As mentioned a minute or two ago, the LR3's six-speed manual makes off-roading easier than piloting a similar manual

The LR3's six-speed automatic features Command Shift manual actuation, which allows the driver to lock into a given gear and then tap the lever forward to engage the next. (Photo: Catherine Lemieux, Land Rover Canada)

transmission-equipped vehicle would be. It features Command Shift manual actuation, which allows the driver to lock into a given gear and then tap the lever forward to engage the next. The new gearbox is also "intelligent," adapting its shift patterns to a driver's personal style, either optimizing performance or efficiency.

While the previous scenario may seem nerve racking, it's actually a great deal of fun - at least from a guy who watches Kiefer Sutherland's 24 to relax. And to put things into perspective, that was only a snapshot lasting a few minutes in an afternoon that continued on for hours. As the day began to close, the slightly cloudy skies had turned to a light rain, and then toward the end into showers. This, of course, made the trail all the more challenging, at least when coming down off the mountain, which is mostly made of granite, and into grass and soil surfaces. The dirt mixed with the fresh rain to form a soupy mud, nothing near as difficult to navigate as Chilcotin gumbo, a

A few puddles had grown large enough to be better defined as ponds. (Photo: Catherine Lemieux, Land Rover Canada)

fine silt found in the Chilcotin grasslands, located in mid-Western BC between Williams Lake and Bella Coola, that when mixed with water gets inside the treads of the tires and turns them into slicks, but still more enjoyable than merely riding over hard-packed earth.

A few puddles had grown large enough to be better defined as ponds, but like all previous terrain the LR3 simply pushed on, hardly breaking a sweat. A variety of wooden bridges, some low to the ground serving as support over bogs and others quite high, traversing ravines. Again, the rain made these more slippery than they would have been otherwise, but a careful, slow pace and making sure the mirrors were positioned to allow a good view of the tires, allowed for safe, steady crossings.