gonna buy one too i have 2 kids and my family car = toyota rav4. sold my 540i for it and now bought a house with a charger so time to go and buy a nice sedan again as a secondary car
Enjoyed the video. Just bought a RRS Autobiography 460e and I agree re the interior, practicality and feeling a “step up” from the previous model. We live in Cheshire and they are pretty common but I was interested to hear your story about other drivers’ views of RRS drivers! I must say I feel quite conspicuous in it and prefer driving my old Merc a lot of the time for that reason.
Thanks - I do like an old Merc. I've got my eye on a a 400d 4matic estate as a potential Tesla replacement, though I keep looking at the bonkers 63s. Not sure the dogs would like it though!
I do, it's a great car. No issues at all mechanically. The acceleration still amazes me. Having to stop on long journeys can be an issue depending on how fast you want to get somewhere.
New defender has definitely “matured” in its aesthetic appeal, particularly in a dark colour and the square rear lights certainly evoke the original Series 1 landie. Cant totally agree that it’s “as good as a Rangie”… case in point my new Vogue arrives soon to replace a MY 2019 and Disco 5 before that… but for the extra £15k it’s a no brainer in terms of “status”… and yes I still will be throwing building stuff and logs in the back 😵💫 however, I will concede it’s the same running gear underneath… horses for courses I guess 🧐
OK, so, let's say it's a narrowish B road (what Americans might describe as a cart track) and you see the national speed limit sign. You're behind the vicar's maiden aunt, who's doing 30mph listening to Songs Of Praise and there's a small stretch of straight road ahead. If you're in the Defender, you feel safe to overtake - even brushing the verge. I wouldn't try that in all cars. My Tesla for example, a bit wide and with low profile tyres, I'd wait for a wider stretch of road. That's my point - you can thread it through quite narrow gaps on pot-holey country roads and feel fully confident of it.
Also, the speed limit indicator is an EU/UK add-on. Charlie’s Garage notes this in his review of the 130. We do not have that warning in the U.S. but we have the annoying stop start that has not bothered me enough to purchase a newer GAP tool to correct.
Thank you for the nice review. I just purchased a 24 defender X-Dynamic (SE) in the same color/black pack and interior. However, in the U.S. market it is a P400 and the interior trim is all darker colors. I also have an LR3, which has been retired to dog hauler and farm car. I find the Defender seats to be quite comfortable. Yours is the first review I have seen to note the acceleration lag, which I have noticed as well. Additionally, I find the brakes on the Defender to be very sensitive. I do not know if this is intentional or a drive by wire issue. In sum, I really enjoy my Defender and feel it is one of the better made/driving cars that I have owned over the years. Cheers!
You're very welcome, thanks for your comment. Good to hear I'm not alone in my experience of the laggy accelerator and sensitive brakes. The Range Rover felt much more sorted in those departments. Small niggles on what is, as you say, one of the better made/driving cars.
Good honest review. I have thought that about the seats a few times just by looking at them through the window. Dash very basic. It's expensive considering Shogun was max £45k top model before production stopped..
Thanks, yeah expensive, but doesn't seem to stop people buying them. Maybe it fills the gaping hole left by the Disco 5 which has been a market failure.
The official line from LR is that the new RRs are not being stolen - only 11 cars since 2020 due to their new ultra-wide band keys which have killed off 'relay hackings.' There's no data on reliability yet for this model.
Thanks for the video Ross. Is it saved in a low quility format? I can only get it to play at 360p? Anyway, I have a V8 110 and love it. I live overseas, (in Greece) where the roads make UK roads look fantastic. In effect I drive off road most days and the Defender is exceptional off road. It’s quite understated, (as long as you don’t add the ghastly “Urban” type kits), and it really can deliver on all terrain. I have been looking at the Ineos, but its on road manners are not quite there yet. If I had one issue with my V8 is it’s just not hardcore enough on the road. The suspension is all over the place if you drive it quickly and becomes quite unsettled. I guess the new Octa, (What a daft name), will fix that?
Hi Tom, yes I think I did contrive to upload it at a lower quality than usual - not sure how I did that. Good to hear you love your V8. Sound ideal for Greece.
It's rugged and the looks are kind of timeless so I guess so - though the engineering is more complex - more to go wrong than old defender. I liked that on my old Defender, if I some how managed to break a wing mirror, it was £15 to replace it. On my M5 it was more like £500, but that's another story.
