COAST TO COAST!
COAST TO COAST!
12 vehicles( a mixture of GLE, GLS and G-Class models) recently made the 65-mile journey across the Scottish Highlands, over the course of two days. The vehicles were all standard UKspecification cars, fitted with road-legal‘ mud tyres’, but with no modifications apart from the removal of side steps where fitted.
Leading the expedition was the iconic G- Class, which since 1979 has blended rugged go-anywhere ability and luxury. Its permanent 4MATIC all-wheel drive, low-range gearbox and three fully lockable differentials ensure that it can cope in the roughest of all terrain – not least the gravel, rock, wet grass, rivers and gelatinous mud of the Highlands.
It is hand-assembled in Graz, Austria, at the rate of just 15 vehicles a day.
Although the GLS’ s quilted leather massage seats could suggest it is more about opulence than off-roading, the Off-Road package ensures it is equally at home off the beaten track. The Off-Road package adds a centre differential lock; protective underbody panelling; a low-range gearbox; fully manual mode for the automatic transmission; special off-road programming for the ABS, ESP and 4ETS traction control; and an extra three selectable ride heights for the standard AIRMATIC air suspension. It also adds to the standard Driver Select system’ s‘ Off-road’ mode with an‘ Off-road Plus’ mode for especially difficult terrain.
The stylish GLE might more commonly be seen on high streets rather than the Highlands, but when also equipped with the Off-Road Package it makes light work of the most arduous of routes. Just like the GLS, the GLE managed the entire off-road route, from rocks to rivers to muddy fields.