Has the Land Rover lost its off road dominance?

[NewRover]

I have been researching Best off-road SUVs and sometimes there is not one single Land Rover in the top ten yet every review praises its off-road capability. Anyone have a clue why the magazines and websites don't give it much respect?

 

[richpike]

Where are you researching? In five minutes, I typed "best off road SUV" in to google and here is a quick list:

AOL's Top 10 Off Road SUVS
http://autos.aol.com/gallery/top-10-off-road-suvs
Both the LR3 and RR made the top 10.

4x4 Review
http://www.4x4review.com/home.asp
Look half way down the page - they have a review of the LR3 and the pros include "supremely capable off road"
http://www.4x4review.com/vehicles/landrover/2007_lr3.asp

Forbes' Best Off Road SUVs
http://www.forbesautos.com/advice/toptens/off-road/suvs.html
3 of the top 10 are LRs - more than any manufacturer

There are a few SUVs out there that are better than the LR3 at off roading (Wrangler Rubicon comes to mind, H1), but there are none that match them for their all around capabilities:

Off road capability
Luxury
Ride
Utility
Safety

Of course there are few that match them in terms of price either, but you sometimes have to pay to play

-Rich

Edit: Woohoo! 400th post

 

[Houm_WA]

I have to question some of these sources though, when they list the H2 as being able to climb a "60-degree slope" when it's actually reported (in all Hummer literature) as a 60% grade! ...which, if you do the math, is not even close to the same actual incline.

Also, the H2 is not geared low enough, in my opinion, to handle trail duty and its tie rods are too weak for the weight of the vehicle. In addition, mixing IFS and solid rear axle is a crummy design to begin with. You wind up straddling a rock in the front and then trying to joggle the truck over to put a back tire on the rock in the rear so as to avoid smashing your pumpkin (rear diff) on said rock.

I think the H3 (even though it still has the crummy hybrid suspension) is way better than the H2. Better gear ratio to start with, and much more reasonable size for manuevering on the trail.

Anyway, my rant is over. If you want to see how well the LR3 performs off-road, just take it out and find out. I think people on this board probably know better than these journalists.