New LR4

[bromhead]

Happy Father's Day to me.

Here are some quick shots of what I brought home on Sat morning. Thank you Chrysler Lemon Law department! I will take some better pictures later. Does everyone have the orange/yellow wiper blades? I initially thought this was left over from shipment, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The other car in the px is my war pig: a 150k mile 1997 D1.

I bought a 2012 LR4 with HSE, CCP, Sat/HD Radio and the infamous HDP. For now, I plan on putting the short black rails on and perhaps Thule Aeroblades. I might put the black side moldings on to break up the color. Undecided on what to do about the tires....the Conti's are at best Ok, but superior to the stock tires on the JGC that I just surrendered to Chrysler. I like what I hear about the Coopers, but I am a BFG AT guy, although 2k for the 18in wheels is a bit steep (shipping, 5 tires, etc). We will see. I wish I still lived up in the Bay Area, I would bum a ride off David and see how the Coops perform.

 

[bromhead]

First impressions:
The good: Smooth, elegant, stately. On road, drives like a nice euro sedan. Haven't taken it off road yet. Abundant power, lots of space, great second row AC, head room. Suspension is awesome, transmission is very smooth, an amazing car. Wish i bought it originally instead of the 6 month detour on the Jeep (Grand Cherokee was lemon lawed a few weeks ago).

The Bad: Is my gas tank leaking? 10 disc memory on stereo is a wasted feature...who buys discs anymore, OS on nav not that intuitive, hitch adapter is an embarrassment, 12k more than my previous car with similar specs, no vented seats. Sunroof to small, but I understand and agree with why it had to be this way.

Overall, after a full 30 hrs or so, I would be surprised if the smile has left my face at any time that I have driven her. Just a pleasure to drive. An amazing vehicle. I will post a more detailed pepsi challenge between the Lr4 and the Jeep after I have had a few more miles under the car. Any suggestions as to accessories, help on tire selections, etc would be most appreciated. Any tricks of the trade would also be welcome.

 

[Finlayforprez]

Congratulations, bromhead! That's a nice Father's Day gift. So glad you finally got your LR4 (and the one you want!). It looks awesome - also LOVE the D1!

The orange/yellow wipers are quite interesting, as I do not have them and have not yet seen an LR4 with them??? Does anyone else have them? I've seen a few 2012's up close and none had these wipers. Interesting!

You will get used to the gas tank leak, it's in all the LR4s - hahaha! ;-) I think the Range Rovers have ventilated seats, but it's currently not an option in the LR4. I do have to agree with you about the hitch adapter, it's pretty darn cheesy. As for the sunroof, I have only opened it only once - hehe.

I won't even get into accessories, as I could give you a list 2 pages long!!! I would say a cheap upgrade (since you don't have HID lights I don't think) is to get the HID kit for the headlights. There are differing opinions on this, but I love the lights. Check out the thread on here for more information. The tires are an ongoing discussion and one in which you have very limited options when keeping the 19" wheels. Your only on/off-road capable tire options are the Pirelli Scorption ATRs and the Cooper Zeon LTZs that I have on my LR4. Going to the 18" wheels is your best option for tires. If I decide to keep the truck long term (say after next year), then I am definitely getting the 18" wheels and a few other accessories. Right now I have enough! ;-)

One thing a lot of us do is remove that cigarette lighter cap and replace it with an LED rechargable flashlight... they fit perfect there and look great. I also have a USB plug-in in the other plug-in.

Drop me a Private Message if you want to know more about the lights or any accessories i have. I can't wait to see more pictures!

-David

 

[jptruck]

I figured I'd just add my first impressions to this post since it's basically the same topic. "Upgraded" from a 2005 LR3 HSE to the 2012 LR4 HSE. I say "upgrade" because it's basically a different vehicle from the one I've been driving the past 7 years. I have just a regular 7 seat HSE (Indus with Tan Interior) with Cold, Sat Radio and short crossbars on top (I haul canoes, boards, etc. up there quite easily).

Noticeable changes
1) Engine: Much quieter than the old model and a bit more powerful. I don't stomp on the gas much, but I can tell a big difference. Transmission is much smoother, as well. There's no "clunks" from gear to gear. Overall ride is a major improvement. It could be that my old suspension was showing it's age, but the new one rides and corners much better.
2) Interior: What's to say. There's no comparison to the old model. I've gone from utilitarian to fairly luxurious. I'm a huge fan of the new electronics. The sat could be a little easier to figure out, but I think that's been solved. The bluetooth music play is great. I do think the stereo speaker quality was a bit better in the old model, though. Still no bass on this thing. Interior much quieter, overall, though.
3) Exterior: same as before. Contis are fine tires. May change them after they have some age. I do prefer the old front lights on my 05 rover.