@@RossOnCars I write from outback-Australia By the time that thing made it to the closest shops I’d be bankrupt 😂 Keep the videos going My best regards Michael
Twelve minutes and you never once mentioned how it performs on the school run or trips to the football training ground - the Range Rover's "raison d'etre".
I did mention what my children thought of it on the school run, albeit briefly (they liked it). Football - I didn’t have it long enough to test this but it’s not flashy in the carpark - more of a Paul Scholes.
Yeah I’d have my old Disco 4 over the new Defender too. The RR comparison is because at knocking on £80K for this Defender, the RR is not far off price wise, I only drove it 3 weeks ago and I was considering both as a daily.
Mid range D350HSE defender is £75K base price as D300 no longer available. Bottom spec RR SE with the same D350 engine is £107k. £32k difference is quite a gap especially if you start to tick the options list on either car and the £107k will rocket higher. Mind you the silly days of people paying a premium for either car on the used market are well and truly over and discounts are available again on new so used prices will drop further. The price difference on used versions of either Defender or RR will as you say make the gap smaller and it will come down to personal choice.
Good vid, very nice Rangy. But I’ll never own a new one mainly due to the massive depression from new, and the price, I also prefer not to buy with finance if i can avoid it. Im currently looking at 17 reg rangy with around 60k miles for around 27-30k with full service and one owner. But I’ve owned a few L322s know and honestly think its one of the best cars I’ve owned and keep going back to. I thing range rovers you ever love them or you despise them a bit like marmite. I think range rovers have an unfair rep of bad reliability when a lot falls down to maintenance and being looked after correctly.
Financially what you're doing makes good sense for a private buyer. You can alleviate some of the financial pain of buying new if you lease a plug-in hybrid version through your company at something like 5% BIK.
Love a good range rover but this new generation really doesn't do it for me. The previous ones still had some country feel to them but for me I worry these are becoming too city focused.
If you add stick-on noise cancellation foam to the underside of the hood, you can both insulate the frunk and also drastically reduce the road noise for not much effort. If you want to go the extra mile on sound, insulate inside the wheel wells too.
The screens went horizontal on the Model S with the 2021 refresh. I find the portrait map more ergonomic, but the landscape is better for basically everything else.
I bought one of these a couple years ago, and it's an absolutely wonderful car!!! It's an "underwhelming Tesla", but it's the best car I've ever owned.
I agree, it's a brilliant car. Mine was meant to be an interim before the new model S I had on order. But then they dropped right hand drive and no way am I doing left hand drive in the UK.
Hi Joel, thanks and likewise! I can't say I did notice that stiffening up you mentioned thought no doubt if I lived with it for a while I'd start to notice its foibles more. Loved it though. I want one!
Lovely review Ross. I hope more people see your conversational, informed presenting style as you totally get what this car is all about. I had a question please about size and width. Another RU-vidr (“It’sJoel”) spoke about the size feeling larger than L405 (2012-2021), and how he noticed it when traffic was coming the other way. How did you find driving the car around narrow English roads? Could you easily pass others, or was it constantly putting you on edge with the width? I know you said it shrank around you which is encouraging, but thought I’d check as I’m seriously considering one now thanks to your review. Best wishes, Mark.
Thanks Mark! I didn’t feel the car was any wider particularly in the face of oncoming traffic. On these country roads you don’t mind pulling over into the ditch either as the car’s made for that. I did notice the other cars tend to pull over more though to let you waft through majestically 🧐
Ah thanks @@RossOnCars for taking the time to reply! That's great news. Technically the car isn't that much wider on paper, I just keep hearing from people saying it's an issue. I can't see myself without one of these, nothing else does the job so majestically as you say!
My god what horrendous roads... bumpy narrow little cart paths with no shoulders and 8 foot high brush. So many places here in the States to really drive one.
the engine of the 996 designed by Mercedes and manufactured by Porsche at the time when Porsche was in financial difficulty is a disaster in terms of reliability (IMS, cracked cylinder heads, scratched cylinder, etc.) It is greatly preferable (especially if we ride and keep it) to go with a 996 turbo with its Mezger engine (designed by Porsche) much more reliable.
Great video... I have an Amazon Green 91, C4 cabriolet since new. I loved it then, and still love it now. Agree with you statements about sound, gearbox...etc. it's just perfect for me.
It is and fast in a way that the ICE can't match. It's not the fastest Tesla of course but 0-60 for the 75D is officially 4.2 and it feels quicker than that in reality.
