India, Oct. 27 -- As longtime readers of the magazine will know, I've been an unabashed G-Wagon fan for decades. The G is one of those perplexing machines that don't really make any sense, but at the same time, they are the best choices you can make. Why, after all, would anyone need a twin-turbo V8 engine in a car that was designed to go off-road and has three differential locks to make sure that it can tackle any terrain? Or why would anyone need side-exit exhausts that make an absolutely beautiful racket when you rev the car?

And yet, that's exactly what makes the G so special. The mechanical feel, the sheer solidity of its construction - well, it's all intoxicating, really. Take the doors, for instance. As our instructor at the G Exp...