Hi all this is my first post as a new member. I need a little advice from them who know so here goes. I'm in the process of buying a RRS, I took the missis to my local Guy Salmon today to have a test drive of a 61 plate 3.0. Wow! How things have changed! The last RR I had was a brand new 95 plate Classic diesel which couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. I have read that the new TDV6 is much better then the 2.7 and not a lot slower then the 3.6. The fuel consumption looks pretty impressive how are you guys finding it in the real world? I thought that the power steering was a little to assisted, is that just me?? Can anyone tell me how much better the Harman Kardon is then the standard system and how many variants there are. Lastly, do they all come with Xenons?

Hi SturgeRRS and welcome. I am relatively new to this as well but I purchased my new RRS in August last year and took delivery in late December. I have the new SDV6 3.0 and I must say that it is way better than the TDV6 2.7 I previuosly had. The ride is better and a lot quieter due to the acoustic front screen. The steering is tighter in my opinion but I like this as I get a better feed back from it. The new gear selector is a bit strange at first as its a dial rather than the conventional lever. I do like this though as the gear lever tend to get in the way of the heating controls of the previous car. Howver I do wonder how reliable this will be and how costly if it ever goes wrong. The rear view camera is very strange at first as you have to rely on the yellow markers to guide you. I really only use this as a guide to see what is behind me rather than full reversing. When I test drove the Evouque, the yellow lines moved with the steerng wheel to guide you in. These yellow line do not move. Just a small point but maybe worth mentioning
The engine is very smooth and if you leave it in drive all the time it changes gear very smoothly. Sometimes its nice to use the paddle shift when going up hill as the car tend to stay in a higher gear longer than I would like. But then ts quite good fun to use that paddle shifts...... Mrs Bandit drives it more than me and she absolutely loves it. She reckons that it is far better than the 2006 2.7 we had. More power and smoother drive. I cant compare this to a 3.6 as never having one in the first place. I can say that it gets to the speed you want a lot quicker than the 2.7.. Fuel consumption at ghe moment is around 27mpg which is way better than my old one. This is a mixture of town driving and A roads. Just completed my first tank of diesel and got 390 miles out of it with some still left in it. This is what the computer told me and not me and not my workings out. Still good though in my opinion. I purchased mine from a dealer just outside Tonbridge as they gave me a great deal and saved me a lot of money compared to my 'local' dealer in Essex......
Cant answer your question about the sound system but my standard Harmon Kardon is extremely good my the familys ears.

Anyway good luck in your choice and post some pictures whenyou get it. My one is in my gallery if you want to look. It is what it is and I am what I am....

Well Hi there Bandit and thanks for sharing your experience with me. I must say I do like the pop up gear selector you have but I may not be able to run to a model 12 year at the moment. So you have the SDV6 which apparently has 10BHP more then the earlier 3.0 TDV6 and I think it's a little better on fuel as well. I did enjoy the ride of the 11 plate I took for a test drive and would have brought it save for them only offering me 6k for my 06 Lexus which I think is appalling since I paid 20k for it 2 years ago.

I see there are quite a few Land Rover suppliers down your neck of the woods so might take a ride down there next week end

Have you ever had any dealings with Saxons?

Lee

Ouch bet that hurt. But then again around 7k loss per year for a Lexus is expected I suppose. Selling it personally will be a better bet as you know.

