that ad made me recall a segment on Top Gear where one of them drives something 4x4 up the face of a dam. It gets really steep, then really really steep. IIRC they ended winching whatever it was up AND down the nearly vertical portion of the dam.

Wonder if that ad was taken during actual 'freestyle 4x4 climb' or in some augmented/hidden assist mode.

There were guy wires to keep it from flipping or sliding sideways off the stairs but there was no external assist to the drivetrain.

The doctor (cardiovascular surgeon) who lives down the street from me always quips that he spends more time per year in my 17 year old Ford truck being driven back and forth from the dealer than he does in his Range Rover. Of course when I asked him why he keeps driving Range Rovers, his answer was two fold. One, the practice pays for it. And two, it 'fits' in in the parking lot. Different strokes I guess.

I keep joking with him that if I'd signed up with Uber and charged him for the trips (which I never would), he'd have financed a new truck for me.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
I'm completely amazed that it lasted long enough to make it. The Range Rover is THE most unreliable car to set rubber on the road since the development of the motorised vehicle.

I wouldn't have any of them as a gift.

They make running a Ferrari look like a bargain.

tac

Agree 100%. Give me a Landcruiser any day.

Not an exaggeration. My friend had a Land Rover. The transmission actually dropped off the car at a stoplight.

quote:

Originally posted by Spokane228:
Not an exaggeration. My friend had a Land Rover. The transmission actually dropped off the car at a stoplight.

Just look at re-sale valuations on any Rover just a few years after they are born. Then look at Landcruiser valuations.

How did they get it down?

Visually cool but hardly a demonstration of a robust 4x4 system. My 2003 Wrangler Rubicon could idle up and down those steps in 1st/Lo and locked.

As far as LR, yeah my 5 year experience in a 2001 LR Disco II was a total and complete frustration (from small stuffs like overhead cabin light buttons falling off (2nd day of ownership of a brand new LR), stuck coin tray (multiple times), powered door lock fails, to heavy stuffs like multiple occurrences of the infamous "Christmas tree" which cost several thousands to fix, each time. Biggest mistake was that we declined the $3500 100K extended warranty while still eligible.

The new Land Rover Discovery (the new "LR5" not the Discovery Sport), seems to check all of my "want" boxes for a new vehicle.

It's a true 4x4 with a center locking differential and switchable low gear transfer case...

It's got an available turbo-diesel engine that gets pretty good efficency...

8,000 lb tow rating...

Lightweight unibody construction that saves 1000lbs from the outgoing LR4...

and a third row that an adult could fit into....

The cons I can think of are that it's ugly, and depreciation/reliability concerns...

quote:

Originally posted by g8rforester:
How did they get it down?

No worries. By the next morning whatever parts had not fallen off into the abyss had rusted and blown away as a brown cloud.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
There were guy wires to keep it from flipping or sliding sideways off the stairs but there was no external assist to the drivetrain.

I saw the wires there, but I don't see how they're attached to the vehicle. In one part of the video, all four wheels are off the ground and I still don't see any attachment.

quote:

Originally posted by g8rforester:
How did they get it down?

Probably lowered it back down with guy wires and cables.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
I'm completely amazed that it lasted long enough to make it. The Range Rover is THE most unreliable car to set rubber on the road since the development of the motorised vehicle.

I wouldn't have any of them as a gift.

They make running a Ferrari look like a bargain.

tac

Mine was dead nuts reliable for the first 17 years years I owned it, and it would climb a tree with a Jeep in tow. Truth is, both your experience and mine is anecdotal. I fully realize their reputation, and some years and models have better reps than others, but I'd own another, no question.

By the way, you go to a Toyota or Honda dealer and drive around behind the service department, you'll see plenty of broken ones.

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:
...By the way, you go to a Toyota or Honda dealer and drive around behind the service department, you'll see plenty of broken ones.

Broken down, or in for regular service?

quote:

By the way, you go to a Toyota or Honda dealer and drive around behind the service department, you'll see plenty of broken ones.

Problem with this logic is. The numbers don't even begin to add up.

That was laughable Jigray.

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3: Truth is, both your experience and mine is anecdotal.

Truth is, that my experience is fully documented in the unit records of the British Military Mission to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany [BRIXMIS].

As is every penny spent on them, funded by HQ BAOR and the Berlin Senate funding that bolstered the Allies serving in Berlin during the Cold War.

tac