danrhiggins
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- Jan 2, 2014
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I spent 8 hours with a 2014 LR4 today. The vehicle model was an LR4 HSE. It was not a Lux but it did have Vision Assist and Climate Control. It did not have the Heavy Duty option or any of the Lux features.
Here are my observations:
First, everyone wants to know about the SCV6. I can't compare it to a V8 as it has been years since I have driven one. My current car is an Acura MDX w/ a 6 cyl. which does 0-60 in just over 6 secs. I also drive a lot in the mountains of Colorado. For today's test I took the LR4 on I70 west out of Denver to Idaho Springs. That includes a couple of pretty steep and long climbs with traffic. I was very pleased with the acceleration and the power. Speed limit is 65. I reached 90 during the climb but had to work around traffic. The same was true on the return trip.
What I also found interesting was that the RPM almost never exceeded 4K. And when I was cruising at 75mph the RPM was between 2K and 2.5K.
Some of you ask other questions:
- Use of shift paddles while in Drive? No. The dealer researched this while I was out. Evidently LR decided not to do this in the LR4 even though you have the option to do so in the Evoque and the RR. Disappointing. Too awkward to use engine compression to slow the vehicle. Changing to Sport mode makes everything manual. I must admit it is interesting to see the gear indicator reading S8.
- I was not able to make the side mirrors tilt down when reversing. I did not think to ask the dealer. This truck did have the Vision Assist which worked to see the curb but of course to do so you have to shift camera mode.
- The heated windshield was a minor distraction and only when I thought about it or when the sun was shining on the wires from a lower position in the sky. And at night as epiclr has pointed out. It is almost like there are tiny smudges around where the wires intersect. I spoke with my dealer about what would happen if someone happened to break the window. Could I have it replace with a plain one. He thought that might be a possibility. He also said that with the Evoque you can now order the Climate package without the heated windshield. I may press to have the windshield replaced as part of the deal. Long shot but why not. I would rather be without it.
- No issues with the BT, USB, etc. Connected my iPhone 5 just fine. Yes, when I plugged it into the USB the BT music would be temporarily disabled and the "My Music" section would then assume USB until I used the menu to set it back to BT. Address book transferred and worked fine. I did two conference calls from the truck.
- Nav System. Yes, there is a way to add intermediate points along your route. They are referred to as Waypoints. This is handled much nicer than on my MDX. It looked like maybe you could have up to 8. Easy to display distance, time and ETA for the way points and even delete one while the list is being displayed. Very easy from the main map window using the touch screen.
- As for the Nav system I was actually pleasantly surprised - but remember I am coming from the new Acura MDX and that nav system is a disaster. I much prefer the touch screen interface on the LR4 than using the scroll know on the Acura or even the "mouse" thing that was on my Lexus RX. I found the Nav system to be adequately responsive. I like the different views including 3D, North Up, and vehicle-direction-up. In the split screen you can have one side in one mode, say 3D, and the other in another mode such as North Up. One of the split screen modes lists coming freeway exists and at the top of the screen shows some of the POIs (e.g. MacDonalds or a Shell gas station) available at the next exit. When I was on back roads the map showed topographic lines. Traffic was displayed and, sadly, was accurate when I got stuck during rush hour. I did need to change the search area for the Nav system from Washington DC to Colorado. Easily done. Display was more readable than on my Acura or the prior Lexus.
- The shift knob. It is weird. It will take me a while to get used to that - if ever.
- Electronic parking brake. I do like this better than a foot pedal as it frees up space for my left foot while driving. In fact, there is a lot of space to move my left feet (or both fee when using Cruise Control) on long trips. This is not the case with my MDX.
- Elevated seating position. Took a bit to get used to after they car-like, laid-back position in the MDX. But I really like that elevated position.
