I said I would add my experiences to test driving the 2014 LR4. Plus, being that I have never driven an LR4 this will be my initial thoughts from even driving or being in the vehicle.
Vehicle Specifics:
2014 LR4
HSE Package
Climate Package
Sat. Radio
Protection Package (Rubber Mats)
Cargo Cover
Total Price: $58,618
Initial Impression:
To be completely honest I have walked past LR4's but never really ever paid them much mind until I started this search for a nicer off-road vehicle than my 2013 JKUR. Nicer in the on-road sense and mileage.
I got to the dealership and since it was raining they had pulled it into the garage so we were not standing in the rain while reviewing some of the vehicle. They showed me how the rear seats folded down and we discussed some of the changes between 2013 and 2014. The vehicle itself seems very large in person. When you open the rear hatch door and look inside it seems like there is an inordinate amount of space for luggage and gear. Climbing in and out of the vehicle is easy. The materials used in the interior are very nice and soft touch. Leather on most all Surfaces. Buttons and Knobs have a solid feel.
First Drive:
After getting handed the Key's I left the dealership which is on a 2 lane semi highway road that then leads to a 3 lane highway through my city to the interstate. This would lead me down the interstate and back to a 2 lane semi highway road to take me home. I reset the trip computer once on the 3 lane highway to see how it did on mileage. Just getting home resulted in a computer calculated 21 mpg. This is with speeds from 55 to 70 with a couple stop lights along the way. Mostly hilly terrain.
It is very different to be shifting the transmission into drive with a dial. Doesn't take long to get the hang of. Engine and transmission were fairly quite. After all of the discussion on the forums about the LR4 needing the V8 with more power and torque I was expecting it to be a dog. I was pleasantly surprised that it accelerated quite well! I would say that it has a very similar amount of power that my JKUR had with 35" tires and 3.5" of lift. I could easily get on the highway and passing people was not a struggle. There is one nice hill on the interstate on the way home that can easily slow you down, I gave it a little more gas just to make it kick down a gear and it easily not only kept speed but started gaining speed on the steep grade. I will say that I never pushed the engine past 3,500RPM's because the vehicle had 9 miles on the clock.
I will say that I expected the steering to be more solid. It was very easy to turn the wheel but it also seemed flimsy. There was lots of road communication coming through. I would also say that the vehicle is somewhat easily noisy and disrupted when on what I would call cracked pavement. This could also be due to the tires. Otherwise the vehicle felt fairly planted for such a tall vehicle in turns. Some sway but overall the ride was very nice.
Interior Dimensions:
One of the main reasons I am considering the LR4 is because it is one of the few vehicles left out there that has a high roofline and is capable of carrying bikes on the inside of the vehicle. This is a must for me as I am a mountain biker and don't like leaving my expensive bikes on the outside of the vehicle for people to be tempted to steal or the elements to cause issues. This was something my JKUR could easily do and worked great!
When I got home I folded and leveled down the 2nd row seats. I had read that you could easily sleep in the LR4 and I fit no problem (5'11"). I then got my mountain bike and sure enough, the bike fits. It would fit nicer if there wasn't the cross bar between the sunroofs but I will be able to pull it off.
I also sat in the 2nd row seats and with my seat set in the driver seat there was plenty of room for me to sit in the seat behind the driver. Knee's didn't even touch the driver's seat.
I find the new layout to be nice with the shift dial. It leaves plenty of room to get to drinks. I will say that there is no nice place to put a cell phone if you were to have drinks in both holders. My other frustration with the 2014 model is that they got rid of 2 USB ports. There is now only 1 USB port and it has been moved to the glovebox. This makes it difficult to have your phone charging and within reach if you are trying to use (not saying this is safe or endorsing it). I really like having 2 USB ports because on long trips both of us can have our phones plugged in and charging.
Second Drive:
After checking out the interior dimensions of the vehicle I decided my route back to the dealership would consist of my daily drive to work (interstate to 4 to 2 lane roads where the speed limit goes from 55 to 60 to 45 to 35) then I would take the semi-highway from before (55 mph) to downtown streets (stop lights, 25 mph or less to a 35 mph road) and then would hop back on the previous road stated where the dealership resides. This last stint didn't happen due to the road being closed. This worked out as I was stuck in stop and go traffic that lead to a 2 lane rural road with 40 mph limit that lead back around to the dealership.
This trip really showed the ECO Stop mode, the first vehicle I have driven with this technology. Sitting downtown and in bumper to bumper traffic it was at first odd to have the vehicle go silent. But it does it very seamlessly. I actually didn't mind it. I thought I would absolutely hate it but I really didn't mind it at all.
By the time I was halfway to my office I must admit I was pretty hooked on the vehicle. I felt at home driving it. At first it was really odd sitting so high up but after I got the seat set and the wheel in the right position it really feels great driving this vehicle. Plus even with the stock sound system it is really just a great place to be.
After this drive back to the dealership I had completed 60 miles of driving and the onboard computer was telling me that I had averaged 19.5 MPG. I was pretty pleased with this as I would say in total there was about 70/30 highway/city driving.
Conclusion:
Hopefully we will be ordering a 2014 model. I need to take my better half back so she can experience the vehicle as she was out of town. I think the overall capability of this vehicle and its size with hopefully reasonable mileage make it the vehicle for us. I might still drive a 2013 model the dealership has (was delivered with a broken transmission, they are working on fixing it) but I am not sure it really matters to me. I could imagine how a couple more horses could make the driving experience a little nicer but if I can regularly commute and get 19 MPG out of the vehicle I will gladly give up some power.
If anyone has any questions on the 2014 feel free to let me know. I snapped some pictures that I can post as well. I also posted in my other thread asking if the oil changing process has changed. Ill say it here as well that the process has not changed at all. There was a tube in the oil fill hole so I am assuming it is the same as on the NAV8.
