I know this sort of pops up every now and again but.....
In the next month or so I'll be in the market for a sport, budget is 13-15k
There are a few things it has to be: Black with Ivory leather and would love a sunroof but they seem to be rare.
I've been looking at TDV8's as I would prefer more power, but I am petrified of the turbo failure. Now I know that you're more likely to read about cars that go wrong than ones that don't but it does worry me.
I will get a warranty from warranty direct so hopefully that should cover me if it goes pear shaped.

But

I was put off the TDV6 because of its XR3i type 0-60 time and this is what swayed me to the TDV8 so I wanted to ask - in the ideal world we'd all have TDV8's that didn't throw turbos out of the pram for no reason BUT is the TDV6 really that slow in day to day driving? I'm not expecting to drag race the car, but I wouldn't like to think that when I needed the extra power to get out of situations like pulling out of junctions etc it would be underpowered.

I'd still prefer a TDV8 as that's what I aimed for but the more me and the missus talk about it, we wonder wether a super tidy TDV6 at the top of our budget might be better than a bottom priced TDV8 if you see what I mean

Sorry for the long post, I do waffle!

The V6 can be tuned to be as quick as the V8 is standard.
But a decent remap transforms the V6 into what it should have been from the factory

But then the V8 can be mapped to 320bhp...

My V6 certainly isn't slow, and has surprised many hot hatches

How many miles a year are you planning to drive in it? If it's going to be a low use vehicle then consider the S/C - lots of performance and no turbos to go wrong... 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Thanks Disco_Mikey. I've thought about mapping but just wondering what they're like out of the box. I haven't driven either yet but I've looked at 3 at garages and I wouldn't have paid the money any were asking. The last one was 2.7 in budget and at an independent dealer, it was shocking, had been painted - badly. Its plus sides were the 22" atlas overfinch wheels 2010 rear lights and a/b bumper, but they'd have been better off spending the money on sorting the paintwork God knows what else was wrong but the mirrors didn't power fold - it was bad.

I think I may just look for either and let the nicest car win!

RRSTDV8 - I have considered it, and I only do around 5-8000 per year so in theory I worked out it would cost about £1000 extra a year in fuel, which I didn't mind. The problem is that this car is a stepping stone, I only plan on having it for about 2 years then upgrading to a 3.0 2010 model so I wouldn't want to have the s/c and not be able to sell it easily. Been there and done that before and lost a load of money with a rare / special edition merc!

Quote:

The problem is that this car is a stepping stone, I only plan on having it for about 2 years then upgrading to a 3.0 2010 model so I wouldn't want to have the s/c and not be able to sell it easily.

You'll be buying a fairly cheap RRS, one that is getting well down on the depreciation curve so you won't be losing much if anything. With increasing pressure from Government on diesel and its pollution issues, we may even see a resurgence in interest in petrol. Anyway, as the S/C is less admittedly popular than the TD units because of the mpg "problem", you get a better example for your money. You also get one that is pretty well loaded from the factory. The TDV8 is similar in that regard.

You're buying in the bottom part of the price range for the RRS so you need to be buying the best example you can irrespective of engine. Don't be lured by shiny big wheels or bodywork kits - as you've already seen, there are more important things to worry about on an expensive-to-keep vehicle.

As for the worry about performance, I would suggest that buying a factory-spec performance model (the S/C) would be cheaper than buying a low performance model (2.7TDV6) and then spending money on gaining performance - you certainly won't get the costs of those mods back so the S/C would end up being the cheaper option to own.

Just some things to think about...  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

dangerboy wrote:

I think I may just look for either and let the nicest car win!

A good idea, IMO.

I'll second that a remapped TDV6 with an uprated intercooler is not sluggish.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

I don't think a standard TDV6 is sluggish either in the real world. A bit of forward planning and use of momentum will keep you up with most things and its only a straight drag in which you'll lose out to faster cars.

