I'm glad you guys took my comments the way they were meant

I didn't know that people changed cars so much until I looked over here! For me it has to have a green oval I guess a black one would be ok and off road ability is paramount and I'm fairly typical (I wear a musto not a barbour though ) LR is going to have to be far more on top of its game to keep you RRS owners and bigger engines will be a must.

Glad to hear so many of you are looking at the car's ability off road now, it'd be cruel to your cars to keep them on tarmac all their lives! Of course if you want someone to do that chore for you just ask!!!!!!!!!!

Pelyma wrote:

I'm glad you guys took my comments the way they were meant

No, I think what you said is all quite valid, Pelyma. I'm certainly no offroader and have always preferred fast coupes & saloons to 4x4s in the past. Having had the RRS for the past 6 months, I'd still not guarantee that I'd stay with LR for my next car but I can certainly see the attraction of taking these very capable cars off the beaten track. All I need to do is get rid of the wife and child, so I can get some spare time back again and I'd be off to the nearest green lane before you could say "Oh cock, I've rolled it!"  

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Pelyma,

I have been a Shooting man all my life since I was a kid, my family have always had a Range Rover and I doubt anyone abuses them like we have over the years. They've been bogged in fields up to the doors, drowned in moorland floods, had trees dropped on them in woods, had pheasants land on them, horses kick them, been used as barriers for clay pigeon shooting, been shot (not by Dick Cheney)...the list goes on.

When I needed to get back into a 4wd there was only one brand I seriously wanted, the 'Sport made it possible to compromise decent road manners and off road ability. I feel as excited about this car as I did when I had my first Land Rover when I was 17! L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

My last 9 cars have all been four wheel drive if you can count the X5 BMW amongst them. At the moment he only car I can see my self buying again is the Sport. It is at the top in my eyes and a power increase will only make it better (that is diesel power).
I have owned a few Isuzu troopers and the fun you could have hooning around in them was great on and of road but they dont come anywhere near the sport in presence. Its out there somewhere. Second V10 Treg on the drive at the moment.

Hi Pelyma

I agree to an extent with what you're saying about the differences between D3 and RRS owners. But to me, in a nutshell, the difference is that RRS owners seem to focus more on aesthetics, and D3 owners on function.

Having owned many variants of the Land Rover marque (Series 2/3, SWB, LWB, Defender, Discovery, ex-MOD) for many years, my gut reaction was to buy a D3 - as its functionality, shape and style is very Land Rover, as well as being extremely innovative and capable.

But, in my opinion, the RRS looks fabulous! So that is why I'm buying one.

GP

Hi GP,

Couldn'd have put it better !

I am exactly in the same boat as you (owned Series and Discos) and had actually placed an order for a D3 when it came out only to cancel it once I had seen the first spy shots of the RRS.

The cars are technically the same, offroad capability is the same, but drive feel and looks make the RRS the much better choice. It's a non-brainer, unless of course you need the seven seats.

Roland

As an owner of a D3 (wifes main car) and an RRS (my main car) I constantly compare the 2. There is no doubt that the functionality of the D3 exceeds the RRS by a substantial margin. The D3 designers clearly spent a great deal of time building in all sorts of major and minor features that make that car a superb all rounder that constantly pleasantly surprises us (even after almost 18 months and 30,000 miles). This definitely a car that will be owned for many many years.

The designers of the RRS clearly had a totally different brief. It feels as if they spent 90% of their budget tweaking the suspension to get a 10% "sportier" drive, which btw actually sacrifices 30% of the comfort. They ignored creature comforts and threw away many of the D3's small life enhancing features. These were probably either dismissed as too "family friendly" or simply too expensive to tweak to fit in to the RRS. As a result I am afraid driving the RRS I always have this nagging feeling that I am missing out on something and that somehow the "Form" is emphasised at a substantial penalty as regards "Function". Or to put it another way - the SHOW versus GO ratio is far too much the former and far too little of the latter. So maybe Petrol is the way to go to get more GO.

My consclusion from all of this is that I am a person who is far better suited to the Discovery than the RRS. I should have known really. A life involving dogs, children, kayaks, mountain bikes, clients who react negatively to signs of excess and a life long lover of the Land Rover brand values simply doesn't suit RRS ownership. As a result I am afraid the plan is to chop the RRS in for something else as soon as I can make up my confused mind about what it is I want. At the risk of phsyco babble, I think I respond better to vehicles that actually deliver more than they initially appear as if they should. Cars I have owned that definitely did that were as follows :

Alfasud - looked like a Ford Escort but drove infinitely better with the best handling, braking and a cracking flat four engine. Pity it was made from recycled baked bean tins, but it was lovely whilst it lasted (not long !).

