QOTD: Land Rover Defender Vs. Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon – Pick Your Poison

Let’s say you had around $50,000 to spend on a vehicle purely as an indulgence. In this indulgence, you desire a somewhat rare SUV that’s basic, yet carries substantial prestige. In the same way, your SUV of choice would be very capable off-road, but you’d never take it there (as it’s simply too valuable). This vehicle would be for around-town jaunts on sunny days only.

A tough and specific decision for you, as imaginary well-heeled buyer of this used SUV. But never fear, as we’ve narrowed the choices down to two for today’s QOTD.

So, between the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, which do you choose to lighten your wallet?

This isn’t the first time we’ve presented the B&B with a Pick Your Poison Question of the Day. The inaugural honors go to the Lincoln versus Cadillac QOTD. But before we cover the two options, let’s go over the very simple rules of this engagement — there are only two this time.

1. The Defender or G-Wagon are your only two choices today, and you must choose one of them.
2. Suggestions of “neither,” or of any vehicles outside the two outlined below are invalid. Consider yourself warned.

Option One: 1994 Land Rover Defender 90

This short wheelbase Defender has around 78,000 miles, and is for sale right now for roughly $56,000.

As we detailed previously, the Defender was on sale in the US for just a handful of years — 1993 to 1997. It has a 3.9-liter V-8 engine hooked to a manual transmission, seats two on cloth buckets, and is in excellent condition.

Used Defender prices have increased ever since its cancellation, and the asking price for this clean example is not outside reality.

Option two: 1990 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon

The two-door G-Wagon you see here has travelled 38,000 miles in its lifetime, and is on offer for just under $55,000.

It has a small four-cylinder gasoline engine, a manual transmission, and seats five on simple cloth seats. This G-Class was never actually on sale through Mercedes dealers in the United States. It was a popular grey import vehicle, however, brought over in limited numbers in the 1980s and 1990s through importers via legislation loopholes. On these shores, customers were eager to pay top dollar (think six figures) for these rare vehicles. Prices started out high and have stayed there ever since.

This two-door model was never officially sold in North America at all. Mercedes, keen to put the grey guys out of business, began selling the G500 version of the G-Class in North America starting in 2002, but it always had four doors and a luxurious interior. The example above harkens back to a simpler time for the SUV.

Same color(ish), same concept, different execution. Which is your poncy poison SUV of choice?

[Images via eBay]