Orlando Sentinel's view

Dirt is hot. Dirt is trendy. Dirt is chic.

In the last five years, the popularity of off-road vehicles has soared. More people are buying sport utility vehicles than ever before, and manufacturers have responded quickly to the fad. Nearly every carmaker offers an off-road vehicle – and each has its niche. There are off-road vehicles to suit nearly every taste and budget.

There are Jeeps and their army of imitators. Then there is the Bronco, Blazer and Explorer brigade and a battalion of imported off-roaders with names like Pathfinder, Amigo, 4-Runner, Trooper, Montero and Landcruiser.

But up until this model year, there has been only one true luxury, off-road vehicle. If you wanted a luxury off-roader, you emptied your bank account to the tune of about $42,000 and bought a Range Rover.

Now there is another option.

Oldsmobile is prepared to give Range Rover a run for its money with the tough, luxurious Bravada, Oldsmobile’s first truck in nearly 60 years. It must rank as one of the biggest automotive surprises of the decade.

The fully equipped Range Rover is still King of the Mountain, but the Bravada – at about $20,000 less – is an excellent vehicle in almost every way.

Recently, both were tested on some of the worst terrain that could be found in Central Florida.

Out on west State Road 50, bulldozers were clearing land for a new shopping center. The dirt had the consistency of sugar. It was loose, thick and treacherous. Caterpillar tractors left ditch-sized trenches that few vehicles could get through. Farther down the road we found some steep hills covered with loose sand.

How they Compare

The Range Rover earned its reputation as the world’s toughest, most durable luxury off-roader by churning through rugged terrain while transporting occupants in all the resplendent luxury British vehicles are known for – namely wood, leather, air conditioning and presumably, classical music. Indeed the Rover glided through the test with a typically British stiff upper lip.

The leather seats were firm and comfortable; the air conditioner kept its cool, and the vehicle remained steady and easy to handle.

But the Bravada also plowed through with a gritty meat-and-potatoes American determination. Blindfolded, you’d have a tough time telling the difference between the Range Rover and the Oldsmobile.

Both vehicles feature heavily damped suspension systems that allow much wheel travel. This enables the suspension systems to absorb much of the trauma.

Yes, you’re slightly shaken in both vehicles – but you are not stirred.

On paper, a comparison of the two vehicles reveals some striking similarities. But the Oldsmobile can’t compete with the tremendous amount of ”snob appeal” the Rover has garnered. The rich and famous have made the Range Rover their favorite vehicle.

The Oldsmobile’s styling is pleasing and successfully conveys class and luxury, but it does n’t quite measure up to the Rover in some key areas. And simply because Bravada isn’t imported, and because it is priced lower than the Rover, some never will consider it an alternative.

But car buyers who look at value for the money – and who care little about what other people think – may very well be impressed by the Oldsmobile Bravada.

Under the Hood

It’s no secret General Motors has committed a lit any of blunders over the years. Perhaps one of the biggest was in 1966 when GM sold Rover the powerful, lightweight, 215-cubic-inch aluminum V-8 engine that it had developed for the Buick Special, Pontiac Tempest and Oldsmobile F-85 compact cars of the early ’60s.

Twenty-four years later, the old GM powerplant has been turned into one of the world’s best engines. Now it displaces 241 cubic inches and generates 178 horsepower.

The aluminum engine has powered everything from MG, Morgan, TVR and Triumph sports cars to trucks and British police vehi cles. During the 1970s, when gas prices soared, GM tried and failed to buy back the engine from Rover.

The aluminum V-8, outfitted with Lucas/Bosch fuel injection, is ideal for the Range Rover. It sounds expensive, has loads of torque and runs cool and quiet under strenuous conditions. Only one transmission is available in the Rover: a ZF four-speed automatic that is connected to a two-speed transfer case. The Rover features permanent four-wheel drive.

The Bravada is equipped with a 4.3-liter Vortec V-6 that produces 160 horsepower. It also is connected to an automatic gearbox that provides full-time four-wheel drive. However, unlike its distant Chevy and GMC cousins, the Bravada comes standard with a feature called Smart Trak, which, working in conjunction with the standard anti-lock brakes, automatically prevents wheel slip and parcels out torque as needed to each wheel.

On the Inside

Both vehicles are equipped with leather interiors, but the Rover’s interior is clearly better. Wood trim and thick luxurious carpets complement a well-laid out interior.

The Bravada’s interior uses too many common GM components to make it look special. Its gauge package, an electronic video-game affair, is not as simple and neat as the Rover’s analog instruments, and the Bravada is available only with a column-mounted shifter. In the Range Rover, the shifter is on the floor in the center console. No sunroof is available in the Bravada; on the Range Rover it is a $1,500 option.