Corrado VR6 Storm - possibly the creamiest, most flexible and most practical car ever. A 4 seater hatch back that could do anything asked of it, from pootle down to IKEA to collect a wardrobe, to thrashing many so called "supercars" on a track day. Once driven - never forgotten (regret selling that one).

Mercedes 320 cdi estate - looked like a huge family estate car (indeed thats exactly what it was) but had an engine that would have towed the house along the street if asked whilst doing 40mpg and carrying the full contents of your average Tesco Extra.

Think I am a lost soul who simply doesn't know what car I am after. Mid lfe crisis or what

These posts have been some of the most informative for me on the web site up until now. Excellent we all have different reasons for buying the RRS.
I have always liked the RR but could never afford to buy one up till now.When I saw the RRS I had to have it I spent a lot of time doing research and although I didn't have a Test Drive I went ahead and bought it. Smarticus when I was thinking about buying my RRS I too thought about negative client reaction for about 5 seconds Life is too short to worry about what other people are thinking.Apart from running my own business I work in a private school and it is not normal to see that a teacher has probably got the best car in the world. I always maintain one principle nobody can tell you how you should spend your money. We all work hard for our money and do long hours (some more than most judging by how many posts some people have done ) Enjoy the RRS probably the best car in the world  RRS TDV6 HSE BUCKINGHAM BLUE BLACK LEATHER INTERIOR RHODIUM TASMOD SILLS PARROT 3000 EVOLUTION WHITE SIDE REPEATERS RRPORT.CO.UK BROLLY & STICKER
HOW GOOD IS THIS CAR!!!!
8 YEARS AND STILL GETTING LOOKS

Get yourself another D3 man!!! It's a no brainer

Have two on the drive, that would look good, and if you get an HSE you will have not lost all of the form elements of the RRS.

You have listed very good reasons for not enjoying the RRS, I considered greatly the loss of function over form, the D3 is a truly stunning piece of kit; however unlike you, I don't have dogs, bikes or kids - the only thing that really shows the cars capabilities in my life style is snow boarding and numbers of family / friends - easy answer; will get a sports box for the roof to deal with the 3 weeks a year where I drive to europe, and in all honesty, I don't like either my family or my friends anyway......they can get them selves to the pub in future

Our decision was based upon not really needing the practicalities of a D3, all we need are the abilities of a good estate car however we do really like the 'form' of the RRS so ultimately the decision was very straight forward - I have learned to like the looks of the D3 however I instantly fell in love with the outline of the RRS.......I admit it - yes - I am a posing petrol head  Currently: Carbon Black 535d
RIP: RRSTDV6 HSE & DISCO3 HSE

On a similar note: a fortnight ago while on a holiday in Kruger National Park South Africa I've happened to read a special interest 4x4 magazine meant for people doing trips all over southern Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, etc). As you can imagine the going can get quite rough in these parts of the world.

In that magazine was a test of the RRS and to cut a long story short the writers concluded: quote" THE RRS IS THE BEST CAR IN THE WORLD, PERIOD!" unquote.

There you are,
Roland

Lets be honest here LR have some of the best products on the market - second to none! BUT take the best qualities from the Big RR , the Disco3 and the Sport and what would you have ....... probably the BEST car in the world  
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "

In reply to Sparticus's comment. DO you really think the RRS is 30% less comfortable than the D3?
I currently own a D3 and think it's a little bumpy at low speed (a trait of air suspension) but i am getting an RRS with dynamic pack in May, i have test driven this car and thought it was only a very slightly harder ride than the D3 but with a much better road holding. Didnt think the difference was as great as 30% though.

Dynamic response definately helps the car to corner better ( less roll ) this then helps and improves the driving experience including passenger comfort when zipping along country B roads. Another thing to take into account is the wheel.tyre set up as this also pays a big factor in ride comfort. But in my case the supercharged does ride quite firm due to the 20" wheels and lower profile tyres. But I much prefer the overall ride in this than in the RR vogue - its just too wollowy. ... but thats just my opinion  
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "

I agree, the Vogue is like a trawler compared to the RRS. 20" rims are a compromise between comfort and asthetics but they do make the car look so much better. I had to take a second test drive to make sure i could live with the firmer suspension but i think it's fine. I couldnt afford to go for the SC but i couldnt afford not to go for the Dynamic pack once i had driven it. AND THOSE BREMBO'S, WOW.

Very interesting views from you all, I haven't driven a RRS yet, it's the only LR product I haven't driven but I'm sure I would like it Will I change my D3 for one? No I have 2 kids and 5 dogs! At the moment the only car I hanker after is the flawed RR. I'm an investment adviser and I'm not sure how clients would react and despite the problems I still love my D3