H
Houm_WA
Guest
I've had my 2005 HSE for about a year now. In that time, I've used it to support my lifestyle which is fairly active, but hadn't really asked much of the SUV yet. This weekend I went camping in Central Washington, and let's just say that I love this truck more now than I ever have.
It's not just the fact that the LR3 climbed all over the hillsides where I camped, it was the ease in which it did it, and the confidence-inspiring finesse that it exhibited. Let me say that "Rock Crawl" is an appropriately named setting. I'd been in Rock Crawl before, but just screwing around in some undeveloped field. This time I was actually driving over a boulder-strewn trail and the LR3 literally felt as if it were slowly walking, picking its way down this rocky, hilly terrain. It averaged 1.7 MPH in so doing and I never felt nervous or like I wasn't completely in command. Later, I drove up a mountain road that got very narrow. The terrain was not that difficult but it was constant uphill and a scenario where you wouldn't really want to stop or otherwise lose momentum. I was feeling pretty isolated for a minute...all I could see is this narrow hilly road ahead and the sky....and to my right was a shear drop-off. ...but my security blanket here was, of all things, the navigation system. It showed this unnamed road in the NAV, and it showed that it forked into two roads up ahead. This made me feel good because I knew I'd have an easy time turning around in the crotch of this fork in the road. Coming down was a piece of cake, but if I would've had to attempt it in Reverse, I could've met my doom.
This truck is amazing. The funny thing is that in December I got stuck on my Dad's property...he has some land and it's mostly undeveloped field. It wasn't particularly bad terrain-wise, but there was this one nasty spot and I was being really careless...I was honestly just screwing around trying to trigger a suspension fault that I'd observed the day before. Anyhow, next thing I knew the Driver's side front wheel was up to it's hub in a muddy sink-hole and the entire vehicle is stuck and leaning over quite a bit. I still felt like I should've been able to get out, but it only got worse.
The first thing to blame is the non-chalant driving manner that got me dug in there in the first place. ...but beyond that, I don't know if it was the Goodyears or the (locking) rear diff that has since been replaced. It seems like in my weekend climbs recently, my rear diff is behaving differently than before (per the 4x4 info screen). So, I am not sure but that may've contributed to my not being able to get out of that little sink-hole before.
...maybe I'll go down to my Dad's and try it again.
So, let me sum it all up:
1. The LR3 lives up to its billing off-road.
2. Has anyone who got their (locking) rear diff replaced noticed a difference in performance?
Thanks.
It's not just the fact that the LR3 climbed all over the hillsides where I camped, it was the ease in which it did it, and the confidence-inspiring finesse that it exhibited. Let me say that "Rock Crawl" is an appropriately named setting. I'd been in Rock Crawl before, but just screwing around in some undeveloped field. This time I was actually driving over a boulder-strewn trail and the LR3 literally felt as if it were slowly walking, picking its way down this rocky, hilly terrain. It averaged 1.7 MPH in so doing and I never felt nervous or like I wasn't completely in command. Later, I drove up a mountain road that got very narrow. The terrain was not that difficult but it was constant uphill and a scenario where you wouldn't really want to stop or otherwise lose momentum. I was feeling pretty isolated for a minute...all I could see is this narrow hilly road ahead and the sky....and to my right was a shear drop-off. ...but my security blanket here was, of all things, the navigation system. It showed this unnamed road in the NAV, and it showed that it forked into two roads up ahead. This made me feel good because I knew I'd have an easy time turning around in the crotch of this fork in the road. Coming down was a piece of cake, but if I would've had to attempt it in Reverse, I could've met my doom.
This truck is amazing. The funny thing is that in December I got stuck on my Dad's property...he has some land and it's mostly undeveloped field. It wasn't particularly bad terrain-wise, but there was this one nasty spot and I was being really careless...I was honestly just screwing around trying to trigger a suspension fault that I'd observed the day before. Anyhow, next thing I knew the Driver's side front wheel was up to it's hub in a muddy sink-hole and the entire vehicle is stuck and leaning over quite a bit. I still felt like I should've been able to get out, but it only got worse.
The first thing to blame is the non-chalant driving manner that got me dug in there in the first place. ...but beyond that, I don't know if it was the Goodyears or the (locking) rear diff that has since been replaced. It seems like in my weekend climbs recently, my rear diff is behaving differently than before (per the 4x4 info screen). So, I am not sure but that may've contributed to my not being able to get out of that little sink-hole before.
...maybe I'll go down to my Dad's and try it again.
So, let me sum it all up:
1. The LR3 lives up to its billing off-road.
2. Has anyone who got their (locking) rear diff replaced noticed a difference in performance?
Thanks.
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