Toward the end of the year I will be getting my daughter her first car. My number one priority is something that she can survive in, in a collision. The next priority is a dependable car that can stand up to typical teenage abuse.

We have a 2015 RRS and have been quite happy with it, but I am not familiar with the LR3. I'd honestly prefer to buy her an older 4Runner, but it doesn't have the "cool factor" that the Land Rover has.

Am I completely nuts buying an LR3 for a teenager?

 

Not really, they are reliable, solid and safe as SUV's go.

My daughter wants a LR3 as well, but I have a few more years to go.

 

I think it's overkill for that purpose, and even though it's dependable it's still expensive to maintain. It checks the boxes though, for safety.

 

As a teenager myself who bought my own LR3 here are my thoughts. 1. It took me forever to convince my parents to let me drive a luxury car. Yes people will think you or your daughter are rich. Even though I bought my 06 that had a replacement motor for under 10k in great shape. Honestly the "luxury issue" depends on what your daughters used too. If its common for her to have name brand luxury items (No issue with that at all) than I would say go for it. But realize that rovers are a status symbol and I for sure caught some of the murmuring of "Oh his parents spoil him" "they must be loaded". As for safety... they are safe. Not only is the high up seating position fantastic for seeing everything on the road but with 2 frames you'd be hard pressed to really make the thing come apart in a wreck. If you can I would say try to find one with the v6, I personally think its better suited to the tranny and for a new driver slower is better. Reliability is actually pretty good. The engines are solid, some had issue with the torque converter but mine has 120 on it and the tranny shifts like butter. You will have some little rover gremlins here and there but overall these trucks were pretty solid.

One thing that is KEY. She needs to understand this isn't a pickup truck that you can go dog in the mud. Will it do it? For sure and do it with class but i'm a firm believer these rugs are better suited to the trails than mud festivals.

Id say go for it! Shell be happy for sure.

 

 

In that case considering what you can pick one up for id go for it. Just dont let her in a LR4 or else the 3 will seem bland even though they really share the same DNA. The interior and extra ponies are nice for more experienced drivers (Mostly the HP part, we all like nice leather) But the LR3 I think will hold up better to the teenage abuse. Thats from tired and too experience. Im no perfect kid and have had my fair share of bad ideas and screwups. My rover is still in perfect running shape and the interior holds up great.

Make sure she never has an open drink in the front center console cupholder. 1 splash of water from a yeti cup was enough to kill my transmission selector and that cost about a grand at the dealer. I now have on IID tool so I can diagnose issues without needing the stealership and fix it myself.

 

Meh...aside from the doors I like the LR3 better than the LR4 inside and out. The dash material on the LR4 feels kinda "rubbery" and the exterior is almost feminine compared to the LR3.

The horsepower would be nice but with the LR3's slightly better crawl ratio, the delta in torque when/where it matters (low range at the wheels) is negligible.

Not to thread-jack...I think there are better choices that are also safe for your daughter but whatever, it's your dime.

 

We had three different discovery IIs for our kids when they were in high school. My daughter had one in college in Utah. I felt confident that she could get around in the snow. After a defective head gasket job It slipped a sleeve and the engine was toast. We got her a 4Runner. And then got each of our two boys a 4Runner when they left for college. The 4Runners are incredible. I never worry about them breaking down or overheating. Maintenance is a fraction of the cost of that of the Land Rover. If they were still at home I might feel fifferently, but when they are 1,000 miles away, the Toyota gives me much more comfort.

Phil

 

My high schooler has an '04 D2 and loves it. But the price to keep it running has been pretty high. Thought I understood that going in...

I just stumbled onto a garage kept '96 4Runner and I think I might have to reconsider the a$$ pain of LR maintenance time/costs and press with Phil's comments above.

It may just be this D2 as it didn't get the best of care by it's previous owners or I need to keep drilling down on the patience on both or parts and stay the course...?

Cheers mates,
G

 

Honestly I think the fact that our kids want Land Rovers means we raised them right.

The appreciate hard work

The are willing to commit to something

They like staying home to spend time with us (since the rover won't start)