Here's my two cents worth on Land Rover driveability:
This summer, my girlfriend and I took a trip from San Francisco north to
Canada, East through Canada to Edmonton, then South to Utah, and West towards
home. It was basically a big square, though we concentrated our sightseeing
on Canada. We had a great time. My Girlfriend can't drive a stick, so after
three weeks on the road, I was a little tired of sitting behind the wheel,
but that would have been true of any car.
Two years ago, we did a similar thing, heading East to Colorado for the
National Rally, then south and west through Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern
Cal. Had a great time then, too.
Three years ago I took the Rover to Southern California for a professional
conference. Those sent by their companies stayed in $150/night hotels. The
other consultants stayed in the $50/night hotels. I paid $15/night for the
spot in the trailer park, and had just as nice a place to stay.
In all three trips, we had nothing more than minor problems, that I was able
to take care of myself (even though I'm automotively challenged), or were due
to activities that I wouldn't do alone (like vapor lock when traveling
off-highway.)
I was able to maintain 65 - 70 mph on the freeway, except in the very high
altitudes, where I did lose some power. (I understand this is because the
carburetor is tuned for low altitude.) Gas mileage was about 12mph, carrying
a wooden bed and cabinets, stove, chairs, portable toilet, all my
girlfriend's clothes, two people, computer, etc.
One thing I did do, was swap the lumpy offroad tires for Radial Rovers. Made
a *big* difference. The exhaust should be in good shape, too, and make sure
that the engine is tuned right. Sure, it's not a Mercedez-Benz, but you
can't sleep in a benz, either.
I did drive my 88" to work everyday for a while, but the engine needed
tuning, and it smoked a lot. I was able to listen to the radio easily,
though.
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