Thread: Looking at buying

I am following down the same path going from a D4 to a RRS L494.

From homework and not experience, I believe there is very little wrong with the 4.4 & 8 speed - a good combination that lasts a long while. Good fuel economy comparable to my SDV6, smooth performance as required. Lovely to drive and simply does what you need it to do at any given time. Said to be great on and off road. Being the higher end model, I believe they are fully accessorised with eDiff and hi/low range which some models are not.

There are model differences - the MY17 went to AdBlue which decreased the diesel tank capacity by 17L or so. It has been said that the AdBlue in these did not go well with the DPF until a software update occurred + occasional open road run. And the cut off points for different models seems almost arbitrary - you really need to look at the car to confirm whats in it and not rely on searches. One thing I haven't worked out is where it is on the car that indicates MY16 to MY17 or similar - the VIN number just gives the year only and there were some intermediate models eg 15.5, 16.5.

Compared to the D4, the lack of storage and no lay flat seats is our biggest concern. There is markedly less front room storage options. Accessing the spare under the rear boot doesn't help either (no draw systems). Then there are the first world gripes of no Apple Carplay and similar - but I believe there are workarounds for some of the electronics. Lack of accessories is a pain eg no bull bar but may price out a custom made one. And like you, those 22" have to be replaced with 20". As with all LR and you have pointed out, service Hx is important.

Will follow this thread with interest.

You will need to check all the free upgrades have been done,
If its a HSE it will have big red brembo's so a gen LR 20" is your limit.


5 years?

Be careful though,, After just ONE drive of an SDV8 you will re-evaluate that, I came from a really nice 4.6 D2 and was shocked.. coming from a Defender you wont believe how fast 2.7T can shift.

I have read about a few things needing replacing on early models... read this Forum.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

You will need to check all the free upgrades have been done,

Thanks for the response. Are we talking software upgrades or were there others?

Cheers

Originally Posted by rambada

Then there are the first world gripes of no Apple Carplay and similar - but I believe there are workarounds for some of the electronics. Lack of accessories is a pain eg no bull bar but may price out a custom made one. And like you, those 22" have to be replaced with 20". As with all LR and you have pointed out, service Hx is important.

Will follow this thread with interest.

Yeah that one is a bother, I have android auto, even in my 2010 defender with a replacement head unit. I will need to look into the workarounds.
Cheers

Be prepared for this to happen to you. Mine failed in 2019 and I repaired the original with wire and epoxy.

I had a ladies 2017 fail in the school pickup line this afternoon. I managed to get her going again with some superglue but recommended she get it replaced.

Originally Posted by Geedublya

Be prepared for this to happen to you. Mine failed in 2019 and I repaired the original with wire and epoxy.

I had a ladies 2017 fail in the school pickup line this afternoon. I managed to get her going again with some superglue but recommended she get it replaced.

Thanks, perhaps I get a list of parts sorted in prep. I told my wife about the future Range Rover purchase today, her words where 'are you going to be able to fix it or is it going to cost us a fortune'. I have spent may weekends under, over or on my Defender, and that will continue.

I am still doing research, but tonight I realised they don't have low range, not sure if that is an issue these days, but the new defender does, so it is seems it is still a requirement for serious off roading.

I've got a 2014.5 Supercharged V8 Autobiography. It's my daily driver and its been a pretty good thing over the last 2.5 years, its just clicked over 150,000KM and I bought it with about 60,000 on it. I'm getting about 12l/100KM on the run in and out of Canberra and below 10 on a freeway run driven conservatively. Maintenance has been just servicing along with fixing a couple of faults that were on it when I bought it, a cracked headlight and a misting sensor that was u/s.
Edited...

Mine has a two speed transfer case so it does have low range, and a dynamic will have centre and rear diff locks as well. I do all my own servicing but did invest in an IID gap tool which is probably a necessity. there are a good range of tyres available for the 20" rims in all terrain patterns and I bought some second hand 20" rims but haven used them yet, its too much fun on the 22s. A vacuum to change the oil makes life much easier as well. If you can live without carplay the bluetooth streaming works pretty well, that's all I use. Have a think about which stereo you want as well as they range from povo to 20+ speakers on the top of the range unit.

Regards,
Tote

Thanks Tote


I found the build list for the one I am looking at and for transmission it just says Transmission Type - Paddle Shift [078CB];
I cant find any reference to two speed transfer, this does concern me a bit as from what I have found in various reviews is gearboxes overheat if they do not have low range. (while offroad).

Does anyone know which ones had low range??