Overall, I'm already ahead of the game on this new rover. Within a day of getting my 05 home I had a major a-pillar leak and some flat spot tires that had to be replaced. Pouring outside this morning and my feet are dry (good sign;-).

 

[toddjb122]

I figured I'd just add my first impressions to this post since it's basically the same topic. "Upgraded" from a 2005 LR3 HSE to the 2012 LR4 HSE. I say "upgrade" because it's basically a different vehicle from the one I've been driving the past 7 years. I have just a regular 7 seat HSE (Indus with Tan Interior) with Cold, Sat Radio and short crossbars on top (I haul canoes, boards, etc. up there quite easily).

....

Thanks, JP! As an '05 owner who is also trying to decide if I stick it out or get a new one, this post wsa interesting.

Can you tell me if they fixed the low volume on the AUX Input adapter issue that made it a chore to plug MP3 players in and listen to music at volume? I think you have an apple connector in the center console on the new truck,so again, curious if volume is limited or you get full volume. thanks!

 

[bromhead]

Hey Dave, as always (and to the rest of the forum), thanks! You guys are great. One of things I thought I might miss was the old jeep forum: jeep garage...they were amazing. As disco web doesnt seem to be as popular as it was several years ago, I was curious if I would see a gap...that doesn't seem to be the case!!!

I just read the lights posts (all 19 pages!). Wow. So, I will definitely be doing this. Only drove the car for about 30 minutes in the dark last night, and I do miss the HIDs from my last car. I see there was some debating back on forth on the yellow piaa...and I have a 2012, not a 2011, unsure if this changes anything ( I have halogen front lighting with LED signature lighting). What is the latest and greatest that I should order? I would like to swap out everything I guess. Did people swap out the rear fogs as well? or just hi and low mains and the front fogs? Big fan of amazon for this sort of thing.

Do you have a link for the led cig light you recommended? there seems to be plenty of options. Unsure if there is a difference on which ones you get.

For wheels, I wonder what the threshold is for being able to justify going to the 18 inch wheel option. How much do you really gain by that slight increase in sidewall...and how do the coops perform vs what I would use if I had 18's...probably bfg at or perhaps GY Silent Armors. For now, I doubt i would put anything more aggressive or increase the size beyond what the undercarriage spare could handle (I know the Coops are limited to the OEM size, I assume if I got 18's, I might be able to slightly increase the size a bit in BFG, etc). Like most, this will be my daily driver, with at best moderate off roading a few times a year, and plenty of trips to the mountains during ski time. Based on my uses, unsure which door to take...live with the contis for a while and then when its time to upgrade, seriously think of the 18's, or get the coops now when I still can get a 75 per tire trade in...decisions decisions decisions....

Ok, I am curious...what other options/accessories? I see you have the front guard, rack, ladder and light guards...what else did you get? Anyone else?

Are there any simple critical parts you keep in your truck? the D1's have a shift lock out switch that can fail (or something like that). If it does, you are screwed. Your car is stuck in park. This would seriously suck out in the desert. Its a cheap and small part that a lot of us keep in our glove compartment. Is there anything simple or critical like that for the LR4? What other things do you keep? Space seems to be a bit of a premium, you don't have those nice oversize bins in the back that the D1/2's have, and the 3rd row seating eats up an space you could have for a rear bin on the floor. I guess i should crawl around the truck to figure out some basic tools i would need (metric/english, sizes etc). Obviously, i am talking about stuff you would always carry. I would certainly supplement this if going camping or a dedicated off road trip.

Finally (ok, that is a crock, i am sure i will have many many more questions...eventually i will throw in a few stupid ones so people can make fun of me...have to keep things interesting), my gosh is she low. how often do people pancake the rear exhausts? I am hoping to just get buy with basic protection up front....something a bit cheaper than the lr oem version though, and i would like to keep the weight down. Unsure if I really need to trick it out anymore down below...

Ok, off to take the kids to school/camp...something that I am actually looking forward to...I get to drive my new truck!! Maybe i can take a quick detour to Baja on my way....

Thanks everyone. When are we organizing a Socal Desert outing?!?

 

[jptruck]

Thanks, JP! As an '05 owner who is also trying to decide if I stick it out or get a new one, this post wsa interesting.

Can you tell me if they fixed the low volume on the AUX Input adapter issue that made it a chore to plug MP3 players in and listen to music at volume? I think you have an apple connector in the center console on the new truck,so again, curious if volume is limited or you get full volume. thanks!

Todd: The Aux Input problem is not even worth mentioning. I sit down in the new LR4 and don't even plug in my iPhone. Bluetooth automatically picks it up and starts playing whatever I was listening to. I can also plug it into a iphone or Aux outlet inside the center box and it comes up on the screen that way. It's a better set up than my wife's BMW. Duly impressed.

