In what’s become a mileage challenge tradition, we wrap up our spring series with some driving impressions of each car. After all, two editors and our editor in chief spent nearly seven hours in these luxury crossovers.
Yesterday we brought you results from Cars.com’s latest mileage challenge, a 300-plus-mile trip, mostly on highways. The BMW X3 came in first with 23.7 mpg. The Land Rover LR2 came in second with 22.8 mpg, while the Volvo XC60 brought up the rear with 21.0 mpg.
Case closed? Not quite. Premium cars often need premium gas, but these cars are a diverse bunch. BMW’s high-tech Valvetronic engines — like the one in the X3 — require premium fuel. For the LR2, Land Rover merely recommends premium; spokeswoman Kim Binder-Daniel said regular will do, though “performance will degrade.”
The spring’s mileage challenge took three entry-level luxury crossovers — the BMW X3, Land Rover LR2 and Volvo XC60 — on 300-plus miles of mostly highway driving around northeast Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The results? Read on:
Yesterday, we outlined the routes and cars for our latest mileage challenge: about 315 miles, mostly highway, in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. We’ll report the full results tomorrow; today, we’re looking at the effects of Sport mode, something many luxury cars and an increasing number of non-luxury models offer. The X3 and LR2 both had it, activated by moving the shifter from Drive to the manual-shift gate.
Memorial Day is nigh, and that means the summer driving season will soon kick off. AAA recently reported that it expects 27 million Americans — that’s 83% of all Memorial Day travelers — to hit the road this weekend. That’s down from 2007 but up nearly 3 percent over last year, when sky-high gas prices took quite a toll on Memorial Day travel.
Gas may be cheap, but gas mileage is still top of mind. That’s why it’s time for another installment of Cars.com’s Mileage Challenge. After last fall’s econocar shootout, we felt ready for something a bit more upscale. So we turned to entry-level luxury crossovers, a segment once dominated by the Lexus RX and BMW X3. With starting prices around $35,000, that segment now includes models from at least 10 premium brands, most of which boast lower prices, better gas mileage and cozier cabins than their larger SUV siblings. We matched one of the latest — Volvo’s all-new XC60 — against the venerable X3 and the Land Rover LR2 in its sophomore season.
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.
We have a saying around here that new cars sell, meaning a new design or totally new model will usually draw in shoppers. Whether it’s thanks to a ridiculous amount of money spent on advertising, positive reviews in the press or just a head-turning man-on-the street reaction, these cars usually perform. However, some much-hyped new models are not selling well these days as Americans tighten their belts. Check out which models whose sales we found surprisingly lackluster for the month of May.
Pontiac G8: 1,832 units sold
Last year at this time, the outgoing and completely outdated Pontiac Grand Prix, which the G8 replaces, sold 12,230 units. Let’s just say for the sake of argument that half of those were fleet sales (which is probably on the high side). That would still mean it sold three times as well as the all-new, very-well-reviewed Pontiac G8. For the past few years, GM loyalists have begged GM to build this car, but now it seems these people aren’t willing to part with their cash for this large sedan. The V-8 version gets 15/24 mpg and the V-6 gets 17/25 mpg, both near the top in the segment, but still not attractive in $4-a-gallon-gas territory. That could be one issue.
Last year, Land Rover introduced its new entry-level LR2 and we got to test it out pretty thoroughly. Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder delivered a review of the SUV and overall his impressions were quite positive. For 2008, Land Rover delivers an HSE trim level which just came through the fleet and earned our video treatment.
Talk about your perfect test drive: I was handed the keys to Land Rover’s slightly-larger-than-midsize SUV just a day before the region was hit with a mild (3-5 inches) snowstorm. The LR2 took the test and handily passed it.
As much as my wife and kids hated the last car I wrote about (the Audi Q7), they enjoyed the LR2. My wife thought the size was right, and was impressed both with the navigation system, which offered us three choices for our route, and with the amenities in the front seat (the heated seats being the best find on a cold and wintry night).
“I like it quite a bit,” she said. “I like the look of it; I liked the way it rode. I could see us in it.”
For regular readers, you’ll note that that is high praise from my wife, especially without any negatives thrown in. She has a pretty discriminating eye and ear for cars, and there haven’t been a lot that I’ve brought home that have won her over.
2008 Land Rover LR2
Land Rover fans will love the brand’s latest baby. It has the flavor of its larger siblings — the window switches sit right up on the window sill, the center controls employ lots of scalloped dials, and there’s enough off-road equipment to get you to the Yucatan. Those looking for a regular SUV might take issue with some of the smaller details: Our LR2 SE had an uncovered tray in place of a real center console (the pricier HSE adds one) and it’s too easy to confuse the temperature dial for the stereo volume. As senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder noted in his review, folding the rear seats down requires first flipping the cushions forward. That’s old-school.
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