- Information display between the gauges. Works well. All the usual stuff like clock (yes, another and it is digital which is handy), temp, fuel, engine temp. A line at the bottom that can be changed (with a button on the end of the turn signal lever) to display date, trip(s), etc. If you are playing music some of this info will be displayed in this area. And, something I really like, if you are using the Nav system guidance then as you come up on your next maneuver/turn it will be displayed in this area.
- Vision Assist Package. I love Blind Spot Indicator. (I have become used to it on my MDX.) I did have to get use to the "reverse traffic" thing - that is when you are backing up and it not only detects stationary objects but also traffic coming into your path from the side. I had to figure out why it was yelling at me.
- I found the adaptive headlights and the automatic high beams to be great. Had those on my Lexus and loved them. You do have to manually override the high beam once in a while but that is easy to do. And 80% of the time it handles it for you.
- The LR4 is not a curve-hugger like the MDX. But it is a truck built to go off road. The MDX is a car built with performance characteristics. That said, I LR4 did great coming down winding mountain roads - both the interstate and back roads.
- Would have like more compartments and storage areas in the cockpit. My MDX excels at that.
- I did not have the Heavy Duty package which includes Crawl mode and low range. I did have Hill Decent mode which I should have used when going down an icy mountain road. I learned that all of the terrain modes are really designed for traction going up, not control coming down!
All in all I very much like the LR4 and definitely plan to get one. In the back of my mind I am wondering if I should wait for the 2015 as this may be an odd year. It feels like some of the things like ability to use paddle shifters in Drive, ability to get the Climate Option without the heated windshield and maybe a lighter weight body could show up in the next model leaving this one a less desirable trade in over the years ahead. But that means living with the MDX and not enjoying the fun of the LR4 for another year.
I now have a Fuji White HSE Lux w/ Black Package (19"), Vision Assist and Heavy Duty packing on order. Almond Arabic interior. Because it is a custom order (they have very few in the pipeline with the heavy duty package) it will not arrive until early April. But at this price I want to get what I want. Price has not been negotiated. I just had to put a few hundred down, refundable, to reserve my truck. I can back out at any time. The remaining things for me are my wife's test drive, deciding who I will eventually buy from and for how much. But that latter part is a few weeks away.
Dan
Here are my observations:
First, everyone wants to know about the SCV6. I can't compare it to a V8 as it has been years since I have driven one. My current car is an Acura MDX w/ a 6 cyl. which does 0-60 in just over 6 secs. I also drive a lot in the mountains of Colorado. For today's test I took the LR4 on I70 west out of Denver to Idaho Springs. That includes a couple of pretty steep and long climbs with traffic. I was very pleased with the acceleration and the power. Speed limit is 65. I reached 90 during the climb but had to work around traffic. The same was true on the return trip.
What I also found interesting was that the RPM almost never exceeded 4K. And when I was cruising at 75mph the RPM was between 2K and 2.5K.
Some of you ask other questions:
- Use of shift paddles while in Drive? No. The dealer researched this while I was out. Evidently LR decided not to do this in the LR4 even though you have the option to do so in the Evoque and the RR. Disappointing. Too awkward to use engine compression to slow the vehicle. Changing to Sport mode makes everything manual. I must admit it is interesting to see the gear indicator reading S8.
- I was not able to make the side mirrors tilt down when reversing. I did not think to ask the dealer. This truck did have the Vision Assist which worked to see the curb but of course to do so you have to shift camera mode.
- The heated windshield was a minor distraction and only when I thought about it or when the sun was shining on the wires from a lower position in the sky. And at night as epiclr has pointed out. It is almost like there are tiny smudges around where the wires intersect. I spoke with my dealer about what would happen if someone happened to break the window. Could I have it replace with a plain one. He thought that might be a possibility. He also said that with the Evoque you can now order the Climate package without the heated windshield. I may press to have the windshield replaced as part of the deal. Long shot but why not. I would rather be without it.
- No issues with the BT, USB, etc. Connected my iPhone 5 just fine. Yes, when I plugged it into the USB the BT music would be temporarily disabled and the "My Music" section would then assume USB until I used the menu to set it back to BT. Address book transferred and worked fine. I did two conference calls from the truck.
