2011 Land Rover LRX Buying Advice

The 2011 Land Rover LRX should be styled similarly to the concept, which is shown here.

The LRX may be a kinder, gentler Land Rover, but the 2-door configuration looms as a handicap, at least in America. Remember the Isuzu Vehi-CROSS? Same idea and a sales dud. Still, the LRX could succeed on the strength of its dashing lines and other assets, not to mention Land Rover’s strong brand prestige, which persists despite a widespread reputation for mediocre reliability and indifferent build quality. The LRX will certainly be an interesting new choice among premium-compact-SUVs. But that fast-growing class already includes strong 4-door contenders like the Acura RDX, BMW X3, and Infiniti EX. And more are on the way, notably Audi’s Q5 and the Mercedes-Benz GLK. With all this, smart buyers will want to check all the contestants to see which best fits their needs.

2011 Land Rover LRX Release Date: The predicted late-2010 introduction assumes Tata hews to the timing set under Ford. Though the new owner did its expected due-diligence digging in negotiating the sale and seems eager to proceed with projects in the pipeline, the 2011 Land Rover LRX could be delayed by unexpected engineering glitches, supplier issues, and other “birth pangs.” From what we know now, however, the new model is set to debut as originally scheduled.

2011 Land Rover LRX First Test Drive: Assuming the above timing proves out, ride-and-drive media previews would likely be staged in the summer or early fall of 2010.

2011 Land Rover LRX Prices: One source predicts the LRX will start at $35,000 with a conventional V6/automatic powerteam. That’s about the same as you’d pay now for the uplevel HSE version of the related four-door LR2, which suggests the newcomer will be positioned to plug the big price gap between LR2 and the larger LR3. A hybrid LRX, if there is one, would likely run $40,000, perhaps more.