The Range Rover also had an optional ($750) CD player; the Bravada doesn’t offer one.

Range Rover does a better job of concealing an unsightly spare tire; the Bravada’s spare swallows a large chunk of the rear compartment.

However, the Olds has some excellent features the Rover doesn’t. GM’s keyless entry system is a wonderful convenience. One press of the button on the radio-controlled device on the key chain from as far as 50 feet away unlocks the driver’s door. Two presses unlock all the doors. Another button unlocks the tailgate.

The Bravada has a roof rack standard for stowing snow skis, suitcases and other items. The Rover’s is optional. Mechanically, both offer anti-lock brakes, power steering, windows, seats, mirrors, cruise control, rear windshield wipers and other amenities.

The major difference between the two vehicles lies in the way the carmakers have defined their mission.

The Range Rover provides a luxurious, sedan like ride in nearly every terrain. Rover has designed this vehicle for those who will take it where there is no pavement; in fact, the manufacturer encourages Rover owners to explore rough terrain. That’s what helps make the Rover so good in urban environments. Potholes, speed bumps and curves aren’t even a minor nuisance for the Range Rover.

The brakes and self-leveling suspension system on Range Rover are more heavy-duty than those of the Olds.

Oldsmobile, on the other hand, has defined the Bravada buyer as one who will use the vehicle mostly on the road. Studies show that most people who buy sport utility vehicles rarely use them off road. Knowing this, Oldsmobile tuned the Bravada for highway use, and it has the edge in stability at highway cruising speeds. Its steering radius is much tighter than that of the Rover.

At 65 mph on the highway, the Rover is a bit wallowy and is apt to be bothered by wind gusts, and the steering needs constant correcting.

The Bravada gets betters gas mileage than the Rover, but it doesn’t sacrifice performance. EPA estimates for the Bravada are 17 miles per gallon city, 22 highway. The Rover compares with 13 mpg city/16 highway. I got about 11 mpg in city driving in the Rover – without air conditioning. The Olds returned about 16 mpg.

Perhaps the most curious aspect of the Rover is the way the body panels fit. There is about a half-inch space between fenders and door openings. Range Rover’s Bill Baker says the gap is there to allow for body flex in extremely rough terrain.

Everything on the Rover worked perfectly. Nothing vibrated, rattled or squeaked. And the company backs the Range Rover with what must be one of the best, most extensive warranty and service programs in the business.

The Olds, however, did have a few quirks. The most annoying was the fuel gauge. I ran out of gas even though the gauge indicated fuel remained. A rear door squeaked on bumpy roads. A bolt vibrated loose from underneath the dash. The engine backfired once loudly. But the Olds had only 97 miles on it. By the time it hit 500 miles, the squeak was gone and the engine behaved itself. The single backfire remains a mystery.

And the Winner Is

Given a choice between the two vehicles, considering their price, performance and off-road abilities, I would choose the Bravada – but only if Olds gives it a floor-mounted shifter and a sunroof.

The better-equipped Range Rover is the superior vehicle, but it is not $20,000 superior. With the Rover, you pay for the exclusivity of owning it – only 5,000 or so Range Rovers are sold in the United States each year. You pay for the vehicle’s incredible off-road capability (whether you use it or not) and, in terms of parts and tuneup work, you will pay for the weakness of the dollar against the British pound. For example, brake pads, a common wear item, cost $243.01 to replace on the Rover, while brake pads and rear shoes cost $90 to replace on the Oldsmobile.

However, if you have your heart set on a Range Rover, there is a less expensive version available. The Hunter model that debuted a few weeks ago at the Chicago Auto Show sells for $35,900 – about $10,000 more than a fully equipped Bravada. (But it comes minus the leather interior, sway bars and anti-lock brakes.)

In any case, it took 21 years for the Range Rover to reach the plateau it now occupies. Land Rover, like Jaguar, Rolls-Royceand other British car companies has a tendency to build a vehicle and improve it slowly without changing sheetmetal.

The time may be at hand when Land Rover no longer can afford to rest on its laurels with the Range Rover.

Thanks to Oldsmobile, Range Rover is no longer alone in the luxury sport utility market.

Range Rover background:

The Range Rover originated in the minds of Rover’s Peter Wilks and Spencer King. In 1966, they met and discussed ways to combine the best traits of Rover’s luxury cars with the incredible durability and rugged toughness of the company’s utilitarian Land Rovers – the vehicles that conquered Africa and Australia.

They came up with the Range Rover, which debuted in Great Britain in 1970 as a two-door model with a manual transmission.

It was an instant success. Throughout the 1970s and most of the ’80s, demand exceeded supply. Ther e were years-long waiting lists, and second-hand vehicles sold for more than new ones. After nearly two decades of evolution, the four-door version of the Range Rover finally went on sale in America in 1987.