Well......I had the priviledge of test driving a Yellow Lux today, and here is a review from a
34 year old:
Interior: Right on. The ebony leather on the seats was nice and supple (smelled good, too), and very comfortable. The instrument cluster and radio controls were very well laid out and spaced enough apart that you didn't have to worry about hitting the wrong button, or spending too much time searching for a particular function. The 6 disc stereo/Monsoon sounded great. I believe it would have sounded better if noone was around and I could really crank it up! The steering wheel is FAT, and I do mean thick and chubby. It was a nice change from the narrow wheel in my Jeep GC. Very quiet ride, little or no road noise when moving along at 70mph. Even with the sunroof open.
Speaking of the sunroof: Two words....
"FREAKIN" HUGE"!! Loved it!!
The size of the cabin was perfect for me. I'm 5'8", and had all kinds of legroom, in the front AND back. Headroom was equally spacious. I will say, though, that the windows are small compared to those in other vehicles.....but I like. As someone mentioned in another post, the "sill" of the window is up kinda high, and putting the ol' elbow out feels a bit weird at first, but I'm sure one would get used to it. One thing worth mentioning about the windows....I had a problem when I rested my elbow on the door handle/rest - it rests right on the window controls, and I kept rolling down the back right window.
The cargo area was as large, if not larger than what I have in the GC. I really liked the fact it was all plastic/rubber. No carpet back there to get dirty, ripped, stained, etc.
Exterior: Chrome package - not as bad as I had imagined from reading previous posts. All the handles were solid, and the mirrors looked really good. I'm not tall enough to get a good look at the crossbows (no jokes please), but I'm sure they were on par, too. The wheels look REALLY good, as well as the tubular side steps.
All 4 doors, rear door, and hood sounded really tight when opening/closing. The assist strut on the rear door helps a bunch when opening, and offered a bit of resistance when closing....that's one big a$$ door, ya know.
Brushbar was super solid. I looked it over pretty closely, and it didn't look so complicated a regular person couldn't mount it by themselves....in order to save some added expense. I could be wrong, but it looked like it was mounted with the same bolts that the D-rings utilize. Ahh yes, the D-rings - for whatever reason, I thought they would be loose, like the ones you see on "lowboy" trailers....you know, clikkity clangin' while you're driving down the road. NOT!! Apparently, there are some hidden rubber bushings somewhere (or something like that), because I had to really grab and pull on them to make them move.
Drive: Sits high and solid. You get a very good view of the road ahead of you. It felt "big" on the road. To me, it feel like my Chevy 2500HD Diesel worktruck. Doesn't feel like a Jeep, or a small truck for that matter. I know some have said it is "so tiny", but I must respectfully disagree.
Power - Compared to my GC with a 4.0 V6, it responds as well, or better. The salesman rode with me, so I couldn't really "get on it" if ya know what I mean. But, with what I could do, I was pleased with it's performance. No problem merging on the interstate, no problem passing, and no problem ascending a decent hill. Again, this is compared to a V6.
I have but two peeves - 1) The tire size on the Lux. IMHO, the tires appeared to be a little on the small side when I looked at the H3's side profile. The 33's are a much better fit in those fairly big wheel-wells. 2) When looking down at and though the side steps when getting in, they looked like they stuck out a bit much for my liking. Instead of being kind of tucked under the body, they protrude out and away from the it.
All in all, I was VERY pleased with the total package. If the salesman and I could have come to better terms on the deal, I would have driven it home tonight.....and took lotsa lotsa pics for you guys!! But, in the end, we were about $6000 apart on the deal.
Oh well....the MSRP for the model I took for a spin was $38860. I'll wait and see what kind of figures we come up with when they get one in without the Lux and all the chrome......
Stay tuned..............