Rousseau Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Hi guys, Just wanted to introduce myself and ask a couple of questions about the Eastnor experience days.. I'm based on the south coast, have a FL 2 TD4 and a Porker and a crazy itch to buy an old defender/Disco to do some proper off roading. Until the itch is scratched, I'm thinking about doing an experience day. Are they any good? And which one is best to go for? (haven't done any off roading at all yet - well apart from some snow stuff in the Alps). Also, would CORE or the Kiln stuff be ok in an FL2? Cheers in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
najw Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Hi guys, Just wanted to introduce myself and ask a couple of questions about the Eastnor experience days.. You don't have to go to Eastnor, there are other Experience centres closer to you - Kent, Devon and Chilterns. Your best bet if to do a whole day Level One - usually in a Defender so you are not too over-reliant on the electrickery. A Level One will give you a sound understanding of how the vehicle works, how to deal with a variety of commonly encountered situations and give you confidence in your own abilities. Most of the Experiences have last minute web deals if you are fairly flexible and can get in at short notice. Check the websites for offers and you could save a fair bit HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Remember that there are plenty of other places to get 4x4 driver training/experience. www.4x4driving.co.uk and www.4x4adventures.co.uk being just two - who's proprietors I happen to know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathan Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 I registered on LR's website and was offered a complimentary 1/2 day experience at a centre of my choice, so I booked in @ Snowdon during a camping hol and drove a Disco 3 for the morning. I recently had another 1/2 day complimentary experience @ Eastnor and I chose to drive the Defender. Great fun. At both sites the instructors realised that I wasn't there to buy a new LR but that I enjoyed Greenalning and wanted to drive a product I would buy if able Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rousseau Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 Thanks for the tips. I'll probably grab a last minute deal for the week after next. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8bertha Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Also, would CORE or the Kiln stuff be ok in an FL2? Cheers in advance Are you talking about CORE4x4 in Chichester and Brickiln farm in Alton? If so then I wouldn't take a FL2 to Brickiln, especially if you have never driven off road before. Its a tight, wooded site with a few big bomb holes and lots of potential for body damage There is a fairly large car park area with a few bumps, but not enough to keep you busy all day. From the pics of CORE, I'd say you'd happily get around a large proportion of the site, but by the looks of things there is a lot of trailered vehicles (knackered old suzuki ) who in my experience tend to drive with a tad too much enthusiasm. Eastnor LR Experience would be a great day out for you and would help to teach you the basics, but thats all. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Eastnor LR Experience would be a great day out for you and would help to teach you the basics, but thats all. What more would you want if you were new to the game? anyway not necessarily, a level 1 basics yes, a level 2 will arm him with far more than most are aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Walfy Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Mark and I went to LRE at Eastnor a couple of weeks ago. Arrived and got the usual cup of coffee then out on to the road. Ours was a free day because of our D3 we had purchased. They promised a 3 hr stint with both on and off road driving. It was dissapointing. On road wasn't that great just round the lanes there and a very quick drive down a dual carriage way. When we went to the offroad section we went to where they have the show and not the normal site. We both did 3 laps of a tame section around the woods. 1 hill which was STEEP and slippy. Was easy enough for me to drive and not that slippy. A lot of hype about a small bump. Not sure wether to write to LR to air my view or not. Overal it wasn't the day I thought Mark had organised for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godlykepower Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 I went to the Chiltern LR experience in Milton Keynes a few months before getting my Defender. Before buying a 2nd hand Tdi, I briefly contemplated buying a brand new TD5. As I was undecided in the showroom, the salesman thought he would help things along by giving me a free half day experience. My instructor on the day did not even bother with the road test, just the off-road, after I explained the idea of my London to Cape Town trip. Basically, I did not learn anything though! I was just told to use a specific gear for certain ascents/descents, but not why I was using that gear. That said, I really enjoyed my day. Jude & I both gopt to drive, and they even let us go in the section normally used for level 2 & above. If I was paying for the day with my own money, I would not bother, as there are far better ways to learn. Patriot roof racks are made just down the road from me, and I popped in for a chat one day and met the workshop manager, who was there but on his day off. Him & I went to Sandy lane in Woburn Sands, where I learnt more in 30 minutes from him there, than I did in 6 hours at Chiltern Experience. My advice would be to find someone who knows what they are on about, and go out with them for awhile & let them show you the ropes rather than fork out a lot of cash. HTH Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Basically, I did not learn anything though! I was just told to use a specific gear for certain ascents/descents, but not why I was using that gear. to be fair to LRE bear in mind you did go on a half day experience, not a 1/2 day course. the 1/2 day experiences are to give you an introduction to the vehicle and its capability both on and off road, they are not designed to teach you anything, if topics were taught on a free half day where would the marketing incentive be to go back and pay for trg? as you say it was given to you as an incentive towards buying a td5, it is purely a marketing thing rather than a teaching aid. LRE used to give away 1/2 day teaching courses AFTER purchasing the vehicle, on these you were taught some elements, now they give them prior to purchase to help sway people towards buying and its a demo only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
najw Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 If the dealer gave you a 1/2 day voucher then you had a 'Prospect' voucher - that is you are a prospective purchaser and the session is an opportunity to' Experience' the vehicle. The session should consist of approx 1.5 hours on road and 1.5 hours off-road to give you a feel for the capabilities. However the session is customer led so if you are more interested on off/on road then the session will be tailored accordingly within the limitation of the ground used for these sessions. The is no element of tuition in a Prospect Experience. If you pay for a 1/2 day or whole day session then it is a whole different ballgame with classroom theory, vehicle walkround, demo drive and tuition to cover the basics or more depending on the level. As they say in life - you get what you pay for I went to the Chiltern LR experience in Milton Keynes a few months before getting my Defender.Before buying a 2nd hand Tdi, I briefly contemplated buying a brand new TD5. As I was undecided in the showroom, the salesman thought he would help things along by giving me a free half day experience. My instructor on the day did not even bother with the road test, just the off-road, after I explained the idea of my London to Cape Town trip. Basically, I did not learn anything though! I was just told to use a specific gear for certain ascents/descents, but not why I was using that gear. That said, I really enjoyed my day. Jude & I both gopt to drive, and they even let us go in the section normally used for level 2 & above. If I was paying for the day with my own money, I would not bother, as there are far better ways to learn. Patriot roof racks are made just down the road from me, and I popped in for a chat one day and met the workshop manager, who was there but on his day off. Him & I went to Sandy lane in Woburn Sands, where I learnt more in 30 minutes from him there, than I did in 6 hours at Chiltern Experience. My advice would be to find someone who knows what they are on about, and go out with them for awhile & let them show you the ropes rather than fork out a lot of cash. HTH Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rousseau Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Just an update... Went on the Level 1 one day course in Kent on Thursday last week (got a great last minute deal). It was a fabulous day; the instructor Colin was brilliant. Started off in the quarry in the morning to get some techniques under our belt, then great lunch and up into the woods in the afternoon. I was really surprised at how much driving we got to do and indeed what we were doing - ruts, climbs, descents, rock crawl. Thoroughly recommend it Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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