First long road trip - A second Opinion

[backpain]

Had some meetings in NJ Friday and after doing almost 600 miles in one day in the LR3 my opinion of the truck has changed some.

Gas milegage - My avg speed was 69mph round trip. I had the best traffic possible between DC and exit 10 on the NJ TPk I've ever seen. The trip up was less than 3 hours which is great. I averaged 16.4mpg though which I was very suprise about. I usually see mileage on my cars higher than the EPA rating and for all highway, open road driving I really thought I'd be seeing at least 18mpg.

Cruise Control - I seem to average better mileage without cruise which I also found suprising. The cruise control does a lot of down shifting and lower gear hills that I find the truck doing when I'm "on my own." I hope this is a software issue and can be remedied.

Intermittent Wipers - I think they should be renamed, variable speed random wipers. Obviously a software or hdw issue, it was kind of funny though.

Comfort - I have to say I'm really disappointed here. The seats really get uncomfortable after awhile. The lumbar and back support is decent but my ass and legs were killing me. I'm 6'1" and haven't been impressed since the begining with the leg support but I was suprise by my comments to myself about my old Wrangler being more comfortable. I tip the scales at 190 and was wondering how heavier people felt in the seats which at times felt very flat and narrow. I also became really annoyed with how disconnected I felt to the truck; there is so much space between the driver and the controls. Maybe I'm being unfair, it is a truck, but I find driving our 04 Disco more connected and more of a cockpit feeling than a sitting on a a barstool with your beer 3 feet in front of you. I also prefer the ergonomics of my Audi (may it rest in peace). As an "Executive saloon" I would expect more of a 5/7 series meets the Disco sort of setup - something more intimate.

Ride Quality - The LR3 is smooth and there is plenty of room in the accelerator. 90mph is too easy to hit without realizing it and the ride is incredibly smooth. Passing is ridiculously effortless. Even at 90 the tach isn't passing 3000RPM and the cabin is still very quiet. The ride quality is certainly comparative to the "executive saloon" car comparison's I've seen made. The lag between accelerator movement and actual acceleration became a lot more disticnt as well. I wish it was because of a turbo charger, and I hope it can be fixed by the dealer/Rover.

I wish LR/Ford/Jag put more "Range meets the S-series" in the LR3. With my fairly load SE sticker price of 50k and change I am more disappointed after this long ride that I was. I really think that money should bring more standard features and a better laid out driver's fit. For all the bashing the Disco has received regarding ergonomics, I really find our Disco more comfortable from a comfort and connection perspective.

Brian

 

[Moose]

You got 16.4 mpg and are disappointed? Drive a 'Fender, or a mid-90's Disco with any lift....I get 10-12 and am surprised it's that high....

Also, re: seating position -- you're being too ******* it, it's a truck. If you want a car, buy a Lexus SUV, or an Acura MDX. Newfangled electronical thingamajiggy's and whose-it's aside, the LR3 is descended from the Disco, which is as trucklike as a bread truck.

 

[madtownrover]

Try manual shift mode next time you are cruising. Shift to 6th (I know, the manual says you can't, but it's wrong) and set the cruise control. There's plenty of torque in the LR3 and it will effortlessly cruise up the long hills without the annoying downshifts. Personally, the tranny is one of the things that sets this vehicle apart...lots of options. Far more valuable than the "all terrain" system, which while effective, it is nothing more than a little programming. Not unlike buying a chip for my Audi, except the chip was far less expensive.

 

[luvmylr3]

I live in the Philadelphia area. I use manual shift (command shift mode) around town and on the highway and have gotten better gas mileage. In "D" it seems to downshifts too easily.
I think the problem with the SE driver seat comes from it not having the ability to tilt the seat cushion. The HSE can do that and gives much better leg support. The SE was supposed to have a tilting seat cushion, but for some reason it was dropped at the last minute. All LR marketing materials, including their website (through at least Jan 5th 2005) stated that the SE driver seat had a tilting driver seat cushion. I wonder if in some future date they will start shipping the SE with the tilting driver seat cushion, as they should have done all along.

 

[KTMLC8]

I have a loaded SE. My seat bottom only tilts up or down from the rear. So basically you cannot raise the leading edge of the seat. Also on your wipers experience. There was a post here about if you got the lighting package you also got the rain sensing wipers without many of the dealers knowing that. So maybe your thought of the wipers acting strange was merely with rain sensing action ? If yours has the lighting package of course. I have it and the rain sensing wiper is there and it does work. Simply lift the wiper stalk one position and that is the sensing setting if you have the feature.

 

[racingdc9]

I have an SE with lighting package and the rain sensing wipers and I think LR3's RSW are better then the Mercedes RSW, the Mercedes RSW suck.

Yes, you can shift into 6th gear, but you have to be at a certain speed, if your speed is too low it won't let you, and it's not just 6th gear, seems like a very smart system.

This weekend will be our first long distance trip(250miles each way) Let's see how it goes.

 

[madtownrover]

Yes, you can shift into 6th gear, but you have to be at a certain speed, if your speed is too low it won't let you, and it's not just 6th gear, seems like a very smart system.

I haven't tested it yet, but I hope the system is just as smart on downshifts!

 

[racingdc9]

I haven't tested it yet, but I hope the system is just as smart on downshifts!

If I remember correctly, as you slow down,the system automatically goes down the gears automatically. 6-5-4-etc...

Also, if you're going at a certain speed (like 35mph) and you switch to the manual shifting, you won't see the gear you're in until you either slow down or you up shift.

My only question is: as you go through the gears, do you lift up on the gas as you up shift(like a true 5-6 speed?) or do you stay on the gas? I've done both, but not sure if the latter is good for the car or not

 

[Duramax_Dually2001]

We are in the process of purchasing the LR3 HSE model. I had a trans question since there seems to be discussion about it here in this thread. Does this trans have what I would call "Grade" braking? By this I mean as you are running down a fairly steep road at say 60, even 70, it will downshift a gear if you apply the brakes for any length of time without stepping on the accelerator? Our Denali will essentailly "Free Wheel" down a grade like it is coasting and you are on the brakes a lot. This one pass we frequent you can "Coast" nearly 80-85MPH if you let it. To slow down you have to manually pull the shifter lever down a gear. My Chevrolet Diesel truck has a TCM that can tell itself it has been coasting without any accelerator depression and then automatically downshifts to slow you without braking. This is an incredibly nice feature. I have 106K miles and have 60% of the original pads left.....

 

[obaltuch]

Going down a highway hill

Hello,

I just put about 500 miles on my new Tonga Green HSE over the past
two days in the SF Bay Area and there are quite a few hills to go down
on 280 which I used to test this out. Going down a hill in Automatic Mode,
I took my foot of the gas abruptly and the transmission immediately put
itself in 5th. On the next hill I put the transmission in Sport mode and shifted
to 6th, then I let off the gas and the car continued rolling down the hill
without the downshift letting it pick up speed and keeping the engine
in low RPM mode.

Enjoy,

Hillie O'

ps. The hill holder worked great on the steep San Francisco hills.
pps. Answering the first person's question...I'm 6'3' 205 with really long
legs and arms and this vehicle fits me much better than my 740iL.