The Sacramento Bee's view

It does not exactly blow you away with its highway horsepower, and its styling has been compared to an old-school lunchbox. So, why has the all-new 2005 Land Rover LR3 been pulling down major awards – including Motor Trend magazine’s SUV of the Year honor – and getting raves from auto reviewers nationwide?

Because pound for pound, and given the pure purpose of building a sport-utility vehicle, the LR3 just might be the best SUV built to date.

Don’t buy it? Take the LR3 for an off-road test drive – you can do that within a stone’s throw of the Land Rover Rocklin dealership at 4545 Granite Drive, where a man-made off-road course has been built – and if your pulse has not quickened, seek immediate medical assistance. The LR3 is an SUV that begs to go off road. If you just want to look good or drive it up and down the freeway, save your $45,000 and seek out something else.

The LR3 has so many features to tackle the unpaved paths. Its Command Shift transmission has “intelligent” qualities that adapt to a driver’s shift patterns and driving style.

That’s just the warm-up for the Land Rover’s patented Terrain Response system, where the driver can choose from five terrain settings via a simple rotary knob on the center console. It’s like ordering from a menu – slippery snow, shifting sand, solid rock – with Terrain Response automatically selecting ideal settings from the LR3’s multiple traction systems, which include electronic air suspension with load leveling, engine torque control, hill-descent control and electronic traction control.

A stiff monocoque body structure – what Land Rover calls “Integrated Body-frame” – provides nice balance and very little jostling even as the vehicle digs into rough off-road work.

Power is no problem with a 4.4-liter V-8 rated at 300 horsepower. Four-wheel, ventilated disc brakes with special enhancements are mountain-goat strong and sure.

Given the LR3 package, you feel depressed making your way back to the paved highway. But once there, the LR3 demonstrates its versatility.

Freeway cruising is smooth and remarkably quiet, despite the test SE model’s listed weight of 5,426 pounds. The LR3 had very little body sway on high-speed corners.

The V-8 does not produce hot-rod-like accelerations, but zero-to-60 miles per hour in 8 seconds is not too shabby. You do pay a price on fuel economy, which comes in at 14 miles per gallon in city driving and 18 mpg on the open road.

Some critics have jumped on the styling, and the general shape of the LR3 is a box. Indeed, it’s almost exactly as tall (74.5 inches) as it is wide (75.4 inches), but it’s not a rolling parcel. Front-end styling is appropriately dynamic, and the rear window with a little zigzag pattern where metal meets glass is pleasantly unique.

The LR3’s off-road capabilities almost make you forget that it’s a Land Rover, which means luxury inside. There are a power sunroof, heated front and second row seats, leather seating surfaces and leather wrapping on the steering wheel that tilts and telescopes.

The 240-watt, nine-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system with an in-dash, six-disc CD changer is excellent. Over-the-top amenities include a heated front windshield that can be sprayed with jets of heated washer fluid.

Safety features are numerous and cutting edge. The LR3 comes with eight air bags on seven-seat vehicles and six on five-seat models. Driver and passenger air bags deploy in two stages, depending on severity of a frontal impact.

Also, the LR3 has weight and seat belt tension sensors that detect the size and position of a seat occupant and adjust air bag deployment accordingly. Side-impact protection comes from seat-mounted air bags in the front and side curtain air bags for the back rows.

The LR3 is a thoroughly thought-out vehicle. And for those who want to know why an American company doesn’t make a vehicle like this, it is interesting to to note that the LR3 is the first new Land Rover developed entirely under Ford Motor Co. ownership.

About the writer: The Bee’s Mark Glover can be reached at (916) 321-1184 or mglover@sacbee.com.