Merc 3.5 CLS being driven spiritedly along A75/A66 to Scotch Corner was not a problem to stay with - plus my overtaking wasn't as leery as hers...

I've owned RR Sports with both the TDV6 and the TDV8 (neither remapped) and can say with certainty that the TDV6 is embarrassingly slow and once you've driven the TDV8 it'll feel even slower.

If ever there was an engine made for the first edition RR Sport it's the V8 diesel, I loved mine: good fuel economy (30mpg on a run, 23mpg local) and a swift turn of pace.

The newer twin turbo V6 diesel is a completely different proposition too.

Had the same internal debate - for about 30 seconds!

TDV8 Fantastic to drive and just gives you a smile every time. As others have said be really careful with your budget, I would recommend (from experience) keeping at least 1k to one side for first year repairs, aftermarket warranty covers limited items and you will get bills especially with an older vehicle.

Remember these were 60k cars new, repair bills don't get less just because you can pick them up for 15k now

Good luck, you will enjoy it  TDV8 Java Black, Overfinch 22s

Last edited by Alex C on Thu Aug 03 2017 1:50am. Edited 1 time in total

Thanks RRSTDV8 - You put up a good argument for the S/C but I just don't think I could do it! But you do make valid points

Thanks for the opinions! I drove a TDV6 today and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Pufftmw, I can see what you mean about forward planning as we took it down a dual carriage way and I think as long as you plan overtakes and manoeuvres then it could be liveable.

SPX and ALEX C - Thanks. It's nice to hear positivity for a change about the TDV8 as all I ever read is how bad they are for going wrong. Surely they can't all go wrong I really would prefer the TDV8 as I think that suits our needs best and has the best for performance and economy.

Lost For Words - I'm still sticking by that, I will buy the best I can find. I suppose I'm being indecisive in a good way - I'd prefer a V8 but if a tidier and better V6 came along I'd go with it!

Thanks again for the replies.

On another quick note, is Ivory leather white, or is it a yellowy white. The one I saw today had a Lemon / Sand white interior but I'm not sure if this is alpaca. It looked different to the first one I saw. I thought the Ivory was a white leather as that's how it looks in some photos.

Don't get me wrong, mine has had all the normal faults and cost me several thousand in the first year of ownership to put everything right. Both front suspension struts, compressor, fridge, EHB, fuel filter assembly corroded, suspension bushes etc etc. door locks, turbo actuators, split intercooler pipes - every month something needed doing. That was it being 5 years old with 65k on the clock.

Still love it though  TDV8 Java Black, Overfinch 22s

I would rethink the ivory interior - my car has Aspen interior which is olive seats, dash top and door bottoms and the rest is ivory so I have a comparison between dark and light in the one vehicle. The Olive sections require virtually no cleaning but the light bits are constantly dirty, does not clean well and soon looks shabby again soon after cleaning.

Click image to enlarge

tdv6 all day long ,i have owned both,and my tdv6 was much better on fuel and very quick when remapped,i found my tdv8 very greedy silverRRS 2.7 TDV6 22"WHEELS FULL COLOUR CODE,STEPS,REMAP..gone
Rimini red rrs 2.7 tdv6 steps. Full c code. Recon engine!!loved but!gone ,thank god !!
Gone rr sport supercharged. Loved but 11mpg !!!
current,triumph stag mk2...current bmw 325 sport convertible

TDV8 who cares about fuel when it's that quick, it's still cheaper than a SC after all None currently




Gone
rejected RRS autobi Dynamic MY14.5 (Peter Vardy 👎)
D3 XXV full conversion
4.2 SC FFRR
4.4 FFRR
Freelander 1

Had a later 2010 tdv6 and it was lovely before and after a remap, my current tdv8 was awesome before remap and now is

As for the ivory leather.... Stunning, just keep it clean especially if you wear jeans.... Does clean up tho

Enjoy 2010 TDV8 Bali Blue........ "Alive Tuned"

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