First time LC owner - initial impressions

First time LC owner. Was on the hunt for a new car coming off back to back Audis (currently 2012 q5, before that an a4). I’m an active young professional living in Southern California and have a wife, kid (2 kids prob in next few years), and a dog.

Was cross shopping quite a few cars - X5, F150, GX550, and LC most seriously. I was looking for a car that would have:

- decent gas mileage (commute about 150 miles/week)

- comfortable family cruiser with
good tech (good cargo space, multi zone climate controls, adaptive cruise control, etc)

- durable/reliable (for kids & dog and my outdoor adventures such as surfing/ beach days mountain biking, hiking)

- and fun to drive (coming from Audis I do enjoy the driving experience)

F150 was awesome but got eliminated fairly quickly due to just being so large and not seeing myself enjoying daily driving it. Would be a great pure adventure / family cruiser car if I had room for 3 family cars.

Gx550 was always in competition but pretty quickly could eliminate it bc the lux+ were to lux for young family cruiser and my outdoor adventures. Then on the over trail set ups I felt like I was trading a few extra lux items for less fuel efficiency & range which seemed kind of silly.

x5 was prob my next choice and still a car I’d love to have for our family down the road. Def the best driver and most comfy / luxurious out of all options, but had least cargo space and also was too lux for young family cruiser + my outdoor activities.

I ended up with a meteor shower fe that I picked up Sunday evening.

My initial impressions are that this car is an awesome and super comfy cruiser. It feels well made to me and offers the right amount of luxury - clean nice amenities and tech, but also very durable. I would have appreciated a bit more leather/soft touch in a few spots but that’s prettt nitpicky and only the bmw really had more lux/comfort imo.

I enjoy the drive and think the powertrain is peppy and fun. Can sometimes feel like a 4cyl but overall I’ve really enjoyed driving it. Road presence is great, super floaty and comfortable ride, and handles pretty well for how big it is.

Gas mileage has been around 19 mpg on eco mode (134 miles). I averaged 21 first day driving it back from dealership and have city driven it past few days which dropped it. Will start commuting with it tomorrow so will post more mpg updates.

Hope everyone gets theirs soon! I was off the charts excited for this car and its meet and exceeded expectations.

Congrats! I have the same exact one After ~2k miles, I'm also at 19MPG total average. Prob 60/40 City/Hwy.

shwazz714 said:

First time LC owner. Was on the hunt for a new car coming off back to back Audis (currently 2012 q5, before that an a4). I’m an active young professional living in Southern California and have a wife, kid (2 kids prob in next few years), and a dog.

Was cross shopping quite a few cars - X5, F150, GX550, and LC most seriously. I was looking for a car that would have:

- decent gas mileage (commute about 150 miles/week)

- comfortable family cruiser with
good tech (good cargo space, multi zone climate controls, adaptive cruise control, etc)

- durable/reliable (for kids & dog and my outdoor adventures such as surfing/ beach days mountain biking, hiking)

- and fun to drive (coming from Audis I do enjoy the driving experience)

F150 was awesome but got eliminated fairly quickly due to just being so large and not seeing myself enjoying daily driving it. Would be a great pure adventure / family cruiser car if I had room for 3 family cars.

Gx550 was always in competition but pretty quickly could eliminate it bc the lux+ were to lux for young family cruiser and my outdoor adventures. Then on the over trail set ups I felt like I was trading a few extra lux items for less fuel efficiency & range which seemed kind of silly.

x5 was prob my next choice and still a car I’d love to have for our family down the road. Def the best driver and most comfy / luxurious out of all options, but had least cargo space and also was too lux for young family cruiser + my outdoor activities.

I ended up with a meteor shower fe that I picked up Sunday evening.

My initial impressions are that this car is an awesome and super comfy cruiser. It feels well made to me and offers the right amount of luxury - clean nice amenities and tech, but also very durable. I would have appreciated a bit more leather/soft touch in a few spots but that’s prettt nitpicky and only the bmw really had more lux/comfort imo.

