Anybody here ever gone from an LR 3/4 to a 200 series Land Cruiser?

Bullsnake

Adventurer
Good afternoon all!

The wife is currently running an LR3 as a daily driver, and I have an '05 Excursion as my daily runaround when I am not running one of my ExPo rigs. The wife's LR3 is getting up there in miles, and we are trying to make the decision on wether to go with a new LR4 or try something completely different and do a brand new Land Cruiser.

Has anybody here actually done this? How is the room, reliability, functionality, etc.? As crazy as it sounds, no one within a 200 mile radius of where I am located at has a new LC to look at, so I have no idea on how they compare for interior space, ride, etc. Are they much bigger than the LR 3/4 platform? Leg room inside? We have several other purpose built overland rigs, so this rig will see daily duty driving, as well as the occasional cross country trip to hit the mountains snowboarding or Mountain Biking, out to the coast to see the ocean, and as a transport rig to get the entire family out to Moab for our annual pilgrimage to the red rocks. The truck would see light fire trail duty, gravel roads and dirt paths back to "the good stuff", and LIGHT off roading in Moab (No hard trails, just trips out to good places to hike and bike.) The truck would likely be lightly modified with a mild lift, lockers front and rear, and a roof rack or bars to haul a Rocket Box and bikes. Our family is the wife and I, and our three kids ranging from 12 down to 5.

I am hoping the LC is a little bigger than the LR platform - I love, LOVE my Ford Excursion, but even though it only has ~57K miles on it I am not completely confident in the 6.0L platform and it is getting up there in age compared to the rest of the fleet. (truck has given me NO issues, so it is hard to let it go - may have to figure out a way to keep it.) The LR3 has actually been fantastic too (Maybe my Defender is just SO BAD that the LR3 looks stone - reliable...) so I have no problem going back that route as well.

Any thoughts are appreciated - thanks!
 

Dendy Jarrett

Expedition Portal Admin
Staff member
The LR4 is an amazing truck. While the LR3 is extremely capable and reliable, there were many 'major' changes to the LR4. I really suggest you test drive one before you jump the LR ship.

Hope you are well!
Dendy
 

Bullsnake

Adventurer
Thanks for the reply Dendy! It will be hard to jump ship, just looking for a little more room, but don't know if the LC is that much bigger. Wish I could find one close to look at! (Local dealers don't have any in stock.) Love your new rig by the way!
 

RangeBrover

Explorer
Hi Bullsnake,

I think I may be one of the few people that can answer your question, I owed an 08 Range Rover, and the wife currently has an LR3.

Lets start with space, the 200 has more leg room in the first and second rows than the LR, but the LR definitely has more headroom. Passengers have told me that the rear seats in the 200 are more comfortable. As far as the third row it's kind of a wash because the 200's second row seats move forward and backwards so you can adjust leg room accordingly (note I rarely use the third row, but the 200 does lose significant cargo space compared to the LR due to the storage of the seats to the side).

In regards to cargo room, as I said the third row seat storage in the 200 does eat up a good amount of space on the sides. Here is the caveat, after removing the seats in the rear of mine, it opens up a very large volume of space. The removal takes about 5 minutes per seat, and all you have to do is remove 4 bolts. There are aftermarket floor mats available for the rear cargo area once you've done this. I'm not sure on exact dimensions but the LR has the benefit of the seats folding flat into the floor where the 200 flips them forward against the front seats. From my experience the LR has more space when hauling longer objects, but the 200 is wider.

One thing that the 200 kills the LR in is that is in the infotainment department, the Navigation/Radio is leaps and bounds ahead of the LR product, and the voice commands are very easy and intuitive to use. The sound system isn't nearly as good as the Harman Kardon system, but that's the only benefit I consider in the LR's system. Where the LR is superior is the air suspension, it rides like a dream, and it's very easy to lift via the Johnson Rods or the electronic tools available on the market.

As far as modifications go, the only thing I've done to the 200 is install Nitto Terra Graplers in the stock size, and remove the third row seat. I've put about 25k miles on it since I bought it new in March of last year and it's been pretty much everywhere from the beaches of the Outer Banks, to the mountains of Colorado. It never misses a beat, and I never worry if it's going to start or not. I've been a life long rover guy, and I wouldn't hesitate to take our LR3 or my old Range Rover anywhere, but the 200 just gives me that much more confidence. The aftermarket is pretty similar for both vehicles, but I'd have to say that accessories for the 200 are probably going to cost more from my experience due to the small volume of them in the states.

If you are going to buy a new 200, get a 2013, the updates that were done make it worth the value such as the ventilated seats, and standard cool box.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions, always glad to help.
 

hoser

Explorer
As crazy as it sounds, no one within a 200 mile radius of where I am located at has a new LC to look at, so I have no idea on how they compare for interior space, ride, etc.
Though you might not be interested in the extra bells and whistles, try looking at the Lexus LX570, which is a 200 series. In the US, they sold twice as many LX570's than LC200's.
 

