What can climb 914m mountains as easily as a goat, sail through wild wadis as if it were a luxurious yacht and behave as well on sand as it does on the road? I'll tell you; it's the Land Rover.
But before I was able to put it to the test for myself in the Wahiba desert and Tiwi mountains in Muscat, I always had my reservations about it. I was never really much of a fan of this particular SUV and preferred its more muscular looking brother, the Range Rover. I grew up believing you should only own a Land Rover if you lived on a farm. Otherwise why else would you want one?
Back in the day, they looked gangly at best and you'd always find them covered in muck. Not the way to impress a kid fixated with shiny muscle cars.
After landing in Muscat, I was whisked off to the Grand Hyatt in the 2011 Land Rover LR4 boasting a naturally aspirated, Jaguar sourced 5.0-litre V8.
LOOKALIKE
The LR4's grille and headlight design give it an overall look that's similar to the top of the line Range Rover. Around the back there are some modest taillamp updates with LEDs and the whole package measures in at 4,829mm long, 2,176mm wide and 1,887mm high.
There are some benefits to its boxy shape, which is now softer and rounder but doesn't destroy its heritage — we Brits are traditionalists — and one of them is its great outward visibility. The massive windscreen allows you to see out into the distance while the A-pillar is quite narrow and does not restrict your view unlike other vehicles in this class. The amount of light the three separate sunroofs allow into the cabin is extraordinary. You'll be poking at the ceiling to make sure it's actually up there because it feels like it isn't. A convertible Land Rover? Now, there's an idea. It's airy and spacious and because you sit high up on the road, it gives you a commanding view. However, visibility at the back is impaired somewhat especially when you have the third row of seats up — those big headrests are all you'll see in your rear view mirror. But fold them down and you can see the tailgate has a cut out of the window which helps you see a bit more while the reversing camera comes in handy when parking.
The seats in the LR4 are right up there among the best. The levels of comfort are extremely satisfactory — they are superbly padded and can be electrically adjusted just about any which way you please, while legroom up front is aplenty. I particularly like the adjustable arm rests for the driver and passenger seats.
Plush carpets, lots of wood and leather trim adorn the interior making it a serene place to be. The fit and finish is fabulous but you do get some unwelcome wind noise.
On the whole, the dashboard is neat and tidy but it suffers from some poorly placed and unintuitive controls. For example, the touch screen is a long reach away and slow to respond while to honk the horn you need to press either of two delicate thin bars on the wheel rather than mash the centre.
I also found some minor issues with the two piece tailgate. Firstly, if you leave it up you have to lift your luggage rather than slide it out of the back and when you put the tail down, it leaves you about a foot away from the rear of the vehicle, which makes reaching inside a bit tricky. On the plus side, it does give you a place to sit and enjoy some breathtaking views, which is what I did during our stay at the Desert Nights Camp in Wahiba. Its utility carries through to the back seat — there's actually enough room for three adults to sit comfortably side by side and in total, it will carry seven thanks to that third row.
There are new paint options for the 2011 LR4 and mine was finished in a bright Fuji White which looked superb when it was clean, but even better when it became dirty. While gazing at the attractive grille, I noticed that the famous gold on green oval badge had been revised too. It now features a silver on green combination which creates a more contemporary look.
LOVE THAT V8
The lightweight aluminium alloy 5.0-litre V8 produces 375bhp at 6,500rpm and 510Nm of torque at 3,500rpm with a CO2 emissions of 328g/km. You certainly need all that power when accelerating because this is a big, heavy SUV weighing 2,684kg which reaches 0-100kph in 7.9 seconds and tops out at a respectable 195kph.
The centrally-mounted, multi-hole, spray-guided fuel injection system helps to make this an efficient unit by delivering fuel at a pressure of up to 2,175psi directly to each of the eight cylinders. The injectors have been positioned to send fuel exactly in the middle of the combustion chamber and this gives a better air-fuel mixture. It'll get you around 12mpg in the city and 17mpg on the highway. An oil to water heat exchanger also transfers heat from the coolant to the engine oil allowing the unit to warm up quicker and thus, reduce emissions.
The engine is mated to a ZF HP28 six-speed automatic transmission and it provides snappy response, with rapid and refined shifts.
The suspension, air sprung independent double wishbones at the front and back, has been revised with improvements to the roll centres, anti-roll bars, suspension knuckles, damper bushes and the addition of a variable ratio steering rack for greater stability. It certainly helps during high speed cruising and you feel it being put to the test during acute steering angles and it passes those examinations with flying colours.
The twin-piston sliding callipers feature 360mm ventilated discs at the front and single pistons with 350mm ventilated discs at the rear. Despite driving around on sand and gravel for two continuous days, the brakes didn't develop any of those annoying squeaks. Quite impressive.
It also features an additional function to make off-roading that much easier and that's the hill start assist. This keeps hold of the brakes for a few seconds to allow you to switch your right peg from the brake to the accelerator without rolling back on the rocky trails. Clever stuff. It switches off automatically when you give it enough gas.
work horse
The ride is firm but it soaks up most bumps out on the rough very well, however, the suspension can become unsettling on extremely bumpy surfaces. On long straight highways, it glides along but it isn't very agile as it leans and lumbers its way around corners while the stability control goes into overdrive to try and keep it secure. The rack and pinion power-assisted steering is light and gives great feedback but like most, it suffers on sand and you're better off with paddles when you hit the water.
It accelerates smoothly and effortlessly, but even though it lacks the menacing growl of the Range Rover's V8, it's not lacking in power, that's for sure.
It shines off-road, as you would expect it, and during my two days with it, I became rather fond of this tireless work horse. It had no problems on the twisty mountain paths which were no wider than a tiny side street in Karama and gave me the confidence to push it to the limits. On the way up dangerous mountain trails, we encountered a regular mix of tarmac, sand and gravel, but the full-time four-wheel drive LR4 dug deep and got us to the top without any problems.
After a delicious lunch we headed down with the hill descent mode firmly engaged. It made the steep journey back seem easy.
Its off-road features include terrain response which can be set to optimise traction in mud, snow or sand. With a twist of the dial, you can adjust the suspension, drivetrain and gearing to fit almost every situation you encounter.
If you're on the road or scaling 45-degree inclines, the LR4 sticks like glue. I had mine set for the gold stuff otherwise I'd still be stuck somewhere between Al Faljat and Al Fleij. Where's that you ask? Exactly.
VERDICT
Land Rovers have always been great off-roaders but this beast should also be appealing to those looking for a refined SUV because it drives as smoothly as a luxury saloon.
It's now much closer to the top of the line Range Rover in terms of looks, and it's far more affordable too.
Typically, when you buy an SUV that is supposed to be good on- and off-road, you tend to make a few concessions for its ride and comfort. But, the LR4 does not seem to suffer from this.
It's happy on all terrains and really is worthy of its name.
specs & ratings
Model 2011 LR4
Engine 5.0-litre V8
Transmission Six-speed auto, AWD
Max power 375bhp @ 6,500rpm
Max torque 510Nm @ 3,500rpm
Top speed 195kph
0-100kph 7.9sec
Price Dh259,000
Plus All terrain capability, smooth engine, comfort
Minus Poor rear visibility
375bhp
The 5.0-litre V8 is a monstrous unit and has 510Nm of torque
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