Hopefully this mini-report helps somebody down the line when a "Is an LR3/4 good for me" question pops up.
Over the last week we took 21 scouts and 4 leaders to Camp Whitsett for summer camp. My 2006 LR3 HSE was the main workhorse. It carried 7 passengers at all times, and towed the gear trailer (guessing about 3500 pounds).
We started in Lake Elsinore/Wildomar, CA and headed up I15 to the 210 and over the Grapevine on I5. From the north side of the Grapevine up the 99 to Bakersfield and then north to Kernville. 40ish miles north of Kernville was the camp. Wednesday was a day trip back to Kernville (without the trailer) for some whitewater rafting, and then back to camp. The return trip was east to the 395 and down I15 back home.
Round trip was almost 600 miles. The truck is stock, except for 275/65R18 Duratracs and the previously mentioned trailer w/gear. Power with the 4.4 HSE V8 was always good. There were a few times the transmission wanted to stay in the higher gear, but I wished for a (admittedly close-to-redline) downshift, but they were rare. I was particularly impressed with the trucks ability to control downhill speed by selecting a low gear and leaving it. The only complaint is that once you manually select a gear, you have to slide the shifter back to 'normal' for a second and then back to 'sport' to get automatic function back (in sport mode).
The scouts loved the abundant A/C (all 3 rows have vents) and the 'bumpin' stereo that puts out more then enough bass for my 44 year old ears. Luckily, I found a way to enjoy most of 'their' music and they found a way to enjoy mine. The aux input cord was kicked out of the jack a few times by the middle-center occupant. Nobody complained about the size of the 3rd row - however we are talking about 5'4" - 5'10" 11-14 year olds.
Some of the roads close to camp got very narrow and windy and the taller profile tires added a bit of imprecision to the steering (vs. the 19s). However, it never felt unsafe or hard to control where the trailer was. Two or three times on the trip the traction control pulsed the front brakes on tight corners that I may have slightly miss-judged. It never felt intrusive though.
Mileage was reported by the onboard computer as 10.4 mpg for the whole trip. Climbed a few mountains, but also went down them. I was hoping for a bit more, but it is what it is - I guess. The mileage itself I, personally, could live with - it was the reduced range (22 gallon tank) that made the LR3 the reason our caravan had to stop for gas earlier than the other drivers would have preferred. The others were a mid 2000s Honda Odyssey, a 2011ish Toyota Tacoma 4 door 4x4, and a mid-90s Suburban. None of the others were loaded to capacity with scouts.
Over the last week we took 21 scouts and 4 leaders to Camp Whitsett for summer camp. My 2006 LR3 HSE was the main workhorse. It carried 7 passengers at all times, and towed the gear trailer (guessing about 3500 pounds).
We started in Lake Elsinore/Wildomar, CA and headed up I15 to the 210 and over the Grapevine on I5. From the north side of the Grapevine up the 99 to Bakersfield and then north to Kernville. 40ish miles north of Kernville was the camp. Wednesday was a day trip back to Kernville (without the trailer) for some whitewater rafting, and then back to camp. The return trip was east to the 395 and down I15 back home.
Round trip was almost 600 miles. The truck is stock, except for 275/65R18 Duratracs and the previously mentioned trailer w/gear. Power with the 4.4 HSE V8 was always good. There were a few times the transmission wanted to stay in the higher gear, but I wished for a (admittedly close-to-redline) downshift, but they were rare. I was particularly impressed with the trucks ability to control downhill speed by selecting a low gear and leaving it. The only complaint is that once you manually select a gear, you have to slide the shifter back to 'normal' for a second and then back to 'sport' to get automatic function back (in sport mode).
The scouts loved the abundant A/C (all 3 rows have vents) and the 'bumpin' stereo that puts out more then enough bass for my 44 year old ears. Luckily, I found a way to enjoy most of 'their' music and they found a way to enjoy mine. The aux input cord was kicked out of the jack a few times by the middle-center occupant. Nobody complained about the size of the 3rd row - however we are talking about 5'4" - 5'10" 11-14 year olds.
Some of the roads close to camp got very narrow and windy and the taller profile tires added a bit of imprecision to the steering (vs. the 19s). However, it never felt unsafe or hard to control where the trailer was. Two or three times on the trip the traction control pulsed the front brakes on tight corners that I may have slightly miss-judged. It never felt intrusive though.
Mileage was reported by the onboard computer as 10.4 mpg for the whole trip. Climbed a few mountains, but also went down them. I was hoping for a bit more, but it is what it is - I guess. The mileage itself I, personally, could live with - it was the reduced range (22 gallon tank) that made the LR3 the reason our caravan had to stop for gas earlier than the other drivers would have preferred. The others were a mid 2000s Honda Odyssey, a 2011ish Toyota Tacoma 4 door 4x4, and a mid-90s Suburban. None of the others were loaded to capacity with scouts.
