A small SUV with offroad chops
The 2008 Land Rover LR2 is a compact luxury SUV that actually has some genuine off-road capability.
(Ford Motor Co.)The 2008 Land Rover LR2 occupies a unique niche among compact SUVs. This class has more premium and luxury models than ever, but the LR2 is the only one of them designed for real offroad use. Competitors such as the Acura RDX and BMW X3 have gone the sport-wagon route, designed strictly for onroad performance and occasional light off-pavement and foul-weather driving. But Land Rover wants all its models to be capable scalers, mudders, and waders. The company has managed to do that with the LR2, while still keeping it remarkably refined.
I tested the LR2 SE. A higher trim level, the HSE, is also available. Compared to the RDX and X3, the Land Rover has the more traditional SUV look commonly found in larger models and some less expensive ones like
The interior design is modern and appealing, with materials that set it above more modestly priced compact SUVs. The standard leather driver's seat was comfortable, but there were a couple of awkward things about it: First, the seat sits atop a raised platform that protrudes when the seat is all the way back. And the seat's six-way power adjustments include up/down for the rear of the seat cushion but not for the front. The layout is ergonomic overall, but the slot that the transmitter fob must be slid into to start the car is hard to see and reach behind the steering wheel. Cabin storage is limited: The door pockets are generous in size, but there's no covered center storage console, and the glove compartment isn't as large as its sizeable door suggests.
By the numbers, the LR2 has considerably more front and rear headroom than the Acura and BMW. It also edges out the Acura with 41.9 inches of front legroom. With 36.4 inches of backseat legroom, the LR2 lands between the two competitors. I'm 6 feet tall and my knees pushed into the driver's seat's soft backrest. There was also another platform back there that put my feet farther forward than they wanted to be, though the driver's seat was in its rearmost position. A generous driver might share some legroom.
The standard panoramic moonroof gives the cabin a larger feel, with a fixed skylight over the backseat and a tilt/slide pane for the front. The cabin was otherwise admirably quiet, even on an interstate trip at high speeds - hardly a foregone conclusion for a model of this type and shape.
Though solid rear axles have some offroad advantages, Land Rover has been moving away from them, and the LR2 has a four-wheel-independent suspension. The ride is firm, but it's softer than its sport-oriented German and Japanese competitors. Like those SUVs, the LR2 is unibody, or car-based. That gives it a rigidity you never seem to get in truck-based models.
A 3.2-liter inline-six-cylinder engine (borrowed from Volvo) drives all four wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission with a clutchless manual mode. Land Rover says it's good for 0-60 mph sprints of 8.4 seconds. I found it adequate, though there was occasional kickdown lag and gear hunting.
The all-wheel drive sends most of the torque to the front wheels during normal driving, which is intended to maximize efficiency. When slippage calls for it, almost all of the torque can be sent to the rear wheels. A standard electronic stability system with four-wheel traction control should ensure that a single wheel with traction could keep the LR2 moving.
The LR2 has a simpler version of the Terrain Response knob found in its larger siblings. With pictograms depicting modes for General Driving, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud and Ruts, and Sand, the knob automatically optimizes the traction control, AWD, transmission behavior, and accelerator sensitivity for the given condition - something drivers of other vehicles would have to do manually, if they could at all. It couldn't be simpler to use, though the Grass/Gravel/Snow mode is the only one most drivers would need.
The EPA-estimated gas mileage is disappointing mainly because the LR2 is less powerful and pokier than the Acura and BMW. Usually the payoff for lower performance is greater efficiency.
The LR2 has not yet been crash-tested by our preferred source, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, but its feature complement is impressive. In addition to the required airbags, the LR2 has side-impact ones for the front seats, curtains to protect front and rear occupants in a side collision, and a knee airbag that both protects the legs and prevents the driver from sliding under the lap belt.
Antilock brakes and a stability system are standard, as is roll-stability control, which has spread throughout the Ford family of brands, but is still the only system that detects an actual tip event and attempts to prevent a rollover.
The LR2's cargo hatch is at a good height, with an intermediate step cut into the bumper. The 60/40-split rear seats fold in two steps: The seat cushion must be flipped forward before the backrest will lower. One-step folding is preferred, but if this is what it takes to make the cargo floor flat, so be it. At least the head restraints nest into the backrest so they don't have to be removed before folding.
With a list price of $34,700 (including destination charge), the LR2 is close to $1,000 more than the RDX but $4,000 less than the X3. Options are few and grouped into three logical packages: one combining cold-climate features, another including lighting upgrades and seat-position memory, and one that corrals stereo upgrades, a navigation system, and other electronic goodies. A model loaded with those packages, plus $400 Narvik Black paint tops out at $40,350.
The LR2's niche might be an esoteric one, but there aren't many niches left, and this seems to be a good one when you consider that the RDX and X3 are the only other current models that could be considered compact-luxury SUVs.
Base list price $33,985
EPA Fuel Economy 16 mpg city, 23 mpg highway
Engine 230-hp, 3.2-liter I-6
Transmission 6-speed automatic with overdrive and auto-manual
What we like
Styling
Ride quality
Parkable length
Quiet cabin
What we don't
Platform affects foot room
Driver's seat lacks adjustment
Gas mileage should be better
