Well, I went on my first roadtrip in the 4R. It was about a 700-mile roundtrip.
The first leg of the trip was from Austin to Houston. We stayed on the interstate as we were in a hurry. It was my first time to really let the car get up to highway speed for a prolonged period of time and my first time to experiment with the cruise control. I really like the ability to accelerate/decelerate. I have never had that before.
I'm still really impressed with the V8, and I seemed to get a little under 18mpg on the trip. I generally drove about 75mph and always have the A/C blaring to cool the car to 72 degrees F.
After Austin, we made our way down to Concan, TX, and Garner State Park. We took backroads and what we call FM (farm-to-market) roads down here in TX. My buddy in Michigan always finds that naming convention to be odd. We were in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, and I really got to enjoy the 4R capabilities on some very twisty roads with lots of elevation changes. I can definitely notice the lack of body roll on curves compared to my old Tahoe. I suppose this is attributable to the X-REAS technology.
The drive back to Austin was similar, but we had a little more time to work with -- so we explored some unimproved county roads with gates you have to open and close because there is loose livestock. It was fun to cut loose and get the 4R dirty and in its element. I got to take it across some low-water crossings where you actually drive over a road that is covered in water. We probably never "needed" the four-wheel drive, but this was a good first experience for me feeling comfortable off of the paved road.
From Austin back to Houston, I again stayed mostly on backroads and saw some pretty country and really let the V8 rip. There were periods where I probably only saw a car every half-hour, so I was crusing along pretty nicely.
The highlight of the return, though, was about a 45-min drive I took on Park Road 1. Anyone making the trip from/to Houston and Austin should do this sometime. Bastrop State Park and Buescher State Park are probably 15 minutes apart if you use the interstate, but they have an internal park road that connects them which is basically a tunnel through thick pine trees. This road was fairly narrow (about 1.5 car widths) and was extremely twisty. I experimented with using some of the lower gears to avoid overusing the brakes. For the most part, you cannot exceed 30mph on this drive, but it was well worth the longer trip time.
Anyway, I wish I had taken some pictures, but I honestly never wanted to stop to get out to take them because I was having such a good time driving.
As an aside, while I was on FM 337, which is maybe one of the best drives in the state, I saw one of the new 4-door Jeep Wranglers. It was a test mule, painted solid black and with Michigan plates. It had a neat, masculine, boxy look and will be a nice competitor for the H3.
Well, just wanted to share my trip. Still very excited about my new car.
The first leg of the trip was from Austin to Houston. We stayed on the interstate as we were in a hurry. It was my first time to really let the car get up to highway speed for a prolonged period of time and my first time to experiment with the cruise control. I really like the ability to accelerate/decelerate. I have never had that before.
I'm still really impressed with the V8, and I seemed to get a little under 18mpg on the trip. I generally drove about 75mph and always have the A/C blaring to cool the car to 72 degrees F.
After Austin, we made our way down to Concan, TX, and Garner State Park. We took backroads and what we call FM (farm-to-market) roads down here in TX. My buddy in Michigan always finds that naming convention to be odd. We were in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, and I really got to enjoy the 4R capabilities on some very twisty roads with lots of elevation changes. I can definitely notice the lack of body roll on curves compared to my old Tahoe. I suppose this is attributable to the X-REAS technology.
The drive back to Austin was similar, but we had a little more time to work with -- so we explored some unimproved county roads with gates you have to open and close because there is loose livestock. It was fun to cut loose and get the 4R dirty and in its element. I got to take it across some low-water crossings where you actually drive over a road that is covered in water. We probably never "needed" the four-wheel drive, but this was a good first experience for me feeling comfortable off of the paved road.
From Austin back to Houston, I again stayed mostly on backroads and saw some pretty country and really let the V8 rip. There were periods where I probably only saw a car every half-hour, so I was crusing along pretty nicely.
The highlight of the return, though, was about a 45-min drive I took on Park Road 1. Anyone making the trip from/to Houston and Austin should do this sometime. Bastrop State Park and Buescher State Park are probably 15 minutes apart if you use the interstate, but they have an internal park road that connects them which is basically a tunnel through thick pine trees. This road was fairly narrow (about 1.5 car widths) and was extremely twisty. I experimented with using some of the lower gears to avoid overusing the brakes. For the most part, you cannot exceed 30mph on this drive, but it was well worth the longer trip time.
Anyway, I wish I had taken some pictures, but I honestly never wanted to stop to get out to take them because I was having such a good time driving.
As an aside, while I was on FM 337, which is maybe one of the best drives in the state, I saw one of the new 4-door Jeep Wranglers. It was a test mule, painted solid black and with Michigan plates. It had a neat, masculine, boxy look and will be a nice competitor for the H3.
Well, just wanted to share my trip. Still very excited about my new car.
