Went to Landrover off road experience today. It consists of 90 minutes off road driving. I find every moment enjoyable. I had absolutely no previous off road driving experience. Yet I faced no problem as such. The car was Diesel Freelander auto. The terrain had mud and ruts, wet marshland, logs, steep up/down hills etc. The instructor drove a part of the track initially and then asked me to drive the rest. On few stretches, the car tilted side wise ~30 degree and it was scary. Yet I managed to pass without much drama. While going uphill, even if you press the brake, the car won't roll backward. While coming downhill, if you just take your feet of any of the pedals, the hill decent control simply driving the car slowly downward (you just control the steering). I went to ditches and came out successfully. There were some large mirrors besides the track, so I could even see on them how a wheel leaves the ground :)
I learnt some important concepts
* If the car is a capable one, even novice drivers can do off-roading to a good extent
* It seemed to me that 4x4 with auto transmission is better than manual - as the car will perform most difficult tasks without driver's intervention
* As long as electronic gizmos like torque distribution/ ESP/DSC/EBD work properly - they really help driving in otherwise difficult terrains
Best of all, this Landrover experience doesn't cost a penny! It is completely FREE. They run it all year around. So if you have not experienced it before, then please enroll yourself. Highly recommended.
There is also a paid version which lasts longer and there you can learn some classroom training as well.
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Did an off road weekend in Scotlandshire on a mates stag do a few years back. Staggering what a Landrover TD5 can climb up with 5 grown men in the back. Fantastic scenery despite the mist. Would love to do it again.
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I watched their indoor demo at the NEC last weekend, with a 30 degree bank, "see saw" and 1 in 3 ramp. I know it's not the same as a proper off road course, but seeing these things every day ploughing up and down motorways and plodding around on the school run makes you forget what they are capable of. These too were Discovery TDV6 autos, and the suspension travel and articulation of the things is jaw dropping.
My dad has an old Disco 300TDI auto which he off roads occasionally. The general consensus among the gnarled off roading experts in his social circle is that diesel auto is the ultimate combination for off road work. Works pretty well on road too.
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I had a freebie as part of a Freelander II test drive. As you say the car is more than capable, although there were many areas of the course even the pro driver wasn't permitted to take the Freelander - reserved for the proper offroad landies.
Can't say it's something I'd pay to do on a regular basis.
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Went on one for the Range Rover-all the other people that day went out in the R/R so I asked if I could go out in a Defender-I was the only person-just me and the instructor-excellent day.
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