2008 Land Rover LR2

Europeans loved the model the LR2 replaces, the outgoing Freelander, for its scrappy personality and trim dimensions. Americans hated it for the very same reasons. Thus, in creating a successor, Land Rover focused a keen eye on the needs and wants of the American market. The LR2 is roomier, plusher, more powerful, and more versatile than the ill-loved Freelander (the old three-door version is gone, too; the LR2 is a five-door only). No longer does the littlest Land Rover look like it snuck onto the showroom floor from the hiking-shoe store across the street. With its clamshell hood, jeweled headlamps, chunky proportions, side air intakes, and slotted grille, the LR2 looks right at home next to its LR3 and Range Rover siblings.

This is going to be good -- no low range, no lockers, no chance, right? But what do you know, that green badge does mean something. With tires spinning, the LR2 steamrolls the hill. Downhill is no problem, either, though its brake-based descent control sends it down awfully fast.

King of the Road is clearly the LR2. It's quick, responsive, with a carlike ride. "Everything about this Rover reminds me of butter. The suspension absorbs bumps and dips so smoothly, transferring little of the disturbance to the driver," says LaPalme.

"On the sand, the LR2 blew me away. I knew it would be good, but I wasn't prepared for how good it was. Engine and trans seem a perfect match for scaling up the shifting sand walls and diving back down over steep wind-blown cornices. It was like racing in a glass-protected ATV," comments Williams.

While the LR2 doesn't offer a low range, it has full-time all-wheel drive, excellent ground clearance, aggressive approach and departure angles, Hill Descent control, and Land Rover's remarkable Terrain Response. In short, the LR2 packs more off-road capability than most any other crossover. A super-stiff structure, full of high-strength steel, seven standard airbags, Traction, Corner Brake, and Roll Stability controls plus ABS, makes for what should prove an exceptionally safe package. Our tester came loaded with dual sunroofs, leather interior, navigation system, and all the usual power goodies. Unlike some previous Land Rover offerings, this one has good on-road dynamics, too.

At Truck Trend, we favor vehicles that have the capability and drive systems to deal with backcountry adventures, but we understand that buyers here typically have simpler, more car-oriented priorities in mind. With that said, we gravitate to one of the most expensive members of the group because of the added capability provided by the Terrain Response all-wheel-drive system. Additionally, the LR2's new chassis is light years ahead of the previous model (the Freelander), giving the new LR2 an on-road feel it never had before.

Off the beach and into Morocco's interior, much of the country is covered in a blanket of fist-size rocks. It was a struggle to keep the vehicle on course on that Mars-like surface. After turning the rotary dial on the Terrain Response selector knob to the Grass/Gravel/Snow setting, the LR2 easily bounded over the rock. Unlike Terrain Response in pricier Land Rovers, the LR2's has no Rock Crawl mode, a consequence of not having a low-range gear. Instead, the LR2 uses a Haldex computer-controlled center differential, also from Volvo; however, one advantage of Land Rover's version is it has a precharged reservoir of hydraulic fluid that lets the differential instantly shift power to the rear wheels, rather than needing front-wheel speed differential to build pressure to engage the clutches.

If the Land Rover LR2 doesn't knock the socks off of shoppers for an SUV of this size and price, nothing will. It offers more content than they have reason to expect, compared to what's out there. Think of it as a baby Range Rover Sport, for at least 20 grand less. It costs about $8,000 less than the next Land Rover up the scale, the LR3, and has a more powerful and smoother engine: an all-new, high-tech, inline six-cylinder built by Volvo, mated to a sophisticated six-speed automatic transmission.

The only decisions to make in buying a Land Rover LR2 are about options; there is only one model, the LR2 that retails for $34,700 including $715 freight; Land Rover doesn't price the LR2 at a lower-sounding $33,985 plus freight. That price includes all the comfort and capability you expect from a Land Rover.

The ride is excellent, maybe even exceptional. Our 400 hard miles with no stiffness or soreness attests to that. Way out in the country on a long straight road, we hit a series of deep long dips at 100 mph, and the LR2 stayed true, even when the front wheels got a bit light at the top, once. Land Rover says the LR2's monocoque structure is nearly twice as rigid as the competition (whomever that might be), and is exceeded by only the Porsche Cayenne. This airborne test was our way of finding out. The LR2 passed.