I have about two days to make a decision on an LR2 or a Pajero as my company supplied car. Although company supplied, the car will also be available for off road trips... Not a bad choice to have to make, but while my preference leans towards the LR2, I can find few if any real use reviews of the LR2 in the sand.

The Australian sites have some good info, but the sand use they discuss is generally sandy trails as opposed to sandy desert/dune driving. I've test driven the Pajero in the sand and, to be honest, it's damn good. In order to catch the Ramadhan offers, it's not likely that I'll have an opportunity to test drive the LR2 before having to make a decision so I would welcome some feed back from LR2 owners that have used their LR2's in the rough.

Some background: The car will be used 90/10 on-road/off-road. Most off-road will be graded roads leading to sandy desert/dunes (some over 100m in height). I understand from the reviews that I have read that the LR2 is supremely competent in most off-road scenarios, but the general comment regarding sand use was that momentum was key. This flies in the face of the majority of sand dune driving here (Oman) where 'as slow as possible, as fast as necessary' is key if you want to bring your car back in one piece. Obviously, lack of low range means that the LR2 will not be as capable as many others in the Land Rover stable (or will it?), but I am wondering whether any forum members have used their LR2's in soft/shifting dunes, and what their thoughts are?

I have a D2 (when it works) and a D90 (when I finish building it) as back-up for the really rough stuff. My head says Pajero, my heart says LR2. What does the forum say?

TIA

Mark

 

I SAY: Has the rear differential been replaced? They blow out like every 30,000 miles. DO A SEARCH ON HERE ABOUT THE DIFFERENTIAL.

 

It'll be a new car, 5yr/120,000km warranty, so there should be time for the diff to blow out at least twice on the dealers ticket...

 

Other members have mentioned how this model is prone to diff problems, from water entry and interior coating "shedding" and getting into bearing; both can be reduced by changing diff fluid once a year instead of 50 -75K miles. One would have to believe that your planned use of the truck would qualify as "extreme duty" when compared to a daily 5 mile commute and soccer practice for the kids here in the States. So all fluids, of any vehicle you select, should be changed on a more aggressive schedule. You should prep the vehicle as if going on an expedition, and maintain like it was a taxi cab or police vehicle - change belts and hoses on a frequent schedule, not wait for a leak 70 miles out in the dunes.

 

Savannah, you are absolutely correct regarding servicing and maintenance. I've been here (Oman) for the last 21 years, and have made countless desert crossings/remote area trips, invariably in landrovers of one guise or another. It's the details that leave you stranded...

As happens, I managed to twist the dealers arm and blagged a road-test this morning. I'm now looking forward to a shower after digging the baby LR out of the dunes in 38C heat!

To be fair, the LR2 was excellent on tarmac, and very poised on loose gravel/graded roads. Its abilities on sand very impressive, with provisos. On loose sand, such as that found on dunes running along a beach, the LR2 coped magnificently IF momentum could be maintained. Not all out, ***** out momentum, but the non-damaging speed that can easily be maintained if you can clearly see the next obstacle and pick an appropriate line. Once the dunes become more closely spaced and momentum is no longer an option, the LR2's weaknesses become apparent. Despite having about 8.5" ground clearance, which is on par with Defenders/D1/D2, once the relatively flat belly touches down traction is quickly lost, at which point the traction control system, brilliant as it is, is rendered useless. Again, to be fair, on checking the sand behind the LR2 you could clearly see where the TC system had managed to drag the vehicle forward with the belly in contact with the sand - impressive!

The design failings then kick in: Empty load space, remove spare wheel, and extract jack. Oops! Where the hell do you jack? Plastic sills, chassis on the sand, and no hard points visible. Eventually I jury rigged a system to jack the wheels up, in fill with sand, and by judicious rocking from drive to reverse, she popped out.

All in, I'm very, very impressed with the LR2. Great fun on tarmac. Softroader, it might be, but for any use except soft technical sand it performs bloody well. That said, if I can't drive my wife and two dogs across the dunes to the sea for a BBQ, it won't work for me.

Pajero it is then.

 

actually the LR2 is more capable then the LR3 on sand. Due to its light weight and the terrain response what is needed is tire spin not low end torque. Trust me the LR2 surprised us when we took it out in the same conditions of three feet of light powered snow. Instead of snow mode you actually use sand mode for thick snow. The vehicle performed flawlessly and it worked great.

Rear ends don't go in these vehicles. They are quite stable, we have some minor issues with noise but not failed rear ends. Plus 2011s problems were fixed.

 

Rovin4life, I'm intrigued by your comment that the LR2 is more capable in the sand than the LR3. My experience is that the LR2 'sand' mode allows for increased wheel spin in order to maintain momentum. This may be appropriate for conditions that allow momentum to be maintained, but once momentum is lost the wheel spin strategy is not productive. Driving slowly in dunes requires that wheel spin be minimised. Once wheels start to spin excessively the only direction you are going is down, and as soon as max articulation is reached the chassis touches and all momentum is lost.

Momentum cannot be maintained continuously in dunes. At some point you will need to slow to walking pace for a technical section, or stop in less than ideal conditions - whether to reverse out from a poorly chosen line, or to check over a crest on foot before attempting the descent. Re-starting in these conditions will be nigh impossible if wheels are allowed to spin excessively.

I have never driven the LR3, although I would love to give it a test, but I am reliably informed that the LR3 would out-perform my Disco 1, Disco 2, or old 110 in the sand. I happily take my Disco 2 into remote sandy desert. I would not dream of taking an LR2 into the same areas.

Am I missing something? I do not have the benefit of formal offroad training, but I have many thousand kms experience driving in sandy deserts. Trying to use techniques successfully used in dune driving - as slow as possible, as fast as necessary - in the LR2, proved entirely unsuccessful.

As I said earlier, I rate the LR2 very highly on gravel / graded roads but I can't see how it could be better than the LR3 in sand and it certainly didn't hold a candle to my D2 (CDL fitted). Have I missed something obvious?

 

you don't need a transfercase with a low range to get thru sand. You need the tires to spin, not to much though as you stated. roughly 1800 to 2300 rpms, thats the trick with sand mode it gives you all the wheel spin you need but you do need to show caution and not use too much, plus lower the tire pressure for more traction.

 

Intrigued by what you said about the rear on the LR2. I just bought a 2009 LR2 and fell in love with it when i drove her in the pouring rain and it didn't hydroplane, not once. Then it drove flawlessly in the snow later that night..But - Should i be worried about the rear differential going anytime soon? Why/why not? That would be such a buzzkill - esp bc i paid cash for it.... and don't feel like putting another 4k into it ha!