This is my 100th review! Yay, confetti!Thanks to everyone who has read my reviews so far!
This is also my last review on the new Lego City Space series, with this set being the latest that I got my hands on, since it's an exclusive one. I waited patiently for a discount and took my chance when there was a 10€-discount sale. It's something!
This is the largest ground-bound vehicle of the series. With the cool images and the box art that I had seen, again, my expectations were quite high.

Parts

Quite some interesting parts with this one. Nothing too fancy, though. The large black wheels are the same as with the 60431 Rover (check my review!) and there are eight of 'em!! There are also a lot of transparent pieces, especially in the alien structure. Besides the usual trans-violet bricks and crystals, I found the trans-med-reddish-violet 1x1 pyramid piece to be very interesting, as well as a trans-bluish 2x2 roof tile. Furthermore, we have a lot of white tiles, slopes, bowed bricks and arches, two trans-black window pieces (cockpit and roof), as well as two of those special bricks we know from the Star Wars Mechs as chest armor.
This set contains stickers, but only ten of them, which is OK for a larger set.

Minifigures

The Space set includes six minifigures, two brick-built aliens and four astronauts. We get a male and female pilot in light blue gear, a male scientist with heavier green gear and solar panels to the back of his suit and a female technician/worker with cool yellowish heavy gear and large manipulators attached to the back of her suit. There is also a brick-built robot with humanoid features which looks pretty cool! Gear for the explorers includes a transparent tablet, a special camcorder-like instrument, several crystals and a computer terminal inside the module.

The build

One big instruction book (I really can't define this as a "booklet" anymore!) covers the entire building process. It starts with the crystal cave piece of extraterrestrial landscape, followed by the laboratory pod, the construction of which should be well-known by now.
Next up is the large rover itself, starting with the chassis. It consists mainly of two sections of TECHNIC bricks which get linked together for the complete thing. Then the rest of the vehicle is simply built bottom to top without surprises. It is finished by attaching the large wheels and the "rims" of sorts. It is a fun build, not too challenging and should not pose a problem for younger builders, either.

The completed model

The Commando Rover is a sizable, sturdy multipurpose vehicle. The front section has a large bumper with an array of spotlights underneath. The cockpit roof has some more spotlights to the top and opens up widely.
The roomy cockpit has enough space for two pilots and a third crew member who can observe the monitors and panels that are on the left and right walls of the cockpit. In the back of the cockpit is an open crawlspace that leads directly to the laboratory module.
This module contains a computer terminal with a spot to place the "camcorder" and a table for a crystal. The trans-dark gray roof can be opened and, of course, it has the airlock-system which is synonymous with this series.
The rear section holds the crane with which the energy packs - this time with four energy cells per pack - can be hoisted from their designated places to the left and right of the middle section of the rover. The crane has three joints and swings around rather loosely in its operating area, which makes it very flexible and provides it with a good range.
The eight large wheels have equally large wheel caps, but no suspension.
The small patch of ground holds a cave-like structure with a stone slab sealing it off. This slab can be pushed forward via a small pin at the top of the structure to reveal a special crystal-like object. There is also some alien flora (?) to further decorate this sidebuild.

Overall opinion

With an impressive size, rough-looking, yet cool and streamlined design, this rover can drive directly into the heart of any Lego space enthusiast. Personally, I liked the rather large cockpit, the massive wheels (good for MOCs), the cool robot and the overall compatibility of this set and the space series as a whole. On a flat surface, the vehicle moves smoothly and the good number of minifigures is another positive.
What could have been better, in my opinion, is the chassis. There is no suspension, no flexibility in this construction, just fixed axes which hold the wheels. As we saw in the 60431 Space Exploration Rover, there are quite some possibilities to bring more movement to the suspension. I think it would have been nice to implement something like that into this rover, too.
Nonetheless, it's a fun set which perfectly fits into the new space theme and adds to its overall incredible playability. Unfortunately, it's a Lego exclusive, but I'd say it is worth spending some Insiders Points on!

This is a satisfyingly solid and chunky set and can be moved around easily. The chassis is sturdy although this comes at the expense of articulation and suspension of the wheels. The vehicle is "powered" by two large battery packs which clip in to place nicely and can be loaded with the crane, which is cleverly fixed in to the rear platform so that it can be swung round to each side. The bright colour scheme is used well, particularly in conjunction with the darker trans-black windows.
The central port holds one of the modular bays from the range and can be ejected using a knob on the side of the rover - this feels a little clunky and uncertain in use but it works well enough. The cockpit has room for two seated minifigures and a little extra space leading to the hatch to the module. There are nice decal stickers for control panels and it is very nicely shaped. The seats are primitive which may be a deliberate choice to allow the (excellent) robot to fit inside.
In addition to the rover there is a small rock outcrop with alien plants which breaks open to reveal a snazzy crystal. There's a couple of the little green stalk aliens to keep the robot company, and the rover's crew consists of members of each of the branches of astronaut - two pilots, a scientist with a nice handheld analyser tool, and an engineer with a mechanised backpack for holding tools.
All in all it looks good, it's durable, and you get a nice variety of figures, I like it.