gfcronus,
Did you test drive the Lexus GX 460? If you haven't, you may want to give it a try. Based in your previous posts, it may be a good fit for you. Good luck.
Considering an LR4
- Thread starter gfcronus
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gfcronus,
Did you test drive the Lexus GX 460? If you haven't, you may want to give it a try. Based in your previous posts, it may be a good fit for you. Good luck.
For me, the mysterious force guided me to the LR the minute I test drove it! I think if you test drive it, and you don't love it, its not the vehicle for you. You are paying this much, you should LOVE the vehicle, otherwise you will find reasons to suffer buyers remorse (like weeping into your gas receipts....)
Land Rover Joe
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Gfcronus,
Greetings and Salutations from Africa.
I will admit: I normally despise these postings about “should I buy an LR4.” If you like the truck, then buy it.
However, since I owned a XC-70 and now an LR4…I feel obliged to respond to this thread.
First: The LR4 is an awesome off-road vehicle with first class style and a fairly “tough” image. It is also so technically sophisticated it would make R2-D2 do back-flips and burns fuel like an F-14. You are correct: the vast majority of people do NOT take their truck off-road…I have participated in few threads involving this (to me) disappointing topic.
Second: The XC-70 (I had the last production run of 5 cylinder 2007 XC-70’s ever built so I am partial to the smaller 5 banger, turbocharged, fully-loaded US spec vehicle I drove) is a superb driving machine, in all weather, in almost all road conditions to include some challenging off-road conditions. My wife and I loved the car, but because I came to Africa I needed a machine that I could drive anywhere (US-Europe-Africa), could do anything on or off-road, and maintain/service. This is the LR4…not the XC-70. So, we sold our fairly new XC-70 and outfitted our LR4 for some real adventure travel. No regrets and the LR4 is a lot of fun (especially in Africa), but we do miss our XC-70 road hog.
I could blabber for days; that is not the point. You will make the decision and you should do it based on what you like and need. Like the other folks said…if you love the machine, then you will always see an LR4 parked on a trail or in a Park or even zipping down the freeway and wish you had one. On the other hand…if you just buy it because of the image and brand, then you will hate yourself every time you need to change the oil (that isn’t cheap kids!) or fill up at the station. My wife and I loved the XC-70 for everything it is, but we also really love our LR4. I have no plans of selling my truck (ever).
Final Note. Forget the XC-90. If you want an all-terrain monster, just go with the LR4. The V-70 is fine and the true station wagon, but we felt the all-terrain aspect of the XC was definitely worth it. And just how “off-road” capable is the XC-70? We got out of snow drifts on a farm in Europe routinely when almost no other SUV (Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Porsche) would make it. I drove down muddy trails, on sand and rocky beaches, without her even slowing down. I am in contact with the new owner of my old Volvo, and he (and his wife…!) love the car and use it for vacations all the time; it now has 50,000+ miles and the only repair needed was a new front wheel bearing. It is super comfortable on long trips and has more interior volume than most SUV’s. Of course, there is enough room in the LR4 to fully load it with everything for a long road trip and the kitchen sink yet still have space available for my wife to sleep lying down in the back seat!
So: I am not telling you to buy the Volvo. My experience with the car was great and I wanted you to know that. But I am now a happy Land Rover owner and doing the things that the cult of Landy owners do like outfit the trucks for camping trips, argue about roof racks and post messages about off-road tires or other vehicle modifications…. While the folks in Gottenberg (where Volvo’s are made in Sweden) are merely eating Swedish meatballs and having smorgasbord while engineering the next generation of super-safe, comfortable, family vehicles. For the die-hard Land Rover owners, the vehicle is a part of their way of life (and hence why some of the true, old-school, off-roaders out there are very disappointed with the newfangled Land Rover gee-**** gadgetry.) At least you and your wife are not considering a minivan!!!! Good heavens!
Good luck, drive both vehicles (maybe two or three times!) and sleep on it, talk with the wife (she ain’t happy ain’t no one happy) and go with your heart and pocket book.
Land Rover Joe
P.S. I always test drive off-road vehicles...off road. If the dealer doesn't let you, then he-she-it needs to stop selling off-road vehicles.
Greetings and Salutations from Africa.
I will admit: I normally despise these postings about “should I buy an LR4.” If you like the truck, then buy it.
However, since I owned a XC-70 and now an LR4…I feel obliged to respond to this thread.
