Can a Mercedes-Benz ML320 tackle the Rubicon Trail?
Yes, it can - but it should not!
None of todays SUVs has any business to be on the Rubicon Trail. No stock SUV will escape the trail unscathed.
During the summer I am on the trail every day and I have seen them all:
Buggies, full size pick up trucks, ZJ and WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee, Kia, Hummer - you name 'em, I have seen them. The all made it, but the price was high. Most of them had damage - ranging from a few Dollars to several thousand Dollars worth.
A handfull made it without scratches - but the tremendous work to maneuver an SUV with glossy paint through "attacking rocks" and "hostile trees" is a sheer nightmare.
Only when a 4WD makes it through the Rubicon Trail unharmed and with moderate driving effort by the driver (like any stock Jeep Wrangler does) - only then manufacturers should be allowed to claim: Our "XVZ 2000" can do the Rubicon.
So when Jeep claims, the JGC can do the Rubicon, they are right: it can - but it should not!
So when I report here that I took my ML320 on the Rubicon - I shouldn't have!
It took us 10 hours to travel the first 1/2 mile of the trail - any experienced driver with a suitable 4x4 can drive this section in 15 minutes. |