Saxons is just up the road to me and yes I did venture into their show rooms about 4 years again and also middle of last year. The first experience was good where the sales guy was very helpful and they had a lot of low mileage 4x4 in stock. They were very helpful in test drives etc but then got a bit pushy for the sale. Expected i suppose but we then decided look at a non LR dealer in Ongar which were miles better, friendlier and the sales guy understood what i exactly wanted. We eventually got the car I wanted from Ongar back then. I then went back to Saxons middle of last year and it took me ages to speak to someone about a RRS. He was either too busy or just didn't want to make a sale. Eventually i spoke to a sales guy and I Told him what I wanted with spec and he stated that it was not what he had in stock and he could not get it. He did show me a new £80,000 RRS which was LHD. Didn't want this either so decided to look elsewhere. Not a great experience then but things may of changed. Still worth a call in to have a chat with them though. There is also another dealer that has a few which is on the A127 just between Wickford and Rayleigh turn off next to a garden centre. Those guys are very helpful and not to pushy. These were my personal experiences and others may be different but either way its worth a look

Eventually went to a LR dealer near Tonbridge and the rest is history. It is what it is and I am what I am....

Hi and welcome to the site If you can afford the SDV6 model then it really is worth stretching your budget, dependent on colour & spec you can get an SDV6 for around 42/43k if you search the usual sites. Good luck.

Hi Addy, I must of been ripped off by the stealer then as I paid a damn site more than that for my 2013MY  It is what it is and I am what I am....

Bandit, i'm not talking brand new i'm talking 61 plate you can stop crying now.

SturgeRRS wrote:

Have you ever had any dealings with Saxons?

Lee

Horrendous place. Do a search and I'd be surprised if you can find any good stuff about them.

Good for looking and perhaps comparing but they have a lot of stock crammed in so you can hardly get between them. Trying to get a test drive is almost impossible, particularly if it is hemmed in.

If you do have any problems they are difficult to pin down once you've parted with your money.

I agree with Bandit the places off the A127 are okay as is the one in Ongar if it's the place I'm thinking of. Once I knew what I wanted I had to see a few tatty ones before I found mine and ended up going all the way doan to the South West to get it.

Enjoy the search.

Richard

Thanks Ady. Iwasnt crying, I just had the defibrillator plugged in and waiting  It is what it is and I am what I am....

Hi I'm in hornchurch and ended up ordering my HSE BLACK (2013.5MY) from Beadles in Sidcup just over the QE2 bridge

LR are replacing all the HSE (luxury, red, hse) with thE HSE BLACK. Very highly specd car with dual view, 17 speaker HK system, extended leather, as standard

Dealer sent me the spec through the other day but still waiting for it to hit the website so I can see it in colour

Yes Beadles are reasonable. They seem to get it right more than they get it wrong.

You could always try James at Hadley Green LR. He knows how to tick the boxes

Thanks guys for the advice feel like I'm all RR out at the moment. I've been looking around the web (what did we do before we had it) and I can't quite get my head around how prices vary so much for the same spec. My local Guy Salmon in Ascot have a Baltic blue one with 22k on the clock on a 61 plate for around 41k Then I've seen ones today with same spec for 48k. Makes no sense. When did the rotary gear shift first appear? What's the standard ice like in the RRS and has anyone got the HK system in theirs?

Sorry Guys, just need all the information I can get and there is no where better then from people in the know!

Ta

Rotary gear shifter came out in september 2011 coupled upto the 8 speed gearbox, the standard stereo in the sport is good enough to almost make your ears bleed very good sound quality too. If you can get the SDV6 for 41k then i would choose that over the TDV6. Just check that its an HSE and not an SE for that sort of money

Thanks Ady for that. From what I can make out its 61 plate that I should be looking at. Incedentally, what has the lux pack got over the HSE. if I can see comparing specs.

Lee

Yup, definitely try for a 61 SDV6 if you can flex the budget
Off the top of my head, I seem to recall it had extended leather, upgraded sound system and ACC cruise control over the standard HSE. ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
MERCEDES GL350 - Metallic Navy Blue w/Grey interior

GOING: BMW F31 335D MSport+ xDrive Touring
GONE: Land Rover Discovery 4 HSE - Stornaway Grey w/Black Interior (wish we'd kept it )
GONE: BMW F10 520D MSport - Carbon Black
GONE:MY12 RRS SDV6 HSE Sumatra/Ivory/Grand Black Privacy glass