I enjoy the drive and think the powertrain is peppy and fun. Can sometimes feel like a 4cyl but overall I’ve really enjoyed driving it. Road presence is great, super floaty and comfortable ride, and handles pretty well for how big it is.

Gas mileage has been around 19 mpg on eco mode (134 miles). I averaged 21 first day driving it back from dealership and have city driven it past few days which dropped it. Will start commuting with it tomorrow so will post more mpg updates.

Hope everyone gets theirs soon! I was off the charts excited for this car and its meet and exceeded expectations.

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Nice write-up! I am in the same position (have a 2010 A4 and a 2017 Q5). I will be trading in the Q5 for the LC. How do you find drive quality, noise level, pick-up compared to the Q5?

For the city mpg, does the LC use electric only like other hybrids? If so, how many miles can you go on pure electric city driving? I have not seen any data on how it works with the LC.

planisher said:

Nice write-up! I am in the same position (have a 2010 A4 and a 2017 Q5). I will be trading in the Q5 for the LC. How do you find drive quality, noise level, pick-up compared to the Q5?

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Good question…. I would say drive quality in general certain parts of the Audi are better and certain parts of the LC are better.

Handling, high speed on the highway, turning radius and going up hill goes to the Audi… I notice the 4cyl the most when going up hill, feels like it really has to work to pull the big rig up whereas the Audi shot it up more effortlessly, same thing when you get up over 80 on the highway.

I like the Lc better in seating position and when generally cruising, meaning around town or mid level speeds on highway (super comfy and plush).

I’ve started to notice the noise level a bit more on my commute today. It’s actually pretty quiet around town but when you get to around 45 you start to hear it and can get decently loud above 70 mph. Now my old Audi was really really noisy too with my roof racks. I’m sure newer Audis are more quiet. In general I’d say wind noise is okay in the LC - not luxury quiet but given the shape of the vehicle and lack of acoustic glass in side and rear windows still pretty quiet.

Pick up is surprisingly really good in the LC. The first time I drove it I was surprised and would say when you hit the gas, especially at lower speeds around town, it’s maybe got more pickup than the Audi. However it’s not as nimble, but I’m sure I’ll learn to adjust. At higher speeds I think the Audi has more instantaneous power, but the LC isn’t bad.

I do find my driving style is generally different when in the Lc vs the q5… in the Audi I’m driving fast and moving in and out of cars, in the LC I’m cruising.

In a perfect world I’d have an LC for cruising and adventures, and then a nimble daily driver. But for me personally I needed a car that covered a lot of different things and the LC checked more boxes than any other car. X5 would be more Lux and better drive quality, but less durable, less (seemingly) reliable, and not great lifestyle fit with outdoor activities and young family. The f150 would be great for road trips, cargo space, durable and reliable, but not as good of a daily driver as the LC (imo). The gx550 could have been the the one to thread the needle but I felt silly trading fuel efficiency for a little more leather trim and massage seats in the front (also lack of ceiling vents & rear a/c controls in overtrain was a big no for me with young kids).

generalcruiser said:

For the city mpg, does the LC use electric only like other hybrids? If so, how many miles can you go on pure electric city driving? I have not seen any data on how it works with the LC.

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I don’t think so, i think it’ll vary the levels of electric and gas depending on situation but don’t think it goes electric only like a plug in hybrid would.

generalcruiser said:

For the city mpg, does the LC use electric only like other hybrids? If so, how many miles can you go on pure electric city driving? I have not seen any data on how it works with the LC.

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Pure electric assist is very modest. I'm able to go pure electric at low speeds (maybe <15 mph). So it works in a parking lot or pulling into the garage, but it's not practical for normal citi driving.

LChopeful said:

Pure electric assist is very modest. I'm able to go pure electric at low speeds (maybe <15 mph). So it works in a parking lot or pulling into the garage, but it's not practical for normal citi driving.

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Great, thanks for the clarification. I assumed this was the case since the lack of info.