Home on the Urban Range
By Greg Rubenstein
For fifty years, Land Rover has created vehicles that park on the pinnacle of off-road prowess. Originally intended to provide transportation capable of traversing the farthest reaches of rural British terrain, all today’s LR models perfectly carry on that tradition.
The British Empire isn’t what it once was, of course, and dashing sportsmen churning their sparse, utilitarian yet exceptionally capable Land Rovers through the brush of Northern Rhodesia have given way to sophisticated buyers navigating their luxurious Range Rover or LR3 in shopping mall parking lots across the North Valley.
As an urban vehicle, a Land Rover is a paradoxical choice. After spending weeks upon weeks testing the sublime 2008 Land Rover Range Rover in Lucerne Green along with the sportier Land Rover LR3 HSE in Zermatt Silver, there’s no doubt that these pricey SUVs offer all the power, convenience, exclusivity, and comfort that a luxury vehicle should have. The conflict is this: Why does one need a vehicle with the abilities of a Land Rover, if one isn’t going to flex those prodigious off-road muscles?
Since most Land Rovers will never see a dirt road except perhaps at WestWorld, does it really make sense to lay out $82,950 for a nicely equipped Range Rover, or $56,100 for a well-appointed LR3? Value is in the eye of the buyer and, more than the amount of the entry price, if you can take getting just 12 mpg about town or 18 mpg on the highway (Range Rover; the LR3 is rated at 14/19 mpg city/highway), then my answer is an unequivocal yes.
Both Land Rovers tested were equipped with 4.4-liter aluminum alloy V-8 engines producing 300 horsepower in the LR3 and 305 hp in the Range Rover. Permanent four-wheel drive with four-wheel electronic traction control is also standard, mated to a six-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission with a two-speed electronic transfer box that has a variable locking center differential (also electronic). That’s a lot of high-end hardware, and it’s the core of what makes a Land Rover so handy off-road.
On the road, all those whiz-bang electronic do-dads make these portly (5,698 pounds for the Range Rover, 5,796 for the LR3) SUVs handle like sport sedans. Also helping in the handling department are meaty tires wrapped around 19-inch alloy wheels, and an electronic air suspension with automatic load leveling with low-, medium-, and high-rise height modes.
With plenty of on- or off-road performance outside, inside is where a Land Rover really shines. Surrounded by wood and leather in the Range Rover, it’s easy to lose oneself in the serene isolation from the outside world. The wood is polished to a rich luster, while the leather is butter-soft and comfortable as a well-worn glove. In the LR3, the cabin’s a bit sportier, dressed in soft leather with chrome trim throughout. In either SUV there is power everything, heated seats, DVD navigation system and, in the Range Rover, a heated steering wheel (you’ll love it on a cold Arizona morning!).
Off-road enthusiast or not, a Land Rover offers a fine way to escape from life’s bustle, even if your destination is simply Land’s End, and not the end of land.