Vehicle Specifics:
2014 LR4
HSE Package
Climate Package
Sat. Radio
Protection Package (Rubber Mats)
Cargo Cover
Total Price: $58,618
Initial Impression:
To be completely honest I have walked past LR4's but never really ever paid them much mind until I started this search for a nicer off-road vehicle than my 2013 JKUR. Nicer in the on-road sense and mileage.
I got to the dealership and since it was raining they had pulled it into the garage so we were not standing in the rain while reviewing some of the vehicle. They showed me how the rear seats folded down and we discussed some of the changes between 2013 and 2014. The vehicle itself seems very large in person. When you open the rear hatch door and look inside it seems like there is an inordinate amount of space for luggage and gear. Climbing in and out of the vehicle is easy. The materials used in the interior are very nice and soft touch. Leather on most all Surfaces. Buttons and Knobs have a solid feel.
First Drive:
After getting handed the Key's I left the dealership which is on a 2 lane semi highway road that then leads to a 3 lane highway through my city to the interstate. This would lead me down the interstate and back to a 2 lane semi highway road to take me home. I reset the trip computer once on the 3 lane highway to see how it did on mileage. Just getting home resulted in a computer calculated 21 mpg. This is with speeds from 55 to 70 with a couple stop lights along the way. Mostly hilly terrain.
It is very different to be shifting the transmission into drive with a dial. Doesn't take long to get the hang of. Engine and transmission were fairly quite. After all of the discussion on the forums about the LR4 needing the V8 with more power and torque I was expecting it to be a dog. I was pleasantly surprised that it accelerated quite well! I would say that it has a very similar amount of power that my JKUR had with 35" tires and 3.5" of lift. I could easily get on the highway and passing people was not a struggle. There is one nice hill on the interstate on the way home that can easily slow you down, I gave it a little more gas just to make it kick down a gear and it easily not only kept speed but started gaining speed on the steep grade. I will say that I never pushed the engine past 3,500RPM's because the vehicle had 9 miles on the clock.
I will say that I expected the steering to be more solid. It was very easy to turn the wheel but it also seemed flimsy. There was lots of road communication coming through. I would also say that the vehicle is somewhat easily noisy and disrupted when on what I would call cracked pavement. This could also be due to the tires. Otherwise the vehicle felt fairly planted for such a tall vehicle in turns. Some sway but overall the ride was very nice.
Interior Dimensions:
One of the main reasons I am considering the LR4 is because it is one of the few vehicles left out there that has a high roofline and is capable of carrying bikes on the inside of the vehicle. This is a must for me as I am a mountain biker and don't like leaving my expensive bikes on the outside of the vehicle for people to be tempted to steal or the elements to cause issues. This was something my JKUR could easily do and worked great!
When I got home I folded and leveled down the 2nd row seats. I had read that you could easily sleep in the LR4 and I fit no problem (5'11"). I then got my mountain bike and sure enough, the bike fits. It would fit nicer if there wasn't the cross bar between the sunroofs but I will be able to pull it off.
I also sat in the 2nd row seats and with my seat set in the driver seat there was plenty of room for me to sit in the seat behind the driver. Knee's didn't even touch the driver's seat.
I find the new layout to be nice with the shift dial. It leaves plenty of room to get to drinks. I will say that there is no nice place to put a cell phone if you were to have drinks in both holders. My other frustration with the 2014 model is that they got rid of 2 USB ports. There is now only 1 USB port and it has been moved to the glovebox. This makes it difficult to have your phone charging and within reach if you are trying to use (not saying this is safe or endorsing it). I really like having 2 USB ports because on long trips both of us can have our phones plugged in and charging.
Second Drive:
After checking out the interior dimensions of the vehicle I decided my route back to the dealership would consist of my daily drive to work (interstate to 4 to 2 lane roads where the speed limit goes from 55 to 60 to 45 to 35) then I would take the semi-highway from before (55 mph) to downtown streets (stop lights, 25 mph or less to a 35 mph road) and then would hop back on the previous road stated where the dealership resides. This last stint didn't happen due to the road being closed. This worked out as I was stuck in stop and go traffic that lead to a 2 lane rural road with 40 mph limit that lead back around to the dealership.
This trip really showed the ECO Stop mode, the first vehicle I have driven with this technology. Sitting downtown and in bumper to bumper traffic it was at first odd to have the vehicle go silent. But it does it very seamlessly. I actually didn't mind it. I thought I would absolutely hate it but I really didn't mind it at all.
By the time I was halfway to my office I must admit I was pretty hooked on the vehicle. I felt at home driving it. At first it was really odd sitting so high up but after I got the seat set and the wheel in the right position it really feels great driving this vehicle. Plus even with the stock sound system it is really just a great place to be.
After this drive back to the dealership I had completed 60 miles of driving and the onboard computer was telling me that I had averaged 19.5 MPG. I was pretty pleased with this as I would say in total there was about 70/30 highway/city driving.
Conclusion:
Hopefully we will be ordering a 2014 model. I need to take my better half back so she can experience the vehicle as she was out of town. I think the overall capability of this vehicle and its size with hopefully reasonable mileage make it the vehicle for us. I might still drive a 2013 model the dealership has (was delivered with a broken transmission, they are working on fixing it) but I am not sure it really matters to me. I could imagine how a couple more horses could make the driving experience a little nicer but if I can regularly commute and get 19 MPG out of the vehicle I will gladly give up some power.
If anyone has any questions on the 2014 feel free to let me know. I snapped some pictures that I can post as well. I also posted in my other thread asking if the oil changing process has changed. Ill say it here as well that the process has not changed at all. There was a tube in the oil fill hole so I am assuming it is the same as on the NAV8.