D3 is just a tall Passat!
Well that is what my 5 ft and a bit Wife thinks of my LR3.
She has a 2005 4Motion 1.8T VW Passat and it is a bit of a hot rod - it really moves, except that one morning the battery quit and my LR3 was requisitioned to get her and her sister out to their Mother's place about 250 km northeast of Edmonton. I was left to resolve the battery problem.
Well, my Wife had never driven the 3 before, and I was somewhat concerned however off they went for four days. My only driving instruction was not to touch the round knob or the two levers down there by the knob.
Well, I did get the 3 back, (something about the gas tank being empty all the time), but the overall review was very postive.
I think the higher up driving position was the major plus, but the odd comment was that the 3 was just a big Passat - well it did not accelerate as quickly, but the steering and controls were all like the Passat; the brakes were good, and the turning circle amazing. The sisters comment was the ride was a lot better than any "truck" she had been in before.
The grandchildren seemed to like the back seats - the higher up seating position I think, plus the view foreward from a child seat was pretty good - kids opinions count quite a bit these days I gather. The older one figured that their Mom should have one also as that would solve many problems - his words, and we found that comment interesting - well they got a 4Runner but...
On an somewhat related note, a few years back when I was looking for a new ride, I was tending to a Chev Tahoe, and that idea was not being well received - too much like a truck or something. When however, I started to broach the idea of a Land Rover instead, the 3 got a quite positive response as long as it was silver in colour. Hence I, (we?), ultimately acquired a silver LR3, and all is good.
Since then, my Wife now has learned what the levers and round knob do and knows that pulling back on one of the levers means the 3 is easy to get into and out of and that she does not have to lift up the grandchildren as high.