I’m roughly 18 hours into VehiCROSS ownership, and here’s what I think so far.
First, obviously its awesome. I haven’t turned back to look at a vehicle as I walk away from it so much since my 97 Land Cruiser…I should just walk backwards wherever I’m going because I’m going to keep looking. In the same way, its a trip to me to walk out of a store and walk towards this truck…its not big, but it stands out wherever you put it, even in black.
I’d call the interior ‘cozy’. I’m a large guy, and its not uncomfortably snug but its not spacious as far as your left side goes; you’re right up in the door’s business. On the right side you have a quite comfortable padded arm rest that falls in just the right spot for me, so while a little tight, I do actually find the driving position to be very comfortable. The factory Recaro seats are really excellent, and have held up pretty well over 20 years and 320k miles. The steering wheel is gross, and I’ve ordered a replacement…sadly that replacement is from a Passport and is plain black leather, but thats fine.
Its hard to judge the engine because I don’t have an exhaust leak so much as an exhaust flood…theres gotta be a big hole before the muffler, its loud and sounds like garbage. That said, it idles smooth, makes good power, and zero smoke.
In my truck, the Torque on Demand system has some sort of issue, so its operating in 2wd right now. The actual 4wd system itself works though, if I shift it into 4L the display lights up all four wheels and its definitely working. I used it to drive right through a plowed snow pile and up my side lawn with zero issue.
On the highway, its taking a little getting used to, although driving it there for the first time during a snow storm was maybe not my best call. Its kinda tall and has a really short wheelbase, so small inputs produce big direction changes. The brakes are actually excellent, though the ABS is inoperable (I’m thinking thats related to the TOD issue) and it has one warped front rotor.
Outside, I think it looks really good for having 300k miles on it. The hood is a bit junk…apparently the nose of it rotted, so the PO welded in all new metal and shaped it. All that considered, he actually did a reasonable job on it…though I hate the bedliner he painted it with. I’ve sourced a hood in nearby Massachusetts, so maybe I’ll pick that up next week.
This is the 50th car I’ve owned, and honestly its exactly what I hoped it would be. Its enough of a project that theres stuff to do, but its a nice driver right now. Vehicles that aren’t drivable don’t tend to hold my interest for very long, and vehicles I have to use daily I get tired of. It works in the truck’s favor that A) its fucking awesome, 2) I have three vehicles, not counting my wife’s Escalade, and d) did I mention its fucking awesome?
Thats what I’ve got so far.