So far, no gripes. I like the old steering wheel cover better (dimpled versus the new smooth), but I think I can live with that one. The best thing is that my old spare, mats and accessories work. I need a front skid plate for this one, but that can wait until I break the plastic one off.

 

[bromhead]

+1 on the streaming

I might try a comparison later between plugging in the iPhone vs bluetooth, but right now they both work fine. Its seamless and easy, unlike other vehicles. I too am very impressed.

 

[Finlayforprez]

Hey bromhead,

You will find that some folks (without the HIDs) choose to stick with halogens and switch out the low beams (H11), high beams (H7), and fog lights (H11) with the Philips Crystal Vision bulbs. Other folks, like myself, switch out the the low beams with a DDM tuning HID kit (it's about $50 bucks). I also switched to the Philips CV for my fog and high beams. You will see the details of what to order on the HID thread and I would be happy to give you more information. I also provided some in-depth instructions on those sites. I will tell you, the difference is night and day - as well as the look, and most people have no problem at all with installing the kit. It's basically plug and play. As far as the rear fog lights, I do not know of anyone who replaced those bulbs? The 2011 and 2012 models both have the LED signature lights. For 2010, it was included only on the Lux model. We did have a discussion a while back about replacing the LED bulbs on the accent lights with something brighter, but it's just not possible due to lack of access to the lights (short of taking the headlamp apart which requires baking - no way!). I'll be happy to help you further with your lighting needs, just let me know!

As far as the LED flashlight, there is no particular brand or model. This is the one I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/Coast-7575-Re...1340040528&sr=8-1&keywords=led+car+flashlight

But, you can do a search on Amazon and find lots of different types and pick one you like. I think it's very handy and looks great. The other thing I did in my first few days of ownership was remove the middle headrest on the second row seating - it seems to really block the view from the rearview mirror. It's easy to pull out, just because careful because there is a lot of grease on the metal rods.

In my LR4, I have just a few items that I carry all the time including flashlights, a bottle jack, small tool kit that fits in the back cargo bin, small portable air compressor (fits in the back cargo bin), tire pressure gauge, a small ARB bag of D-rings and recovery ropes (though this is more for off-roading of course), ratchet straps and bungee cords, first-aid kit, and I stuff my cargo bins with extra towels. When I go off-roading, even though I likely will not need it, I put a bunch of extra crap in the back.

As for the tires, that's your choice completely. Going with the 18" wheels is a bit of an investment, but does open you up to more tire options. Although, I am sure there are some folks who get the rims just for the looks (powder coated black, etc.). You just need to evaluate how you will be using the truck and if having more rugged off-road tire options is important to you. For me, it's really not because right now I don't do anything crazy enough to justify it - plus I need to figure out if I am keeping this truck long-term. If you can get a $75 per tire trade-in, that's pretty good and about $375 toward the new tires. Though, to be honest, you can likely get much more than that if you sell the tires outright. For me, the $1,000 and some change to go with the Cooper was a good investment for what I do with the truck and will be doing over the next year or two. Before going with the Coopers, I had decided to just keep the Contis as they were fine with moderate off-roading, but in the end it was also about looks and I decided to just spend the money and get the Coopers. I would do it again in a heart beat. For what you plan to do with the truck (moderate off-roading), I can't see you needing any other tire - the Coopers would suit you more than well. That's just my two cents!

I hope this helps!

Keep us posted and let me know if you have any questions.

-David

 

[bromhead]

Thanks David.

So, for the lights, is this what you recommend?:

2 packs of these (so 4 total bulbs):
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Cryst...hilips+H11+CrystalVision+Ultra+Headlight+Bulb

1 of these (2 total bulbs)
http://www.amazon.com/Putco-360-Deg...e+High+Intensity+LED+Premium+Replacement+Bulb

1 of these (2 total bulbs)
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Cysta...=Philips+H7+CystalVision+Ultra+Headlight+Bulb

Funny, i was just thinking about taking out the middle head rest this morning. I might even drop the center middle seat flat, thus sort of having captain chairs in the back....it will separate the kids from each other a bit!

Off to discount tires to see about the coops. I think you are right, unless the coops do not meet my needs, probably no need for the 18's given my intended use...for the next few years anyway.

BTW, picked up a cool used accessory on Friday. The OEM loadspace protector...the rigid one with the big lips. Downside, you have to leave it in the garage if you use the 3rd row seats (it will not roll up), but very well built . I bought it used for 100 bucks so it was a no brainer, not sure i would have paid 3x the price over the magtech one. But its very nice.
Thanks again.

Here is another picture...although the car looks way to clean!



Cheers,

Chris