Originally Posted by 5280LR3

Meh... can't say you'd NEED the V8 for the kind of off roading we do here in Colorado. It's all at a crawling pace anyway. I think the biggest issue would be the elevation you're at which may make the V8 more desirable since you lose x amount of horsepower as you gain in elevation. I don't really dwell on the off roading power of the LR3 with all it's electronic driveline wizardry unless you're climbing a wall or some crazy stuff. Then you probably should have a winch anyway. The thing I have yet to try and wonder about the most with my V6 is the long drone up I-70 to the tunnels or coming back up Floyd hill loaded with a weeks worth of gear. That would be the test. I was surprised how well the V6 moves along down here on the flats (at 5,000' plus) and I'm assuming there is a certain amount of computer intervention that tries to make best of what little air we have to make power. I've had my V6 LR3 for 14 months and 13k miles and have not had the time to make the journey up I-70 loaded or empty. That's sad to admit. Planning a trip to Ouray & Telluride this September that will test the LR3 both on highway and the 12,000' elevation San Juan mountain passes. I did manage to spend some time on the Forest Service roads up at Bunce School Road in the LR3 and it felt more powerful (and a way better ride) than my mildly lifted Jeep Cherokee with the HO 4.0L. Definitely felt like it had more torque. Spent some time trying the different off road and suspension modes. Very impressed so far.
As far as reliability... can't say one would be better than the other. Plan on doing the V6 cam chain tensioners at 70k (easy to replace from outside the cylinder head) and then the internal ones and guides at 130k or so if they start rattling. It's nice to be able to buy off the shelf Ford parts for these engines (they're used in the Explorers and Rangers with a few Rover enhancements). The V8 isn't without it's problems either. Heat issues (not cool at our elevations! pun intended) the coddling of the injectors and barfing of oil into the intake plenum playing havoc with the throttle body, etc. I don't think you could go wrong in either instance if you find one with reasonable mileage with maintenance records. Allow $500 in your budget for an GAP IID tool if you plan on doing any repairs yourself or want to know whats going on as your driving and checking codes.

Originally Posted by houm_wa

Does it do this "spritzing" intentionally or due to some failure?

Originally Posted by COSPILOT

In case you are curious, for normally aspirated engines the specific loss of performance is 3%/1000 ft in elevation. So in Colorado my house is at 7,000 ft, with that I have a 21% loss in power with my engine, and even more as I head up I-70. The one and only time back in 2006 that I was given a V6 as a loaner, I couldn't wait to return it for lack of power.