All of it... na. Some of it, sure. But I enjoy working on it and it is a toy after all. The insurance and taxes on an 80k vehicle will buy a Discovery in a couple years. My point is most of these "off road" suv's never see dirt. For the few who actually use them, great. A 60-80k vehicle designed for both will be compromised at both. Id rather save the money have have two vehicles that prioritizes each goal.
New Land Cruiser
- Thread starter RVR OVR
- Start date
When you get older, time becomes more valuable.
Compared to a well kept NAS, IME, that has gone 40+ years and many hundreds of thousands of miles.
With all respect, an LR3 will never equal a D1 off road (all situations considered).
It's a definite LOL moment when you realize people are paying 6 figures for a little 4-cylinder Jap truck
I see a few listed on cars.com by me. Some are sticking to MSRP, one has 5891 tacked on for a "Lojack/Glasscoat Appearance Package" with the following descripiton - sorry for the bullets, that is a direct cut and paste from their web site.
LOJACK is a theft recovery system that allows the consumer to know where their vehicle is at all time
LOJACK is a theft recovery system that allows the consumer to know where their vehicle is at all time
- speed
- locations visited
- and length of each trip. Up to $10
- 000 reimbursement if not recovered within 30 days.
- GLASSCOAT is a ceramic based application to the exterior of vehicle
- it protects against oxidation
- loss of gloss
- acid rain
- bird droppings
- insect damage
- road salt
- and tree sap. The interior is protected from bleach/dye stains
- fast food
- burns
- rips/tears
- and punctures.
I finally got my hands on a Lexus GX550 this morning at one of the five Phoenix area Lexus dealerships - of course it's the dealership that's farthest away from me (40 miles). They have a white Overtrail ready to be picked up by the out-of-town customer. Nice and basic truck with no sunroof and the only options I could see were heads-up display, their flat roof rack, and the black-out package (black grill, black emblems). Very nice truck, I really like the size, feels just a little bit bigger than the LR4. The 33" tires and the stance are perfect.
I put down a refundable $1,000 deposit and "ordered" an Atomic Silver Overtrail with sunroof delete (-$1,100) and a wireles phone charger (+$75). Total is $68,225. The dealer's customary add-on is $999 for front-end paint protection film and the first 3 applications of some kind of ceramic paint coating over a period of 3 years and a wheel & tire protection package (insurance coverage for damaged wheels & tires). The dealer volunteered to take it down to $499 for just the PPF and paint coating and delete the wheel & tire protection because I told them the wheels & tires would be gone within a month. So total would be $68,724.
They get an allotment of about 5 or 6 trucks twice per month and there is only 1 guy ahead of me waiting on an Overtrail. The dealer makes requests (like mine) and it may or may not make a difference. The sales guy said they've been getting a good mix of Overtrails, Premiums, and Luxuries (and each of these three has a Plus version). Surprisingly they are coming in pretty basic as opposed to loaded with options. Most people want the Premium or Luxuries. The 1 guy ahead of me has first right of refusal on the next Overtrail, then it comes to me and I can vote yes or no.
I put down a refundable $1,000 deposit and "ordered" an Atomic Silver Overtrail with sunroof delete (-$1,100) and a wireles phone charger (+$75). Total is $68,225. The dealer's customary add-on is $999 for front-end paint protection film and the first 3 applications of some kind of ceramic paint coating over a period of 3 years and a wheel & tire protection package (insurance coverage for damaged wheels & tires). The dealer volunteered to take it down to $499 for just the PPF and paint coating and delete the wheel & tire protection because I told them the wheels & tires would be gone within a month. So total would be $68,724.
They get an allotment of about 5 or 6 trucks twice per month and there is only 1 guy ahead of me waiting on an Overtrail. The dealer makes requests (like mine) and it may or may not make a difference. The sales guy said they've been getting a good mix of Overtrails, Premiums, and Luxuries (and each of these three has a Plus version). Surprisingly they are coming in pretty basic as opposed to loaded with options. Most people want the Premium or Luxuries. The 1 guy ahead of me has first right of refusal on the next Overtrail, then it comes to me and I can vote yes or no.
Well I wasn't able to drive it but I sat in all the seats and made vroom vroom sounds while in the driver's seat. Seriously, the driver's seating position felt great. I'll have to get used to the big digital display screens that are now mandatory in our brave new world. There are only buttons/dials for driver & passenger side temperature control and radio on/off/volume. Then a hazard button below radio on/off and two scrolls for the inner dash vents. Everything else is on the damn touch screen. The steering wheel has the typical radio volume switch and probably preset station scrolling, plus all the cruise control and phone and voice stuff. Then below the giant flat screen is the off road mode select that I'll probably never touch and then the nice shifter and then the 4 high/4 Low and rear locker switches which will most definitely be used.
