Ok, for those who are here to decide on the LR3 vs another vehicle, or to decide whether to pull the trigger on this or a used model, or whatever you may be looking for, I've decided to post a review of the 2008 model, after 2 months experience, and 2500 miles of driving.

I considered a lot of models before deciding to buy this one, so if anyone has any questions about how this model compares with anything else you may be considering, I will do my best to give you an unbiased opinion.

Size:
the LR3 is large as you stand back from the vehicle, but becomes surprisingly larger as you approach and most particularly at standard ride height. Once inside, there is plenty of foot and leg room for front and back passengers, and across the middle bench seat positions.

Headroom is superb, no matter where you sit, and even the tallest people will not feel claustrophobic in this car.

Shoulder room is also well proportioned. Not as spacious as some other vehicles, but surviveable for sure.

Stadium seating should be part of any multi-passenger vehicle, bar none!

The rear seat passenger seats are what sells this above all others. The seating is superb for even 6'+ people, with enough leg room to tolerate even a couple hours of travel. The seating positions also get their own radio/music ports and clear view out the front windshield, plus their own sunroof, to help promote an open and airy feel. Plenty of elbow room, since the seats are reasonably well spaced apart. Ingress/Egress is easy, particularly at access height, as the outboard seats have easy flip access and leaves a nice hole to crawl into the back area. Mind you, this also makes getting packages from the back cargo area easy as well.

Power:
The only US powertrain is the 4.4L V8 based on the Jaguar AJV8, and it is smooth, easily revs, and generates good power. Not a barnstormer by any stretch, but it makes the LR3 feel fairly nimble. The 6speed autobox has command shift to hold gearing as you like. The tranny downshifts quickly and upshifts fairly smoothly, so you don't feel the lurch. Gone is the lurch from the previous models. A computer reprogram apparently resolves this problem in 05/06 models if I recall correctly. top gear acceleration is smooth, but slow. You can command shift a lower gear, or put it in sport mode to hold gears longer. the tranny is adaptive to your driving style. 95% of driving, you will be pleased and satisfied with the acceleration. I would say that towing uphill may be a bit of a challenge, but only if you tow near the max. Otherwise, you always feel as if you are going slower than you really are. You can get tickets in this one!

Offroad:
This was already very well covered by Jantiz in a prior posts. We have yet to take it offroad, but we fully intend to. The settings and Jantiz's guide to using them will come in handy. We held out for the HD package, and we are glad we did. Every off-road enthusiast I've spoken to has highly recommended the HD package for those that really want to off-road their LR3's.

Ride/handling:
Smooth, supple, and firm during brisk acceleration. You can feel a little wafty in quick side to side maneuvers, but the truck does not slip or slide underneath you. Weight is probably the biggest factor here. I put the salesman through some scary experiences trying to flap the truck, but it's darn near impossible unless you do something really stupid. I generally feel in good control with this car, but it will give notice when you are reaching the limits. One of the tightest turning radius in any car. As tight as my M5 even! It soaks up road imperfections better than nearly anything I've driven in, save a Cadillac DTS. You still do, however, retain some road feel through the steering wheel. I like that. I tend to drive it mainly on highway trips, and with a few in-town stops in street traffic. Long trips should be very comfortable in this car.

Safety:
The LR3 has tons of safety features, which are easily reviewed on the site. I haven't had the misfortune of experiencing any of them. The outboard seats have LATCH connectors, and all seats have tether connections so you can put the little ones anywhere in the back. There is plenty of space for the carseats AND front seat passengers so that is a bonus as well. We use the orbit baby car seat, which is a little larger than most due to it's egg shape, but no problems to report. Full side impact and airbag protection, but no side airbags for those of you with toddlers sitting in outboard seats.

Seats:
The seats are firm with the Luxury package leather, which includes a nice gathered leather look. The lux package also includes a pocket on the front of the driver's seat for whatever items the driver feel is so important as to put between their legs while driving. Back map pockets are spacious as well. The standard package leather is perforated in the contact areas of the seat bottoms and backs, and looks clean and durable. Despite what others have written about the headrests and their position, in 2008 the angle is somewhat less severe, and I don't have any complaints about where my head hits it. I suppose if I drove around with a ballcap on backwards it might make a difference, but I don't, so it doesn't.

Folding the seats flat is one of the coolest features as you get a completely flat surface to load onto. It's ridiculously simple to fold the seats, and since they are mechanical, they should work well for the life of the truck. Ergonimical controls make folding the seats easy on the back as well, save for the middle seat. I find it is easier to fold this seat if standing on the passenger side.

One nice item is that the middle seats are a 35/30/35 split seat, with the middle seat independent of the others. You can fold this flat to have a flat table surface for outboard passengers, or to accomodate long items in the cargo area.

the cargo cover stows into the floor to cover the gap when all seats are flat folded.

Make sure your passengers carry lots of loose change, as they will get lost in the seats and once you vacuum, you will find plenty of gas money down there later on. You'll need it.

Gas mileage:
Gets about 16 combined in both average and brisk driving. Forget about all the highs and lows that are randomly reported everywhere else. Real world driving, combined city/highway will yield around 16mpg. That is on par with everything else out there on the road, except the Acura MDX and Honda Pilot, both of which do not have V8's and can't tow what you can.

Interior:
Nicely appointed, and with 2008, the new silver accents on controls and HVAC surfaces lends a nicer/more elegant appeal to the interior overall. The wood comes standard in the HSE and is nice. It is a plastic coated laminate wood, and the plastic coating is durable, and satin finished. The piano black wood and alpaca combination is beautiful. We have the Walnut and black leather combination which my wife just loves. I think it really brings the level of luxury up a notch.

Radio controls are confusing and outdated, but will work once you learn the eccentricities. The right dial does little on the d

 

WOW, I do believe there is competition for the longest post . Nicely done. I traded in a GX470 for my LR3. Best decision I ever made. Would do it again in a New York minute. If my finances would allow, I would own two! By the way, I just stumbled accross a little known bug. If while using the bluetooth connection you get a second call and attempt to answer it using the radio controls, the computer has a great chance of freezing on "phone mode", thus keeping the display on phone and the GPS screen on, even with the truck off and key removed.

Have to briefly disconnect the battery to reset the computer so it doesn't drain your battery while parked. There is currently no software fix for this bug. Dealer recommends you turn off the call waitingfeature from the settings menu on your truck until they fix the software. I will post under the right title to alert our otherLR3 owners.