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continued from Big Bear Christmas '99, Part 1
VS.
I cannot state that the sole and main purpose of this trip was to pitch a Land Rover against a jeep or two. It just happened that my beloved Full Size Jeep fell victim of a dumb@$$ mechanic who didn't know how to replace the rear crankshaft seal. Oh well... Check the link above to read how I ended up driving a Land Rover off road - off pavement, to be correct.
I don't feel like putting together an essay about it, and I'm not paid
by any of a zillion of Petersen's off-road mags to punch keys, so it's
going to be simpler. Please remember that I am comparing a three years
old Land Rover Discovery with 20 years old Jeep Cherokee SJ (full size),
and occasionally - with a four years old Jeep Grand Cherokee, so obviously
newer vehicles are at advantage in what is the most heat in modern consumer
preferences.
| 1.
Highway Driving.
Land Rover wins. Not much power, relatively
floppy, but much quieter than both Jeeps, even leather-clad ZJ. Surprisingly,
the only noise to speak of is transfer case and rear axle whine - not engine,
wind, or tires' howl. 4.0 liter V8 has enough power for anything - if the
Discovery's driver has narrow-toe boots. Otherwise, it takes some creative
digging to get the transmission to kick down, or a yank of the lever. No
power in overdrive going uphill - loaded or not. Engine seems to come to
life between 2800 and 4000 rpm - I'd say a bit high for a V8. Passengers
are happy, both in front and rear. Stereo works OK, especially as it doesn't
have to beat the noise. Driver - I keep rubbing my knees against the steering
wheel, despite being only about 6 ft tall. Surprisingly, such a roomy wagon
as Discovery has in fact much less interior space than an old jeep, by
a large margin. On our three-hours long highway trip we put the cartopper
canvas bag on the roof rack; it wasn't even loaded a lot, but the roof
buckled up and down with loud "pop" anythime our "air speed" exceeded 70
mph. Never happened on the old jeep.
2. City Driving. My 2WD stripper 2.5-liter I-4, stick shift XJ Cherokee beats them all, except for those "Road Rage" situations when it helps to have an extra ton of iron. Oh yeah, it's pretty difficult to impress my kids' middle-school peers with any of newer vehicles of any variety (including a Rover) - but as darn difficult to keep my full size jeep's hood closed after that mid-day traffic battle though downtown La Jolla. 3. Washboard (graded dirt road in CalTrans Lingo). Jeep wins (sort of). Aired down to 20 psi
(I would go lower in my jeep with BF Goodrich All-Terrains) and hit the
dirt. Here Land Rover exhibited all the fame of British manufacturing.
Can you spell RATTLE? My 20-years old jeep isn't exactly a tight ship by
any means, but never it makes me shiver thinking about something falling
apart. It might be a peculiarity of swing-away rear door (as opposed to
a tailgate in a jeep) with 29" spare tire on it, or something else, but
it drove me crazy all the time spent on graded dirt or gravel roads. I
will check with the LR dealer to see if something's wrong, or it's just
some necessary after-work, but it's just not right. Rear windows' switches
ceased to operate immediately - can I call it my second encounter with
Lucas Electronics? My jeep has manual cranks, but my brother's '80 Cherokee
has all electric gadgets's worth of a Chief package, and none failed despite
being 19 years old. Did I mention a Disco being floppy in the turns? On
a dirt road, full-time four wheel drive robs you of an advantage of RWD
tail-happiness. I guess I would rather engage in some fancy Land Rover
driving school to figure out what a Land Rover does first - slides or flips
keel over.
4. Mild off-road (steep inclines, some rock, loose dirt, sand, etc.). Well, here all the difference boils down to price. To make a long story short, if a Disco cost TEN times less than it does (in reasonable state of body and drivetrain), it would make a serious competition to even a full size jeep! Brushing this aside (there's always somebody with a few tens grand to bleed), Land Rover is a very decent off-roader STOCK, in full harmony with all LR magazines and few enthusiasts (who own, not lease Landies) say. A Discovery matches a full size jeep in approach and and beats it in departure angles, the live axles front and rear articulate nicely without much drama, suspension is well damped to avoid dangerous swings and dives. A Disco seems - only seems - to have higher center of gravity, but taking it to the same angles as a FS Cherokee doesn't bring any extra laundry to do. How does it compare to (stock) Grand Cherokee? Yes, basically you can do the same in a ZJ as in a Discovery - surprisingly at much higher RPM (4.0V8 in a Disco and 4.0 inline 6 in a ZJ). There's also difference in standard equipment - top-quality 29" Michelin LTX tires on a Landie definitely out-grip and out-clearance 27" bean-counter-ish Goodyear stock fare on most jeeps of late. Both - no match for stock 31" tires on a widetrack full-size Cherokee, but... Both ZJ and Disco on this trip sported full-time four wheel drive; turns out there is not much advantage in this system when the angles near 30 degrees, and central differential must be locked to be going. I forgot to do that once on a loose dirt-covered steep hill, and found myself sliding nearly sideways in a Disco towards a pine tree. Some points go away to jeeps for turning radius - many times I found myself in an unexpected three-point turn where a U would be perfectly easy in a jeep, mid- or full-size . On both ZJ and Disco engine proved to be a bit small for a sure ride - on one occasion an AMC 401 c.i.d V8-powered Cherokee made the hill in high range, which was totally out of question for both young contenders. No replacement for displacement... 5. Moderate off-road (bigger rocks). My decision to buy a Discovery as a family wagon was fueled by seeing
one making it through the Appian Way in Los Coyotes Indian Reservation
(check some of our reports). Poor thing lost all the plastic under the
front bumper but bravely rocked and rolled along. Not that it's the utmost
measure of merit - any stock jeep would make it at expense of some cosmetic
damage - but quite a bit nevertheless. We've dinged some sheetmetal in
our full-size jeeps on that trail, for whatever it's worth. A big plus
in a Land Rover - excellent visibility all around, something unattainable
in a Grand Cherokee. Since the "moderate" off-road places usually have
to be reached through some of the previously mentioned terrain, including
manzanita branches extending into "thread lightly" territory, I would think
twice before ruining that shiny white paint on a Land Rover.
6. Hard core off-road. I've yet to do it, in a jeep or anything else. I don't think I am ready for it; once, in Los Coyotes Indian Reservation, I stood in front of a hill - called just El Hill - and judged it impassable without a winch. Five minutes later, two fellas in a built Wrongler and big-block powered old Bronco made it up and down this hill faster than I could pull my camera out of my jeep! I rather believe in long-wheelbase vehicles; maybe, one day, I put a 109" WB Land Rover Series II body on a widetrack Cherokee chassis, and make this hill up, down, and sideways. Pitch a Discovery on that trail? No thanks, I've yet a mortgage to pay. Grand Cherokee's no different, cost- and ability-wise. But, it only costs two monthly payments on any of the abovementioned mechanical wonders to get a beater full size jeep, and roll it down the hill if things get nasty. Just buckle up, and things will be all right. |
The Contenders:
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February 99 |
July 99 |
