Land Rovers are all about adventure and the LR4 is ready to deliver.
With the royal couple, Prince William and his princess, Kate, now officially hitched, it’s fun to fantasize about where the world’s most famous couple might take their honeymoon. The easy suggestion would be private tropical island lounging on the beach or snorkeling at an exclusive resort.
But Wills and Kate have shown that they have an adventurous side. Instead of the obvious choice of spending their time lounging at the water’s edge, what if we sent the future king and his bride on an off-roading adventure? Maybe ford some streams, climb some boulders and muck it up in the mud.
But what to drive? A Jeep? No, that seems rather unseemly for a future king. And so very … American. Toyota Land Cruiser? Great heritage, but the only land those behemoths generally cruise these days is paved. No, the royals really don’t have to look very far to find the ultimate in opulent off-roading.
This Land Rover LR4 would seem to be the perfect chariot for our young royals’ adventure. It has indisputable off-roading capability, but still coddles with exquisite leather and a finely tuned stereo. Best of all, it’s as British as tea and crumpets.
The LR4's interior is a sumptious mix of leather and real walnut trim.
The LR4 will allow Wills and Kate to get just about anywhere on this planet that is accessible by vehicle. It has Land Rover’s Terrain Response system, with settings for a variety of challenging terrains, hill descent control, two-speed transfer case and lockable center and rear differentials. Hey, you never know when you might need to ford a stream more than two feet deep. Yep, this rig will help the royals get so far off the beaten path, the camera-toting paparazzi won’t have a chance to snap their prying pictures.
But Britain’s first couple will probably want to traverse regular roads as they visit some of London’s coolest nightclubs and trendiest shops. Fact of the matter is, this is the type of driving that most LR4 drivers will use their Land Rovers for.
What kind of off-roading adventure would you have for Prince Wills and Kate?
While Land Rovers are created for off-road adventures, they’re also particularly adept at cruising around town. The LR4 offers surprisingly spry acceleration, a supple ride and rock-solid freeway cruising. The unexpected power makes the Land Rover particularly enjoyable as an everyday conveyance.
But Land Rover buyers like the sense of adventure driving one suggests. It’s what drives most SUV purchases and Land Rovers are really the ultimate SUV. They may never ever take their $50,000 SUV on a rocky trail, but they revel in the fact that they are as well equipped to do so as any driver this side of the Rubicon, even while traveling in the lap of luxury.
The LR4 is the fourth generation of what was originally called the Discovery. Land Rover introduced the truck in 1989 and the current model has much in common with its predecessors. One of the biggest improvements is the new direct-injection 5.0-liter V-8, that Land Rover borrowed from sister automaker, Jaguar. Land Rover and Jaguar are now owned by Tata. The LR4’s engine is as smooth as strawberries and cream, providing 375 horsepower, propelling the massive SUV from 0-60 in a startling 7.5 seconds.
While the LR4 is the ultimate in off-roading luxury, most of them will be used for on-road adventures.
But that level of performance comes with a price, which is miserable fuel mileage. Rated at 12 mpg city and 17 highway, we averaged 16 on mostly freeways and rural two lanes. At 5,617 pounds – compare that to 5,836 pounds for a 4WD Chevrolet Suburban 1500, which is more than 2 ½ feet longer – the LR4 does a fine job masking its weight in handling feel, but there’s no way to propel that amount of heft efficiently.
The LR4’s interior is comfortable and nice to look at, so long as you don’t look to close. Real wood, straight-grain walnut in the test vehicle, and luscious leather, feel positively British. Car buyers have come to expect perfectly aligned interior trim, but the Land Rover comes up short in that area. Several panels were poorly aligned, showing large gaps on one side, directly across from a tight fit on the other side. Most people will never notice.
The LR4 carries a base price of $48,500. Add the seven-seat option ($1,150) and a comfort package ($1,500) that comes with a heated steering wheel, heated front- and middle-row seats, heated windshield and heated windshield washer jets for an as-tested price of $51,150.
Some buyers who are accustomed to American and Japanese luxury sport utes, might be surprised to find some features that are standard elsewhere are optional in the LR4. For example, the LR4 makes due with a small black-on-grey LCD screen. Navigation is optional, as is a backup camera.
But competitor vehicles cannot match the LR4’s advanced off-roading systems.
It seats seven in three rows. The second- and third-row seats are rather cumbersome to operate, but all of the seats are comfortable and have decent legroom. A trio of sunroofs – one over each row of seats – gives the cabin a bright, airy feel.
Future Land Rovers will get smaller. But there will probably always be a market for larger off-road-capable sport utes. To make them more fuel efficient, Land Rover has to work on lightweighting technologies such as aluminum, a material sister automaker Jaguar is already quite adept at using. It will also have to work on fuel-efficient new powertrain systems such as hybrids.
Because it would be a shame for real sport utes such as the luxurious Land Rovers to disappear.
If they did disappear, what would the future king and his new bride drive for their epic adventure?