Seriously considering an LR3 for our next vehicle

[jesus_man]

beantmt - you are correct. An LR3 is overkill for what we "need", but we can't find anything else suitable in the same size. My wife had an '02 explorer and it was a great rig. We traded it for the Jetta when the Air Force sent us to TX for three years. We're back in CO now and looked at the late model explorers and my wife didn't like the interior design at all. I didn't mind it, but I liked our '02 better. There isn't much else in the mid-size market that comes with a V8 and is not a cross-over. We have searched pretty well for over a month and our choice boiled down to the LR3. Our search started out looking for a mid-sized diesel SUV, but what's out there is very expensive, even used. So we moved to our second choice of the V8.

It seems that those who own them, love them once the issues are worked out. Hopefully since we're buying used, most of these bugs will already be worked out and we can enjoy a solid vehicle.

Thanks for the information regarding child seats etc.

J.D.

 

[Houm_WA]

What's wrong with a cross-over? Are they taboo now? If not for wanting the capability and going offroad, I think there are great things to consider about cross-overs.

On-road, the BMW X5 would be a far better performer than the LR3; perhaps not big enough for you though.

 

[jesus_man]

No, nothing wrong with Cross-over, just simply not what we want. Their tow ratings seems to be lacking. I rarely see us towing much with the LR3 since I have a diesel truck for that, but there might be occasions and it's just another feather in my hat that I feel is important. Same with the off-road capability the LR3 offers. Will we ever "Need" the rock crawling feature? Probably not, but it's there should we encounter a situation on the trail. Actually come to think of it, there are many trails in the SW corner of the state that I have never done partly because they aren't particularly hard. So it seems like such an effort to drag my bronco (which isn't very highway worthy) 7hrs for easy to moderate trails. These trails are something that would be perfectly suited for the LR3 and then we could wheel in comfort, but not worry about any vehicle capability shortcomings. There are many many trails my wife would probably enjoy, but are not appealing to her in a '73 bronco that smells old, has no doors, and isn't exactly comfortable.

The X5 is about the same size from what I have seen, but they are more expensive and I'm not a big fan of Bimmer's. Sorta like my distaste for Chevys as well. I think that was bred into me. But I am open to suggestion if I have missed something in my search. We require 7-passenger seating, which as you know, in the LR3 is awesome since each seat was designed for a 6'-2" adult.

J.D.

 

[beantmt]

beantmt - you are correct. An LR3 is overkill for what we "need", but we can't find anything else suitable in the same size. My wife had an '02 explorer and it was a great rig. We traded it for the Jetta when the Air Force sent us to TX for three years. We're back in CO now and looked at the late model explorers and my wife didn't like the interior design at all. I didn't mind it, but I liked our '02 better. There isn't much else in the mid-size market that comes with a V8 and is not a cross-over. We have searched pretty well for over a month and our choice boiled down to the LR3. Our search started out looking for a mid-sized diesel SUV, but what's out there is very expensive, even used. So we moved to our second choice of the V8.

Fair enough. Jeep Commanders and LR3s were basically all we could find that fit what we wanted, so I understand.

It seems that those who own them, love them once the issues are worked out. Hopefully since we're buying used, most of these bugs will already be worked out and we can enjoy a solid vehicle.

I bought a used 2006 with 21,000 miles last month. I'm not sure what the previous owner had fixed but I took it to the dealer about a month after buying to fix some common issues--one of which is very annoying. So don't rely on the previous owner to have done his homework. But, yeah, hopefully any critical/major issues have been worked through.

 

[jesus_man]

Fair enough. Jeep Commanders and LR3s were basically all we could find that fit what we wanted, so I understand.

Yeah, Yuck. The commander is ugly. There are others, but I think we have looked at each of them. I just wish the Diesel was available here.

J.D.