Just back to the office after a decent test drive in the new MY2010 5.0L S/C.

Initial impressions before the sun goes down......if I could sum it up quickly, it would be......I'm going to buy one! Definately.

Example driven was in black with a tan interior with extended leather. Colour inside was not really to my liking, but that thought soon drifted with the drive.

OK, here is a list of observations...
Lag almost completely gone. Picks up from standstill very very quickly.
Steering is very responsive - almost point and squirt.
New dynamic suspension setting means a much flatter ride.
Engine / Exhaust noise - very pleasing, but not as loud as I imagined it would be.
Very refined at low speeds.
Paddle shift is quite natural - allows you to hold gears much more naturally than the "stock" way on my HST, but changes can be slow at times (I am used to the Gallardo e-gear, so this may explain things here).
Brakes are very very responsive.
A run on the "twisty's" left the dealer gripping the seats, and me grinning.

All in all, a very very capable car. Well done to Land Rover. Now, who wants to offer me a decent discount....?

Cheers, Bradders.

They are quite frankly Awesome! Sounds like the dealer needed the tan seats by the description of the demo!

James

Morning James. Yes, the poor girl from the dealership didn't really know what to expect when I asked if it was OK to throw it around a bit!! Just hope she was not too damaged by the experience.

Been mulling overnight, and realised that one thing I did not mention before was how "small" the car seemed when driving. Not physical size, you understand (although the seating position did seem a bit lower - maybe just seat adjustment etc), but the way it handled.

Last time I experienced anything similar was an Audi RS6 I owned a few years back. It was very barge-like to look at but had the agility of something much much smaller. The 5.0L S/C is very much like this - it flicks around like a hot hatch, if you want it to, but retains all the poise you would expect if driven more sedately.

Quite astonishing indeed.

Will give you a shout James after I've rationalised my spec list.

Cheers, Bradders.

Now if only James could chase up the factory and bring Nov forward into Sept  

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?? You waiting on your new arrival Schmoogle?

James - PM with spec on the way.

shmoogle wrote:

Now if only James could chase up the factory and bring Nov forward into Sept

I think we've sold it now! It has gone crazy over the last couple of weeks. Were almost out of everything until November. We sold 21 cars between Friday and Monday. It's now touch and go if factory orders will come in before the VAT is returned to 17.5% (fingers crossed that it won't be increased for a while). Even Kam mentioned that all he seems to be quoting on at them moment is 2010 Land Rover product!

Bradders, Got your PM and have asked someone to call you to chat through it. Only just passed it on so it may be in the morning. I'm off site at the moment. (nice spec though ).

James

Thanks James. Not heard anything yet, but hope to tomorrow.

Just been told by others that the 360 camera is off the factory options list "temporarily". Have you any info on that at all?

Cheers, Bradders.

That's exactly why we need to talk to you about the spec. We have a couple of SC due this month, so you may want to look at those. Matthew Gurney has your email and will drop you a line, however it may be worth emailing him your mobile.

matthewgurney@charleshurstgroup.co.uk

regards

James

Yes it has gone crazy on D4's and new Sport's.... All good though ..

James, I've emailed Matthew with a contact number. Hopefully he will have something of interest.

Kam - feel free to chip in if you have anything also. I will PM you my spec.

Cheers Bradders.

Good to read that British products are storming out of the showrooms at this price level, I was beginning to wonder if the only car makers who were not suffering from a "recession" were the Koreans with their scrappage scheme specials on nasty little tin boxes.
BTW my local LR Dealer now has a very nice Stornoway Grey 2010MY TDv6SE in the showroom and their Nara Bronze TDV6 HSE appears to have been sold (well it's moved out of the showroom!). But what have LR done to D4? In Santorini it looks small relative to D3 yet the external dimensions haven't changed - amazing how some styling changes can fool the eye. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Can only be a good thing... the RRS in particular has been great for LR these past few years and the MY10s can only reinforce that  

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