First: The LR4 is an awesome off-road vehicle with first class style and a fairly “tough” image. It is also so technically sophisticated it would make R2-D2 do back-flips and burns fuel like an F-14. You are correct: the vast majority of people do NOT take their truck off-road…I have participated in few threads involving this (to me) disappointing topic.
Second: The XC-70 (I had the last production run of 5 cylinder 2007 XC-70’s ever built so I am partial to the smaller 5 banger, turbocharged, fully-loaded US spec vehicle I drove) is a superb driving machine, in all weather, in almost all road conditions to include some challenging off-road conditions. My wife and I loved the car, but because I came to Africa I needed a machine that I could drive anywhere (US-Europe-Africa), could do anything on or off-road, and maintain/service. This is the LR4…not the XC-70. So, we sold our fairly new XC-70 and outfitted our LR4 for some real adventure travel. No regrets and the LR4 is a lot of fun (especially in Africa), but we do miss our XC-70 road hog.
I could blabber for days; that is not the point. You will make the decision and you should do it based on what you like and need. Like the other folks said…if you love the machine, then you will always see an LR4 parked on a trail or in a Park or even zipping down the freeway and wish you had one. On the other hand…if you just buy it because of the image and brand, then you will hate yourself every time you need to change the oil (that isn’t cheap kids!) or fill up at the station. My wife and I loved the XC-70 for everything it is, but we also really love our LR4. I have no plans of selling my truck (ever).
Final Note. Forget the XC-90. If you want an all-terrain monster, just go with the LR4. The V-70 is fine and the true station wagon, but we felt the all-terrain aspect of the XC was definitely worth it. And just how “off-road” capable is the XC-70? We got out of snow drifts on a farm in Europe routinely when almost no other SUV (Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Porsche) would make it. I drove down muddy trails, on sand and rocky beaches, without her even slowing down. I am in contact with the new owner of my old Volvo, and he (and his wife…!) love the car and use it for vacations all the time; it now has 50,000+ miles and the only repair needed was a new front wheel bearing. It is super comfortable on long trips and has more interior volume than most SUV’s. Of course, there is enough room in the LR4 to fully load it with everything for a long road trip and the kitchen sink yet still have space available for my wife to sleep lying down in the back seat!
So: I am not telling you to buy the Volvo. My experience with the car was great and I wanted you to know that. But I am now a happy Land Rover owner and doing the things that the cult of Landy owners do like outfit the trucks for camping trips, argue about roof racks and post messages about off-road tires or other vehicle modifications…. While the folks in Gottenberg (where Volvo’s are made in Sweden) are merely eating Swedish meatballs and having smorgasbord while engineering the next generation of super-safe, comfortable, family vehicles. For the die-hard Land Rover owners, the vehicle is a part of their way of life (and hence why some of the true, old-school, off-roaders out there are very disappointed with the newfangled Land Rover gee-**** gadgetry.) At least you and your wife are not considering a minivan!!!! Good heavens!
Good luck, drive both vehicles (maybe two or three times!) and sleep on it, talk with the wife (she ain’t happy ain’t no one happy) and go with your heart and pocket book.
Land Rover Joe
P.S. I always test drive off-road vehicles...off road. If the dealer doesn't let you, then he-she-it needs to stop selling off-road vehicles.
Count Laszlo
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Land-Rover-Joe, please post some pics of your beast.
Land Rover Joe
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Count,
I assume you mean the LR4 and not the XC-70.
I posted a few pictures and gave only a couple descriptions at the Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59137225@N07/page1/
I try to keep the truck fairly clean and don't have any great "action shots" yet, so these are mostly pretty boy pix.
Land Rover Joe
I assume you mean the LR4 and not the XC-70.
I posted a few pictures and gave only a couple descriptions at the Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59137225@N07/page1/
I try to keep the truck fairly clean and don't have any great "action shots" yet, so these are mostly pretty boy pix.
Land Rover Joe
Finlayforprez
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Land Rover Joe,
I love your pics - looks amazing! It must be incredible to live and work in Africa.
-David.
I so would like to have a set of those tires you have.....unfortunately i have read not available in us any longer.....they look great on your lr4.......have you thought about driving lights
Land Rover Joe, thanks for your very informative post. And nice looking LR4 as well. Nara Bronze is in my top 3 colors, along with Fuji White and Baltic Blue. Already settled on the Almond/Arabica interior (that is, if I pull the trigger on an LR4).