86tuning

Adventurer
The LX570 is a sweet machine. Love the cooler box in the console and the crawl control for playing off pavement.
 

RangeBrover

Explorer
If you plan on modding it don't go with the LX570, there isn't as much aftermarket support, and everything isn't as interchangeable between it and the Land Cruiser and you may think. For starters I believe the running boards are a part of the body, it comes factory on 20" wheels, and the hydraulic load leveling suspension makes it difficult to add a lift in the rear.
 

Scott Brady

Founder
I spent a month driving between an LR3 and a 200 TLC in the Australian Outback. Both are fantastic vehicles, but quite different. The TLC is big and soft, with ample room and a quiet, comfortable driving experience. The 200 is also very capable, especially with the KDSS system and agressive traction control. The LR3/4 is more nimble and with the V8, feels considerably more sporty. The interior of the LR4 is much nicer than the 200, which is saying a lot. However, that is the appeal of the LR4 - the interior is class-leading. The LR4 also has air adjustable suspension and in stock form will outperform the 200 in most conditions on the trail (with the HD package), but both vehicles can be easily modified to perform any reasonable exploration task. To be fair here, I am just not a big fan of the 200 - I find it to lack the intended spirit of a Land Cruiser. I have driven and tested the 200 on three continents and in both gas and diesel V8 variants.

This might help. . .

My current LR4
665158_10151227105383914_1305347207_o.jpg

Test of stock LR4

The Australian-spec Diesel LR3
259347_10150348550118275_922376_o.jpg

The Australian-spec V8 Diesel 200 TLC
264614_10150340286638275_1019797_n.jpg
 

Scott Brady

Founder
Another shot of the LR3. I loved that little TDV6
artsy2.jpg
 

krnnerdboy

Adventurer
The only thing I like about the 200 over the lr3/4 is reliability and resale. If it were my daily, I'd get a Toyota. If it were my alternate vehicle, no doubt about it, w463 or lr4. Which is exactly what I'm doing....
 

RangeBrover

Explorer
The only thing I like about the 200 over the lr3/4 is reliability and resale. If it were my daily, I'd get a Toyota. If it were my alternate vehicle, no doubt about it, w463 or lr4. Which is exactly what I'm doing....

Given the option of a G, I'd say screw them both and buy the G.

I have to agree with Scott, the LR definitely seems more "sporty". The only reason I don't think we will upgrade to an LR4 is lack of a factory option for an 18" wheel. I don't really want to import the compmotive wheels that some of the LR4 owners are using, but I might change my mind when I see what the guys at Overland Journal did to get factory 18's to fit.

The 200 isn't for everyone, it's expensive, large, and chugs gas like a fraternity guy. But on the long drives we take on the highway to get to our off the beaten path destinations, it eats up the miles with ease, and never lets me down. Though I'm still looking to pick up a G so while the LC200 is great, it does lack something, just can't put my finger on it.
 

concretejungle

Adventurer
Interesting comments. I figured the 200 would win hands down but it's nice to see the LR really keeping up.

The ONLY experience i can add is that i have had two close friends own a LR3 and one LR4. They actually had to take the local rover dealer to court over their inability to fix their truck. It would just lower down and shift into low range while driving down the highway. After taking it to the dealer 6 times the dealer told them they have no idea how to fix it but would not exchange vehicles with them. So they had to take them to court and won.

My other friend with a LR3 loved his truck when it was not suffering electrical issues. He replaced the window motors in the front doors twice, seat switches and numerous dash switches that would fail. He said other than the electrical it was a wonderful truck and a dream to drive.
 

RangeBrover

Explorer
Land Rovers have come a long way, but I think they are still more prone to reliability issues in regards to their electronics than other makes. The one benefit of the 200 is that I'm pretty much willing to guarantee that they are all 99.9% reliable. From what I've experienced, and read over on mud, in stock form there are really no major issues.
 

Scott Brady

Founder
A Land Cruiser is in a class of its own on reliability. If that is what you seek, buy a Toyota, and a Land Cruiser in particular. To see that operation in Nagoya and watch Toyota Auto Body produce 70s and 200s is nothing less than inspirational.

But, there is more to cars than just reliability, at least for me :)
 

RangeBrover

Explorer
A Land Cruiser is in a class of its own on reliability. If that is what you seek, buy a Toyota, and a Land Cruiser in particular. To see that operation in Nagoya and watch Toyota Auto Body produce 70s and 200s is nothing less than inspirational.

But, there is more to cars than just reliability, at least for me :)

Completely agree, I can never explain it to people but I like to say once you own a Land Rover you're hooked for life, or run from it like the plague.
 

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