The LR2 certainly proved itself on the rainy, cold roads of Montreal!

 

First Drive: 2013 Land Rover LR2

Unlike most carmakers, Land Rover tends to insist that journalists get its vehicles dirty on press drives. That was certainly the case during the muddy media launch of the revamped 2013 LR2 near Montreal, Quebec. So it was fitting that, when it was time for us to relinquish possession of our LR2, it wore a cape of salty grime accented by flecks of dirt.

Up to the off-road challenges

The trails and obstacles on the expansive Land Rover Experience grounds near Montebello were a swell place to show off the entry-level Land Rover's off-road chops, especially considering the rainy, cold conditions that left trails, two-tracks, and dirt roads soupy, sloppy, and slippery.

Although it's not at all surprising that the LR2 successfully traversed the prescribed course, the things the little ute achieved were nonetheless quite impressive -- climbing steep, muddy hills; crawling over tall, wheel-lifting, body-twisting mounds; swimming through ice-cold water slightly deeper than the floorboards; dropping confidently down roller-coaster-like grades at the brim of a sand/gravel pit (thanks, Hill Descent Control); and blasting down saturated dirt roads.

 

A breath of boosted air

 

The 2012 LR2 could do all of the same things, but it wouldn't have looked or sounded quite the same. Now the LR2 shares its engine with the popular and stylish Evoque, which hit U.S. dealers in October 2011, is loosely based on the LR2, and is built at the same Halewood, England, factory. That engine is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder supplied by Ford, which calls the engine EcoBoost. Land Rover calls it a big improvement over the old six-cylinder. The raspy four-banger produces 240 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque -- 10 more horsepower and 16 more lb-ft than the six-cylinder. EPA fuel economy figures improve by 2 mpg both in the city and on the highway (now 17/24 mpg city/highway). The new four-cylinder also weighs 88 pounds less than the 3.2-liter.

On real roads

Skip Pavlik, Land Rover North America product manager, claims that the weight reduction and additional stiffness in the front end (thanks to a new structural skidplate) improves the car's handling. It's been a while since we last tested an LR2, but we've always been fond of its on-road driving dynamics. Piloting the LR2 on a wide variety of roads in la belle province was a pleasant reminder of the little LR's adeptness.

Continental winter tires helped maintain a solid contact patch on the pavement, which Quebec road crews had heavily dusted with deicing sand and salt, limiting us to pushing the small SUV to only six- or seven-tenths. Not that many LR2 owners will ever drive as hard as we did.

Courtesy of Automobile Magazine