Review Stig Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 (edited) Hello. I’m just back from a stint with the French Foreign Legion. Lets look at Range Rovers then ; a small confession first, when I ordered a Range Rover Sport, I thought I was getting the Supercharged Petrol V8 jobby. What I actually got was the TDV6 diesel, which I suppose, to be fair, would be the logical choice in the RR line up. However, Just as the word ‘Extreme’ doesn’t belong in the name ‘Renault Clio 1.2 Extreme’, the word ‘Sport’ is similarly out of place in ‘Range Rover Sport TDV6’. It weighs over 2 tons, is 6’6” wide and manages just 188 bhp. So, lets see it for what it is, a posh offroader than can tow stuff. Exterior styling is a matter of personal taste, I think the RR looks rather classy in a ‘Tally-ho, Hunter wellies, Jocasta have you got your Lacrosse kit’ kind of way, although the fashion for ever increasing wheel sizes looks a tad too bling for me. Inside is a British Leyland inspired black-button fest, offset with very high quality metal, leather and wood, and the obligatory info-overload SatNav/Stereo/Trip Computer thing. More of which later. The seats are very comfortable, finished in high-quality, easy-to-wipe-bodily-fluids-off leather and you could easily get 4 or 5 corpses in the boot. Ignoring the raucous diesel clatter on start-up, I took it for a drive down some country lanes. 324LbFt of pull is sufficient when you are on the move, but pulling out at junctions took some advanced planning, and the brakes had you clenching your bumcheeks when slowing from speed, although I was very reluctant to brake at all having taken c.13 seconds to get up to 60 in the first place. You’re very aware of the bulk on the move, and while some might like the elevated ride height, you’re a long way removed from doing any driving in the real sense of the word. Like all 4X4s, it pitches, wallows and reponds to driver inputs slower than a drugged Weathergirl. I hear these are good for towing a c*****n, but having some self-respect, I’ve never tried it and couldn’t possibly comment. Trying to shove the thing along at a speed that didn’t hinder following traffic gave an MPG figure in the low 20s when coupled with the Auto ‘box. Deciding to let the traffic jam behind me pass, I decided to have a play with the RRs gadgets, and ventured ‘offroad’ to ‘onmud’. There is a comprehensive handbook, explaining how the diffs work, what each of the different terrain modes are for, and how to maximise grip/performance depending on conditions. Thats all well and good, but when you’re on the move, you won’t have time to faff with a handbook/display, and any good product should be intuitive (TomTom, Nokia Phone, Rabbit). I was hoping that the tyres and chassis were up the job in ‘bog-standard road mode’ (or whatever they call it), and stormed down a track into the nearest puddle, where I then sat for 5 minutes, until I gave up and had to read the manual. The display shows what the axles are doing, where the grip is going, and so on. I bet a Defender doesn’t have this as the basic product should give you real feedback, without relying on a plethora of logos and numbers. With the ignition off, in the rear you can acutally hear the distinctive sound of a hard-drive whispering away somewhere under your feet. Anyway, I hauled myself out and tried the hill descent mode, crawling down a super-steep hill. Very impressive, but as my co-driver said “what’s the point of this ?”, in the real world I can’t remember the last time I went down anything more severe than a 1 in 6. In fact, looking at the terrain mode options, I wondered when you would ever need half of them, let alone the one with a cactus on it -‘shoot out at the OK corral mode’ ? A technical marvel, I’m sure, but nothing more than a gimmick in the real-world, and something expensive waiting to go wrong. At that point, the electronic handbrake failed, which was perhaps a one-off, or a reminder that soooo much technology, assembled by Brits, is asking for trouble in the long run. Outraged ? Letters to the Daily Mail please. Another fiddle with some settings, and I waded at speed through some heavily rutted and flooded tracks. I assumed I’d selected Colin McRae mode, but hadn’t, and the engine cut out as I sat in a huge puddle until someone in a Defender turned up, called me a f*cking tw*t, and pulled me out. The brakes were now full of mud and stones, so I gave up, and went to the pub. Inside the RR you get bags of space, a huge boot, a decent spec, and at £37k ish upwards the RR is a fair price for what you get. The thing is, do you really need one over a decent Jag, Jocasta ? Edited June 22, 2009 by Review Stig insert pics up own love-tunnel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Nice review, Review Stig, but... do you really need one over a decent Jag, Jocasta ? ...I'd take a Daihatsu Sirloin over a Jag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 (edited) Nice review, Review Stig, but......I'd take a Daihatsu Sirloin over a Jag. I'd have an XF over the steak, and the RR. Edited June 22, 2009 by theduisbergkid typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 That looks soooo much better (inside AND out) than that Lexus Rx thing Review-Stiggy tried. I am sure the V6 can be re-mapped for more ooomph and better mpg. However, for that wedge I would be looking elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 new 3l version due out in the autumn that has more power. 20mpg - pah, mine averages 30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 What the feck is that on the floor in the second pic...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 new 3l version due out in the autumn that has more power.20mpg - pah, mine averages 30 Yep, same engine (ish) as the XF diesel, so more economical too. Doesn't sound as superb as the TDV8 though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Yep, same engine (ish) as the XF diesel, so more economical too.Doesn't sound as superb as the TDV8 though... Not sure I'd describe the sound of any diesel as 'superb'.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Not sure I'd describe the sound of any diesel as 'superb'.... In that case you haven't listened to my V8 diesel!!.. it warbles just like a petrol V8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Not sure I'd describe the sound of any diesel as 'superb'.... V8 and V10 diesels - nice. What about the Audi R10 diesel at the Spa Le Mans series practice last year? Yes, I know it was loud, but sounded lurverleeeee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I've driven a RRS TDV8 and that sounds good too! The RRS is a much better car off road than a defender 99% of the time It can do everything a defender can do (ground clearance permitting) and lots more besides. If you're not an expert off road driver you are much more likely to get stuck in a Defender... My brother in law has one out in Qatar (supercharged V8). We spent a fun afternoon rescuing locals in their Land Cruisers when we went dune bashing! The look on their faces was priceless It also oversteers at 100mph on sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 V8 and V10 diesels - nice.What about the Audi R10 diesel at the Spa Le Mans series practice last year? Yes, I know it was loud, but sounded lurverleeeee Dave - Q7, right ? I've never actually listened to one, so I'll take your word for it. V8 diesel Mook ? Girl at work has a RR V8 diesel, and it sounds.... just like a big diesel, however, if they put the LM class diesels we heard at Spa into a roadcar, then I'd be interested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I've driven a RRS TDV8 and that sounds good too! Disagree, see my other post, each to their own and all that My brother in law has one out in Qatar (supercharged V8). We spent a fun afternoon rescuing locals in their Land Cruisers when we went dune bashing! The look on their faces was priceless It also oversteers at 100mph on sand. Now I would feckin' love to do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I was once told by someone who was very important in the designing of diesel engines (cant remember who it was, few years back), that petrol and diesel engines actually sound identical (obviously ignoring the higher rpm's achieved by diesels). And that the only reason diesels sound horrible, is due to the fuel pump and injection system. If they could design a silent fuel pump/injectors, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 Sorry mate, but that's bollox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 I thought it was the huge compression and explosion that caused the noise. You can hear the fuel pump/injectors on a petrol engine anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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