- Nav System. Yes, there is a way to add intermediate points along your route. They are referred to as Waypoints. This is handled much nicer than on my MDX. It looked like maybe you could have up to 8. Easy to display distance, time and ETA for the way points and even delete one while the list is being displayed. Very easy from the main map window using the touch screen.
- As for the Nav system I was actually pleasantly surprised - but remember I am coming from the new Acura MDX and that nav system is a disaster. I much prefer the touch screen interface on the LR4 than using the scroll know on the Acura or even the "mouse" thing that was on my Lexus RX. I found the Nav system to be adequately responsive. I like the different views including 3D, North Up, and vehicle-direction-up. In the split screen you can have one side in one mode, say 3D, and the other in another mode such as North Up. One of the split screen modes lists coming freeway exists and at the top of the screen shows some of the POIs (e.g. MacDonalds or a Shell gas station) available at the next exit. When I was on back roads the map showed topographic lines. Traffic was displayed and, sadly, was accurate when I got stuck during rush hour. I did need to change the search area for the Nav system from Washington DC to Colorado. Easily done. Display was more readable than on my Acura or the prior Lexus.
- The shift knob. It is weird. It will take me a while to get used to that - if ever.
- Electronic parking brake. I do like this better than a foot pedal as it frees up space for my left foot while driving. In fact, there is a lot of space to move my left feet (or both fee when using Cruise Control) on long trips. This is not the case with my MDX.
- Elevated seating position. Took a bit to get used to after they car-like, laid-back position in the MDX. But I really like that elevated position.
- Information display between the gauges. Works well. All the usual stuff like clock (yes, another and it is digital which is handy), temp, fuel, engine temp. A line at the bottom that can be changed (with a button on the end of the turn signal lever) to display date, trip(s), etc. If you are playing music some of this info will be displayed in this area. And, something I really like, if you are using the Nav system guidance then as you come up on your next maneuver/turn it will be displayed in this area.
- Vision Assist Package. I love Blind Spot Indicator. (I have become used to it on my MDX.) I did have to get use to the "reverse traffic" thing - that is when you are backing up and it not only detects stationary objects but also traffic coming into your path from the side. I had to figure out why it was yelling at me.
- I found the adaptive headlights and the automatic high beams to be great. Had those on my Lexus and loved them. You do have to manually override the high beam once in a while but that is easy to do. And 80% of the time it handles it for you.
- The LR4 is not a curve-hugger like the MDX. But it is a truck built to go off road. The MDX is a car built with performance characteristics. That said, I LR4 did great coming down winding mountain roads - both the interstate and back roads.
- Would have like more compartments and storage areas in the cockpit. My MDX excels at that.
- I did not have the Heavy Duty package which includes Crawl mode and low range. I did have Hill Decent mode which I should have used when going down an icy mountain road. I learned that all of the terrain modes are really designed for traction going up, not control coming down!
All in all I very much like the LR4 and definitely plan to get one. In the back of my mind I am wondering if I should wait for the 2015 as this may be an odd year. It feels like some of the things like ability to use paddle shifters in Drive, ability to get the Climate Option without the heated windshield and maybe a lighter weight body could show up in the next model leaving this one a less desirable trade in over the years ahead. But that means living with the MDX and not enjoying the fun of the LR4 for another year.
I now have a Fuji White HSE Lux w/ Black Package (19"), Vision Assist and Heavy Duty packing on order. Almond Arabic interior. Because it is a custom order (they have very few in the pipeline with the heavy duty package) it will not arrive until early April. But at this price I want to get what I want. Price has not been negotiated. I just had to put a few hundred down, refundable, to reserve my truck. I can back out at any time. The remaining things for me are my wife's test drive, deciding who I will eventually buy from and for how much. But that latter part is a few weeks away.
Dan
