Luton Hoo LR Experience

(27-08-2012 04:18pm)Nowaytk Wrote:  Do they still do the section thru the woods ? When I done Luton it was very wet, you couldn't see how deep any of the ruts were & the mud was like slush especially in the wooded section as had to be extra carfull not to slide sideways into trees (the instructor told us of a mishaps). Got to say from that time I've had to do two other experiences one again at Luton & one at rockingham it's so addictive.
A very impressive machine indeed

They do have the wood section but only took the Defenders and Disco 4 there yesterday; ruts were too deep to not potentially damage the Evoque from what I gather.

What makes the RRE even more impressive is that if you were to try some of those sections of concrete in a Defender without the optional traction control it would get stuck and just send all the power out through the flying wheel.

(27-08-2012 06:27pm)XFullFatTim Wrote:  What makes the RRE even more impressive is that if you were to try some of those sections of concrete in a Defender without the optional traction control it would get stuck and just send all the power out through the flying wheel.

There were 3 Defenders on the course and one did experience a clutch burning moment for some reason - a Dutch group on a stag party in them, if I remember correctly - and I was able to do everything they did on the course comfortably. I only had to take more consideration perhaps of where to aim the Evoque so as not to scratch those chromed 20" wheels!

I reckon the RRE must've looked far more impressive to the Defender group as it went round the course so well (given that the Defender's are expected to cope well whereas the little Evoque looks like a toy in comparison to the rugged Defender) - I think at one point I was going faster than the Defenders over the obstacles!

We went to Luton Hoo as well, well impressed with the set up, and the concrete course. We were taken through a short green lane to a ford, where we got the underside and wheels wet, then on to the course. The Evoque did not fault at any stage, and as you say, must have looked impressive, as we were tailing a couple of FFRR's and they both stopped to look at us going around that side slope section, with the Evoque hanging one wheel in the air. Only problem was it was only a half day experience, but did give excellent insight into what the Evoque can do.

Having been sat on our voucher for nearly a year we finally managed to get our session booked in for today.
I thought it opportune to get it sorted before I might have actual need to use any of the TR capabilities for real. And to be honest, today was probably a good day to be trying it out!

The team were certainly welcoming and our instructor knowledgeable. He was more than happy to curtail the road section and we diverted into the technical section pretty much straight away so we had more than enough time in our schedule to have a good go at what was on offer. Up against a FL 2 and D4, all seemed extremely evenly matched. I guess the D4 just tackles the obstacles in a different way and with greater ground clearance. There wasn't mention of the wooded section but the couple in the D4 did mention it at the end. They had obviously been able to take a detour!

Certainly the obstacles were challenging in conditions that were both slushy and greasy, with much clay and mud splattered.

Yes. The Luton centre is a quite compact set up and you woudn't necessarily choose it for spectacular scenery. But overall it seemed fine.

To some extent, as I look back on the experience it probably wasn't as exciting as i might have expected. The electronics clearly reduce the need for driver input and there is not a huge amount of feedback, it's very much "point and shoot", while driving an auto on the obstacles makes things easier. I'm not sure how I might have faired had I been in my manual. Probably would be in need of new clutch!

I don't mind that it wasn't exciting, although lurching for the first time over a blind brow and trusting in hill descent is quite nervy, the fact the car is is as capable as it is and all with relatively little fuss is damned reassuring!

Winter holds much less fear for me now although my personal debate about running winter tyres rages on.

Overall genuinely impressed and would recommend you give it a go if you haven't done so!

If you want snow and ice driving experience over the festive season and are in Scotand LRE Dunkeld has both snow and ice in huge quantities........ To the extent that the New Range Rovers were tested to the limits of their TR's capability in the exceptionally slippery conditions this week. Nothing like taking somebody else's £100,000 car pounding through 1" thick ice like an icebreaker and chewing up their alloy wheels in the process!