From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Tue Aug 06 2002 - 18:08:54 PDT
Hi Dave,
As a fan of the M37 (I have a M43, not running) I can offer the following
comparision...
>The only exotic vehicle that's close to a M37 will be the early gas unimogs
>and they can get costly to repair but are pretty simple to work on although
>slightly ungainly in everyday driving.
There are constant Pinz vs. Mog vs. Land Rover debates on the Pinz list I
belong to, so I have seen all sides of the arguments. The debaters
nearly always agree that the Mog has a slight edge over the Pinz off road
due to its better flex ability. But the Pinz beats the Mog hands down on
normal driving surfaces. A stock Land Rover is considered by even the
Land Rover fantatics to be inferior to both. Perhaps that is why the
Brits are using Pinzes in Afgahnastan instead of Rovers? :-)
For those who don't know, the Pinz has on the fly 4 wheel drive, on the
fly front or back or both differential locking, Hi and Low range (I
forget the gear ratios, but it low is REALLY low), 4 wheel independent
suspension (like the Ferret mentioned), just shy of 14" of ground
clearance (no transmission housing hanging down limiting this clearance),
axle joints the size of volleyballs, and an underbelly that is designed
to take a smashing and not cause any problems. It also has a fairly
short wheelbase and plenty of steering freedom, allowing it to have an
excellent turning radius. It can also take about 2000 lbs or 10 men in back.
>You can use the M37 as a daily driver
>and Many owners do they are very comfortable and easy to drive and maintain.
Yeah, but how do they stop and how fast do they go up hills? :-) I have
seen more than one M37 driver state that, unmodified and with regular
military tires, that the best way to stop if the road is wet is to find a
good ditch :-) Also, pulling a load up hill cuts down the top speed to
something like 45 mph. The Pinz, on the other hand, has plenty of
braking power and comfortably cruises at 65 mph.
No don't get me wrong... I am no Pinz fanatic. I have one, I use it on
and off road, and love it dearly. But I am not saying it is the best
thing out there, although its capabilities are quite impressive. And for
$8-$11,000, hard to touch in terms of finding something else with that
sort of feature list.
Steve
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