Land Rover Experience Driving School Shows What Vehicles And Drivers Can Do
2013 Land Rover Driving School Review:
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The message was simple, really: treat the terrain gently and keep the shiny side of the vehicle up.
“We teach ‘expedition’ driving,” said Ben Wootten, Land Rover driving instructor. “The car is a tool to get you from point A to point B and back to point A. If you don’t want to have to walk back, drive in a way that preserves the vehicle and preserves the trail. It lends itself to the ethic of Tread Lightly.”
And there in a nutshell is the core curriculum of the Land Rover Experience off-road driving school here at the opulent Biltmore Estate: treat the land and the Land Rover (or any other vehicle you happen to be driving) with respect.
The vehicles we drove in a day navigating 14 miles of trails on the estate’s 8,000 woodsy acres were a 2013 Land Rover LR2 and 2012 Range Rover Evoque, two rides that feature full-time all-wheel drive rather than Land Rover’s famous permanent four-wheel drive. LR2 and Evoque do not boast a two-speed transfer case, nor the low-range grunt such a T-case provides.
But what they lack in muscle they make up for in technology that helps make a novice off-roader good and a veteran savvy.
That techno wizardy includes Hill Descent Control, which automatically pumps the ABS to ensure slow, controlled descents, and a four-mode Terrain Response system that lets the driver tailor various vehicle systems to the surface at hand, be it general driving; grass, gravel or snow; sand; or mud and ruts. Combined with a shared 2.0-liter, 240-hp turbo I-4 and a six-speed automatic, that anti-slip hardware proved adept at keeping the vehicles moving over mud-slick trails made spookily greasy by three days of almost ceaseless rain.
No, LR2 and Evoque won’t scale boulders – that grunt work is left to other Range Rovers and Land Rover’s LR4, with their two-speed transfer cases, low-range muscle and “rock-crawl” Terrain Response mode – but they’re effective in navigating slick forest trails and, particularly in Evoque’s case, they’re handsome to see around town.
Pictured here are some moments from our day at school.
- Hill Descent Control automatically pumps the ABS to ensure slow, controlled descents
- Students learn to “tread lightly” and treat trail and vehicle with respect.
- Land Rovers on the trail.
Dan Wiese is a freelance automotive writer living in St. Louis. He also is a regular automotive contributor to Fox 2 KTVI-TV St. Louis. You can e-mail him at: drivingwithdan@gmail.com.
