Man, as much as I hate to admit it, being a Toyota guy myself, the Land Rover looks like it was saying: "Is this what you call a challenge?" Everybody else was clawing and fighting their way up and the LR3 was just calmly gliding along whistling a tune as it went.
I felt the same man... I was never a Land Rover fan ever... after I test drive the newest version I thought to myself why didn't I try it before... cos I don't care if the car last longer or not (but I think land rover has addressed its reliability issue already), what matters for me is the feeling when you are behind the wheel... it's sad to say my love for the land cruiser somehow has eroded after I tried the 4th discovery...
I know, the VW and land Rover thought nothing of it, I've done much the same thing in my Jeep but to see the Prados behave like that surprised me. Perhaps they would have done better with a little less air in their tyers.
You look at how they approached the climbs. The VW and the Rover guys were consistent and maintained momentum. The driver of the Fortuner was driving miss daisy and the guy in the Prado was like an on off switch.
CACressida I would agree with what you say on the VW Amarok about maintaining momentum. The Amarok was indeed going the fastest across the climb. But if you watch the Land Rover, you can see it did stop and start a couple of times along the way, just like the Fortuner. Either it was just a lucky coincidence that the Land Rover had all it's 4 tires at a good spot at all those times it stopped, or it was just better suited for climbing with the least chance of losing traction. I tend to favor the latter, unless I'd be forced to ignore how Land Rovers in general have that tendency to climb obstacles with as little drama as they are noted to do.
people putting videos like this on youtube is the reason for me buying a Land Rover discovery over any other 4x4. in every video its just better than others.
i dunno. i would say that land rovers are just a nicer 4x4 to drive on the road which is where you spend about 90% of your time. but also the best off road.
I have tried all these four vehicles in this video and have driven them in a same kind of challenging off-road course, and in my opinion, the result here in this video appears to speak to itself.. I am not a land rover fan but this discovery just pulls like there is an invisible winch pulling it in whatever surface it goes..just impressive... I cannot understand why the prado feels so inferior when you get in to the Disco..
Tires. No traction control system can compensate for bad tire quality and bad tire pressure. The driver in the prado was also garbage. Engage low range and actually drive properly. The LR on the other hand will use terrain response and automatically engage terrain response. Toyota NEVER does that and requires you to know how to drive a little. Put the thing in low range and drive. You'll automatically see why that is better. Some of us enjoy using machines that won't fail when you're in the middle of no where. There's a reason why some of these systems still require manual control.
@Christ Bk Re-read first statement please. Tires are a huge part of that. Only other way to help bad tires is to air down. Drive of the prado isn't even close to knowing what he's doing.
@Christ Bk Seems like you just want to argue so have at. If you can't tell the difference between good and bad tires, and most of all, bad throttle control then there isn't much point discussing this.
@Christ Bk they had bad tires i own a fortune and it has tackled more difficult obstacles than that with ease, because i have all terrain tires, proper tires will take you much further than any electronic nonsense. also the prado driver is useless. the discover has has huge wheels and small tires so it cant air down if it needs to
its 1) air pressure 2) weight of vehicle (momentum, very crucial for offroading) 3) availability of torque in low ratio gearbox clearly, landrover was the best machine and VW had the better driver
OK, disable all the electronic assists in VW and LAND ROVER and do it again .. VW and LAND ROVER have 100% electronic assists, FORTUNER does not have, and LAND CRUSIER only has differential locks, without ASSIST. They are very different vehicles ..
Exactly. Mind you we have a white Fortuner just like the one in the video. It's reliable, but it's crap to drive; too much understeer, the automatic gearbox is slow to downshift and it's very noisy.
I think both of Prado and Fortuner need All-Terrain or Mud-Terrain Tyre to pass this slope and slippery ground smoothly. That proof that Land Rover is the best. Beside, I guess that LR Discovery got its weight heavier than all cars in this test and it can't do that without the best Limited Slip or Diff-Lock System.
The toyota's not doing too well, but the drivers seems a bit more inexperienced. The Disco does well and surprised at how well the Amarok does it. Nice video!
This is not a serious test and proves absolutely nothing. So much depends on having the right tyres. All have different drivers with different skill levels. The LR looks to be the is best of the lot at climbing but is triple the price the Fortuner and will break down on the road long before any Toyota ever will.
Automatics are useless off road. That climb would be much easier in low range 2nd and constant throttle. As for the Prado they're a very capable vehicle. In Australia there is a saying, if you want to go into the bush take a LandRover; if you want to get back take a Toyota! I've Toyota's & Pajero's all over Queensland & can assure you these cars keep on going and going in all conditions, which is more than can be said for my Range Rover & Land Rover! (Capable but totally unreliable)
Ok so I have a question, for everyday driving, comfort and easy driving for my wife, which is best. We live on a dirt road which does washout every now and then but other than that there is not much off roading. Legit answers please, not some tool who is a fan of his own car but actual pros and cons please.
Thanks for your responses. I have rented the Fortuner out to see how it would handle on these roads and must say I am impressed. The handling is easy and responsive. There is quite a bit of grunt in the engine when you need it and seams to have the reliability of the Hilux. The car I have rented is the 3.0d automatic.
OK, disable all the electronic assists in VW and LAND ROVER and do it again .. VW and LAND ROVER have 100% electronic assists, FORTUNER does not have, and LAND CRUSIER only has differential locks, without ASSIST. They are very different vehicles ..
The Disco go trough quite easily but it rely on electronics too much - i wouldn't trust it for a journey in the middle of Africa... The Amarok did it well but it was the driver - he was the fastest using more momentum an risking some damage... For a city car and casual sunday offroad LR is the best - for heavy duty and overland trip I would go to Toyota definitely
The Discovery was easily the best here, followed by the Amarok. The riceburners, in no particular order, were as bad as each other and were not in the same league as the other two.
The VW did well - but only as long as you don't mind belting hell of the suspension and underside. The Land Rover did it so much more easily than the VW as you would expect it to. Both of them showed the riceburners up for the rubbish that they are though.
VW had momentum on it's side, good win, Disco just cruised up, no problem, good win. The other 2... lol, sell what you have and buy something from the EU :D
hey guys ,listen this all the 3 cars are auto matic transmisson but volks wagen is manual transmisson strictly saying manuals are very comfortable and easy to climb hills and in off-roading ,so, volkswagen ascented the hill with no effort
The landrover had the best line of all with momentum at the right place where the fortuner and Prado stopped in front of a rocky outcrop which it had to negotiate. The amarok got up through momentum but gave too much speed which could damage your vehicle in the long run. I would say this clip proves nothing, the tyre choice and pressure would make more of a difference than which car you drove.
For me, first, they are just ordinary driver. Second, SUV like Fortuner not design as a really off-road vehicle. So, if we want to compare all those vehicles, make them a really offrioading vehicles.. and the drivers too must be an offroadist. I don't have a Fortuner but Hilux Vigo. Just little bit same but more suitable for offrioading. Every vehicles have their strength and weaknesses.
There is one very sad but very true thing: with Toyota you can do this clumsily climb over and over and over again till the end of the world, with LR you will do this climb for few months (maybe weeks, or just days) until it breaks.
