Land Rover LR2 Opinion
The terrain is very rocky and can be slippery when wet. I鈥檝e had my Land Rover out there once so far. It did very well at handling the rocky terrain and steep grades without breaking a sweat while keeping all passengers comfortable. One time while cresting a hill, the under carriage did scrape. The ground clearance is not as high as some other SUV鈥檚. I also got to try out the hill descent control. It sounds like hell while it is working, but it did a good job at keeping the vehicle stable while going down a steep grade. Though, I was wondering if there would be anything left of my brake rotors once I got down the hill. Gripes: There are a few things I do not like about this vehicle. No standard roof rack. I can not think of another SUV/CUV that does not have the roof rack standard.
Cool Hunting is a unique website that has a strong following for cutting edge design and technology products from all aspects of our lives. Land Rover鈥檚 relationship with Coolhunting dates back to when the Evoque first debuted in 2011, where founder Josh Rubin was one of our brand ambassadors that helped launch the vehicle. Cool Hunting also had the opportunity to meet with Land Rover Chief Design Officer Gerry McGovern in the Land Rover Design Studio in the U.K. Tell us about the outdoor display program and the partnership with the spectacular World Trade Center Oculus building in New York City? The Evoque is such a visually striking automobile that we wanted to bring it to life in really unique outdoor displays in three of our largest metropolitan markets: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York/New Jersey. For Chicago the Evoque will literally climb on top of the covered entrance to a busy transit station. HelloL.A. Through June 9th in New York City, the Evoque will be brought to life in the massive video billboards of the Oculus Building that engage hundreds of thousands of daily passerbys. The Oculus is a shopping and dining destination within an architectural masterpiece of a building at the new World Trade Center, in the heart of the city. There is no doubt that locals and tourists alike will see the new Evoque in these hot spots. Is there anything else you want to mention about the Evoque campaign?
The V-10 engine is mated with a track-proven six-speed manual transmission. While the Devon GTX has yet to hit an American road, it has made its mark on two of Americas most demanding road courses. In validation testing earlier this year, the vehicle set production car lap records at both Willow Springs Raceway and Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. It was not a specific goal to set track records at that stage of validation, but the car outperformed even our aggressive goals, said Devon Motorworks validation and testing leader Justin Bell, a former 24 Hours of Le Mans champion. We are looking forward to additional testing, where Im certain the GTX will eclipse any time weve set to date. Devon, Paulin and Bell are just part of an international team of performance and design veterans that make up the Devon Motorworks team. Former Ford executive engineer Andy Benedict leads the product development team, while manufacturing and assembly is headed by Clive Hawkins, founder of ARIA Group. Aerodynamic testing is supervised by Dr. Joseph Katz of San Diego State University while marketing is led by automotive veteran Jerry Deeney.
Designed to be a luxurious compact SUV, the Sport edition is nimble enough to negotiate narrow urban streets, yet has all the rugged durability and power required for off-road driving. Within its smaller frame is a five-plus-two cabin arrangement that means the model can act as a people carrier. When it is just you and a front passenger on-board the interior can be adjusted to hold as much as 1,698 litres. In any environment and on any terrain the Discovery Sport excels. A 2.0-litre 4WD diesel engine accelerates with no hesitation and has ample torque low down to pull you through muddy tracks. Clever traction and stability technology maintains maximum grip and control when you really need it. At our Ayr dealership you can browse an impressive collection of pre-owned Discovery Sport vehicles that ask for a lower price than new alternatives. View them here on the Park鈥檚 Land Rover website and please enquire online or over the phone to schedule a test drive.
I think we learned as much about trail leadership as we did about driving. The trail is in an area that will probably be closed in the next few years. A local mining company is trying to open a new mining operation in this area. They own many of the roads we drove on, and those roads are littered with interesting minerals. James said at one point, while I was driving up one particularly steep section, fighting for control, I had the wherewithal to say, 鈥淗ey, look! The rocks in the road are copper ore! 鈥?I am a total rockhound. It was difficult for me to concentrate on the driving in such a rich ore area. Next we headed up Lopez Pass and took a break to enjoy the view. Then over to Gunsight Pass where we were going to have lunch, but it was very windy. So, we headed down into a gully at the base of mine tailings. On the way, the LR3 busted a tire. Those stock tires are no match for the Arizona rocks. After lunch we headed down the mountain where we encountered a pretty rough obstacle. It was so interesting to watch our vehicle bounce all over the place and lumber through. Then to watch the Discovery's lose a little traction and come through, then the LR3, no problem at all. It was a clear illustration of how far Land Rover has come, and these are amazing vehicles. After this we visited an old ghost town, Helvetia, which was not much more than some old adobe ruins. Then we all headed toward home. The rally was a fun time. It was able to accommodate every Rover owner's needs, from the hard-core off-roader to our family-friendly experience. A great time was had by all.
