Readers of "OFF
ROAD" magazine have voted the Unimog cross-country vehicle of
the year in the "Special vehicles" category
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
For the third time, readers of
"Off Road" magazine have voted the Mercedes-Benz Unimog
cross-country vehicle of the year in the "Special vehicles"
category. The Unimog picked up the title of "2007 cross-country
vehicle of the year - Special vehicles category" after the
October issue of the respected Munich-based all-wheel-drive
magazine invited readers to vote for a selection of
cross-country vehicles in a total of eight categories. The
awards – which took the form of glass OFF ROAD obelisks – were
presented during a special gala evening which was held at
Munich's "Das Schloss" theatre tent on February 8, 2007.
Over 56,000 readers had selected
the winners from the 80 vehicles nominated by the organisers.
Mercedes-Benz models were winners in two categories: the Unimog
was the top-scoring model among the "Special vehicles" with an
outstanding 59% of the readers' votes while the Mercedes G-Class
won the "Classics" category. The eight categories for which
readers were invited to cast their votes were "Cross-country
vehicles", "Luxury cross-country vehicles", "Sports Utility
Vehicles (SUVs)", "Luxury SUVs", "Classics", "Pick-ups",
"Special vehicles" and "Crossover vehicles".
.
Among the special vehicles –
cross-country vehicles used for transporting loads and cargo in
remote areas or as a basis for special bodies used by
fire-fighters, expeditions and the military – the Unimog easily
led the field. Its signature product characteristics, such as
its portal axles which provide outstanding off-road capability
and its tremendous torsional flexibility combined with
exceptional ruggedness and strength, came in for particular
praise. Martin C. Klein, head of Sales/Marketing, accepted the
award from OFF ROAD's Florian Pillau on behalf of the Special
Vehicles Division of DaimlerChrysler AG.
The Unimog was also voted cross-country
vehicle of the year in 1994 – in the form of the U 90 "Funmog" which
combined attributes of urban, leisure, cross-country and commercial
vehicles.
Produced at the Wörth plant since 2002,
the high-mobility Unimog U 3000 to U 5000 model series is the natural
choice for difficult all-terrain operations far from roads and tracks.
Its principal applications are in the domains of fire-fighting
(especially in the context of forest fires), disaster relief, expedition
transport as well as service and maintenance work in areas where access
is difficult. The Unimog U 3000, U 4000 and U 5000 models are therefore
the ideal complement to the all-terrain implement carriers which make up
the U 300 to U 500 model series and which are used principally by public
service organisations and municipal contractors as well as in the
construction and energy sectors, in intra-plant transport applications
and for road/rail work. The latest addition to the Unimog family, the
compact U 20 made its first public appearance at the 2006 IAA commercial
vehicle show.
The "Classics" category – which was won by
the Mercedes-Benz G-Class –comprises cross-country vehicles which have
defied changing fashions and have remained true to their original
identity for many years. The G-Class model series, which has been in
production since 1979, currently comprises three engine variants: one
turbodiesel with common-rail direct injection as well as two
eight-cylinder petrol units.
