One might look at the price of a 2012 Land Rover LR4 — 50 grand to start, 60 as we drove it — and say, "Holy, Toledo! I could buy three cars for that kind of dough."

And you could. But Land Rover partisans might argue that someone who buys an LR4, in fact, is buying three cars.

For the traveler in you, LR4, with its 375-hp V-8 and six-speed automatic, is a tow truck capable of pulling a 7,700-lb. trailer. That ought to get the old Airstream to the vacation destination without drama.

For the adventurer in you, LR4, with its multi-mode Terrain Response 4x4 system, is an off-road roughneck capable of climbing a rope in the outback. That should get you out of cell-phone range.

And for the couch-potato in you, LR4, with its endless list of standard and optional features, is a luxury car capable of pampering passengers with everything from an 825-watt(!) Harmon-Kardon audio system to a height-adjustable air suspension. That should make the daily grind of commuting more palatable.

LR4 is among the last of a breed — a real-deal SUV that owners can beat like a rented mule and it'll respond with inherent truck-like towing and off-road capability.

The latter is provided by genuine 4x4 hardware — everything from permanent four-wheel drive to hill-descent control to a locking differential to a height adjustable suspension. And all that trail-taming iron is brought together in symphonic harmony via Land Rover's terrific Terrain Response system, which tailors all vehicle systems to their optimum settings for the challenge at hand, be it snow, sand, mud, ruts or boulders. All the driver has to do is dial in the right mode via a console knob.

With one exception — a power liftgate — every conceivable luxury, from voice-command navigation to surround-view cameras, is either standard or available.

Meanwhile, all seats — the 35/30/35-split middle row and the optional, 50/50-split third row, which we had — fold for myriad people-/cargo-hauling combinations.

On road, LR4 provides a remarkably compliant ride, thanks to that air cushion. And behind its 375-hp V-8, the big guy is lively, its porky curb weight of nearly 3 tons notwithstanding. Hammer the pedal and you'll greet 60 mph in 7.5 seconds.

Also, the cabin is quiet — something of a surprise, considering that this square truck boasts all the aerodynamics of a barn. But that heritage look contributes to a spacious interior. Even the third row can accommodate a pair of adults. Add LR4's command-of-the-road seating height, and this one's a delightful highway cruiser.

In this age of "crossovers," which really are cars shaped like trucks, LR4 is the genuine article — including its demand for a Tiffany diet of premium gas while delivering just 12 city/17 hwy mpg. But well-heeled folks who want an SUV capable of dropping off a luxury travel trailer at a secluded camp site, then driving a moonscape off-road trail to a remote fly-fishing lake — all the while cosseting passengers in leather-swathed comfort — will find that LR4 has few peers.