already in talks with several rail yards — the ‘Mog excels at tough rail/road construction and repair duties — and you can expect to perhaps see one of these Benz-badged behemoths in your local commuter train’s servicing fleet.
There are some restrictions of course. “If you’re thinking about putting a camper on one and driving it on the road, that’s probably not going to fly,” Mross says. New Unimogs will be classified as off-road vehicles, and thus be subject to the same rules as a tractor or backhoe.
On-road speed is limited to 40 km/h, slow, but capable of transiting between two large ranches, for instance. As with all working Unimogs, the trucks can be customordered with various accessories and power takeoffs. Mross will be importing them new, directly from Mercedes.
Fifteen-year-old Unimogs may be driven on the public road already, but the new machines are far cleaner-running. Officially, diesel emissions are rated at Tier 4 Final, but in typical over-engineered Mercedes fashion, the modern Unimog is even cleaner.
With portal axles, powerful turbodiesel engines, and ridiculous approach angles and fording capabilities, the Unimog can trump almost any backcountry situation.
We’ve got a lot of backcountry in Canada — just more space for a ‘Mog to roam.