She Said, She Said: 2008 Land Rover LR2

Beth: The latest car to get the She Said/She Said treatment is Land Rover’s LR2, a compact luxury SUV that, frankly, I could sum up in one word: eh. It drives nicely, has comfortable seats and some cushy features; it just failed to elicit any strong feelings from me. There’s nothing exciting about its rather boxy looks, and the wood trim inside — probably intended to hint at luxury — screamed “cheesy” to me.

Amanda: I think I made a mistake in discussing the LR2 with a couple of the reviewers before I drove it. The way they spoke about it, I expected to love it — but I had the same lukewarm reaction you did. I agree that it was very comfortable to drive, and I never felt like it was too big for me, but there were so many things that seemed overly complicated about it. I had to fight with the armrest to get it to the right height; it seemed like there were an excessive number of buttons on the center console — and don’t even get me started on the navigation system.

Beth: Oh, the navigation system. After fighting with it for a while, a savvy passenger figured out a backdoor approach to programming it that worked pretty well, but said the LR2’s illogical system couldn’t hold a candle to his portable Garmin. Considering the LR2’s system is part of a $3,500 package, that choice sounds like an easy one to me — you’ll be shelling out enough cash for this thing in the first place. It starts at $35,375, and as-equipped our tester topped $40,000. Ultimately, I think that was the biggest turnoff for me: I simply didn’t feel like I was driving a $40,000 vehicle.

Amanda: I didn’t feel the $40,000 either, but we’re also not driving it in conditions where we’d get to see where some of that money goes. It’s pretty much the only car in its class that’s a true off-roader, so if that’s important to you and you want a smaller luxury SUV, this is probably one of your better options. However, as a city driver who has no interest in taking her car mudding, a lot of the off-roading touches were lost on me.

Beth:

Fair point. I guess if you’re one of those rare drivers who wants a small SUV to take off-road, the LR2 is a good choice. It’s perfectly civilized on the pavement, and the cabin is quiet at highway speeds. Four people and our gear for a weekend camping trip fit inside (though just barely), even if the weather nixed the outdoors portion of the trip. If you need what the LR2 has and feel like dropping $40,000 on those needs, I wouldn’t discourage you. I just wouldn’t encourage you either.

Amanda: Mostly I think I did a bad job of managing my own expectations before I drove the LR2. Between the hubbub when it first came out and some of the reviewers’ reactions to it, I thought I’d like it a lot more than I did. Like you, I didn’t dislike it, but if I was in the market for a luxury SUV I’d at least like to take a spin in the Acura RDX or Infiniti EX35 first to see how they compare.

Check out more photos, research and other reviews of the Land Rover LR2 here.