I had a lot of glare in my photos from the morning sun, I've added some photos I grabbed off the web.
The feel in the front seats feels like total Land Rover Discovery. Tall glass, low waistline, excellent visibility, the hood humps over the tires are really nice, will be very useful for placing your front wheels off road. Rearward visibility is great too - the 2nd row windows hump up at the rear end leading to the smaller rear quarter windows but from the driver's seat looking back it doesn't seem small or cramped. Overall it has a nice airy feel like a Disco.
Rear seats have plenty of leg, shoulder, and head room (this was a non-sunroof model) and they adjust from full straight up & down seat backs (good for squaring off the cargo area behind) to a really nice relaxed laid back vibe. The rear seats fold forward and create a 2nd row shelf that is about 10.5 inches above the rear cargo floor. Then they also tumble forward but the front seats need to move forward for them to fully tumble forward. The seats don't magically disappear and create a flat floor like the LR4. The LR4 will go down in history as the best cargo area ever - 3rd row and 2nd row fold completely flat.
The rear cargo area is nice and huge, feels just like the LR4. I don't have my LR4 measurements on hand but here are the GX550 measurements:
The rear hatch is really nice - automatically raises & lowers with massive powered pistons (those will be expensive). After owning all versions of rear doors & hatches, I like this one the best. The hatch goes up & out of the way unlike the Disco 1 & 2 doors and the hatch provides nice overhead shade and rain protection. Hang 3 sides of tent material canvas from the raised hatch and you have party central back there. The clamshell hatch on the LR4 provides a nice work bench but then you can't reach all your cargo and you have to constantly jump up onto your knees on the lower clamshell to reach shit. I hate that. And the LR4 overhead clamshell provides weak overhead coverage.
All in all, it's very nice but also very plain jane which I really like. One of the reasons I've always liked the Land Rover Discoveries - nicely done but relatively plain and not overly fancy. I can't wait to go a bit bigger and more aggressive on the tires, fit one of those sweet flush-fitting Toyota roof racks, chop the front & rear plastic bumpers to fit steel bumpers and a winch, and generally fuck up a perfectly nice vehicle.
I had a lot of glare in my photos from the morning sun, I've added some photos I grabbed off the web.
The feel in the front seats feels like total Land Rover Discovery. Tall glass, low waistline, excellent visibility, the hood humps over the tires are really nice, will be very useful for placing your front wheels off road. Rearward visibility is great too - the 2nd row windows hump up at the rear end leading to the smaller rear quarter windows but from the driver's seat looking back it doesn't seem small or cramped. Overall it has a nice airy feel like a Disco.
Rear seats have plenty of leg, shoulder, and head room (this was a non-sunroof model) and they adjust from full straight up & down seat backs (good for squaring off the cargo area behind) to a really nice relaxed laid back vibe. The rear seats fold forward and create a 2nd row shelf that is about 10.5 inches above the rear cargo floor. Then they also tumble forward but the front seats need to move forward for them to fully tumble forward. The seats don't magically disappear and create a flat floor like the LR4. The LR4 will go down in history as the best cargo area ever - 3rd row and 2nd row fold completely flat.
The rear cargo area is nice and huge, feels just like the LR4. I don't have my LR4 measurements on hand but here are the GX550 measurements:
- rear cargo opening is 36" high, going up to 41" high once you are past the opening and in the rear cargo area
- rear cargo floor is a max of 50" wide, down to 43" wide between the wheel wells
- rear cargo floor is 44.5" deep between the 2nd row seats in the up position and the inside of the rear hatch closed
- with 2nd row seats tumbled forward, you get 63" depth from inside rear hatch to tumbled seats
- with 2nd row seats only folded down, you get 79" from inside rear hatch to back of front seats (can get more if front seats crammed into the dash)
The rear hatch is really nice - automatically raises & lowers with massive powered pistons (those will be expensive). After owning all versions of rear doors & hatches, I like this one the best. The hatch goes up & out of the way unlike the Disco 1 & 2 doors and the hatch provides nice overhead shade and rain protection. Hang 3 sides of tent material canvas from the raised hatch and you have party central back there. The clamshell hatch on the LR4 provides a nice work bench but then you can't reach all your cargo and you have to constantly jump up onto your knees on the lower clamshell to reach shit. I hate that. And the LR4 overhead clamshell provides weak overhead coverage.
All in all, it's very nice but also very plain jane which I really like. One of the reasons I've always liked the Land Rover Discoveries - nicely done but relatively plain and not overly fancy. I can't wait to go a bit bigger and more aggressive on the tires, fit one of those sweet flush-fitting Toyota roof racks, chop the front & rear plastic bumpers to fit steel bumpers and a winch, and generally fuck up a perfectly nice vehicle.