Thanks again to others who have responded as well.
Thanks again to others who have responded as well.
Land Rover Joe
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Gfcronus,
It was a pleasure and I am glad to see others contributions.
I really like the Nara Bronze with Almond/Arabica interior (so does everyone who sees it). There is probably a reason why the fashion designers used that scheme to highlight the LR4 in their advertising publications. I think White is the all time worst color for vehicles, followed by black (imagine trying to keep them clean…especially off-road.) But they are striking when seen (on a spiffy-clean truck), especially in towns. Good Luck.
David,
Thanks for the positive feedback and I will post a couple more interior photo’s to help with another post (plastic mud mats for the interior).
It is pretty amazing to live and work in Africa…but as you could see in the picture with the wrecked “protection bar”…also very trying at times. But I wouldn’t trade the experience, or the truck!
Suvowner,
I bought the wrangler 19” tires just over a year ago from tirerack.com . I am surprised they are no longer commercially available…they are the best tires I could find and worth the $450 price tag. Even that, however, didn’t make a difference when I wrecked one (sidewall tear… therefore driver fault--who was me!) and had to change it out. But they have been really good in all terrain thus far and very tough. And true: they are the best looking tires I have seen. The LR3’s which did the G4 challenge were kitted with the same tires, I believe. I was going to mention my tires on all the various tire threads out there…but I am not up to date. Plus….I would really have loved to have the 18” rims which folks have been talking about. A better off-road tire and the rims look great. Alas, I am already out of town and have bought all my off-road tires--so not anytime soon.
I have thought about lights, but I cannot make a decision on which ones. Plus…I am thinking about a series of modifications to include adding a second battery (there is a thread open on this) as well as heavy bumpers with winch (Brush Guard-also a thread open on this) to which I would like to incorporate the lights into the overall design. So—indecision is ruling the day which this addition. That said…the additional lights make a huge difference off-roading (safety and ease of driving), especially in places like Africa; when it gets dark…it is black! So for those hunters and campers out there-think about that as a needed accessory. I know because I also drive Land Cruisers out here, many which have heavy bumpers and a lot of extra lights.
Best wishes to all,
Land Rover Joe
It was a pleasure and I am glad to see others contributions.
I really like the Nara Bronze with Almond/Arabica interior (so does everyone who sees it). There is probably a reason why the fashion designers used that scheme to highlight the LR4 in their advertising publications. I think White is the all time worst color for vehicles, followed by black (imagine trying to keep them clean…especially off-road.) But they are striking when seen (on a spiffy-clean truck), especially in towns. Good Luck.
David,
Thanks for the positive feedback and I will post a couple more interior photo’s to help with another post (plastic mud mats for the interior).
It is pretty amazing to live and work in Africa…but as you could see in the picture with the wrecked “protection bar”…also very trying at times. But I wouldn’t trade the experience, or the truck!
Suvowner,
I bought the wrangler 19” tires just over a year ago from tirerack.com . I am surprised they are no longer commercially available…they are the best tires I could find and worth the $450 price tag. Even that, however, didn’t make a difference when I wrecked one (sidewall tear… therefore driver fault--who was me!) and had to change it out. But they have been really good in all terrain thus far and very tough. And true: they are the best looking tires I have seen. The LR3’s which did the G4 challenge were kitted with the same tires, I believe. I was going to mention my tires on all the various tire threads out there…but I am not up to date. Plus….I would really have loved to have the 18” rims which folks have been talking about. A better off-road tire and the rims look great. Alas, I am already out of town and have bought all my off-road tires--so not anytime soon.
I have thought about lights, but I cannot make a decision on which ones. Plus…I am thinking about a series of modifications to include adding a second battery (there is a thread open on this) as well as heavy bumpers with winch (Brush Guard-also a thread open on this) to which I would like to incorporate the lights into the overall design. So—indecision is ruling the day which this addition. That said…the additional lights make a huge difference off-roading (safety and ease of driving), especially in places like Africa; when it gets dark…it is black! So for those hunters and campers out there-think about that as a needed accessory. I know because I also drive Land Cruisers out here, many which have heavy bumpers and a lot of extra lights.
Best wishes to all,
Land Rover Joe
Naw, there's nothing about the Lexus brand that moves me in any way whatsoever. I want a car with some passion. I already have a Honda Pilot. I don't need another Japanese car that makes me yawn.
