I currently own and R50 Touareg which has served me well and still brings a smile. I have around 120,000 miles up and think it is time to update. After looking around it seems the only car that will fill the hole is the SDV8 in HSE form.

What I want to know is after what date of manufacture is the car sorted? It seems that there has been quite a few updates and I am unsure which manufacturing dates are best. I think I can afford cars from around MY 2015 , do see cars advertised as 2015.5 and 2016 but don't know which is best bang for the buck.

Also would be interested to understand some of the options that are a must have, some options will be way out of my price range but in Australia there seems to be an assortment of cars shipped in to dealers on a spec basis , for example some lower spec cars have the heads up display, and some higher spec cars do not.

I currently have heated seats, memory seats by key , remote lock and entry , sat nave , air suspension , dual batteries , high low range , privacy glass , sun roof , paddle shifters and stuff I've most likely forgotten. So when I change cars I'd expect a car 7 years younger will have these things and more especially when I consider the price.

So if I have have some guidance I would appreciate.

Welcome to RRsport As the SDv8 only comes in the Autobiography version it has pretty mush everything you could want except no Land Rover I know of comes with dual batteries as standard or an option. Before you set yourself up for a V8 I highly recommend having a drive in the SDv6, about all you loose in day to day driving is a little refinement, you gain very little by going for the V8. Going for the Autobiography SDv6 you get exactly the same spec as the V8 version, low insurance, lower purchase price. You still get High/Low ranges and Terrain Response 2 and from 2015MY you get Auto TR where it will select the modes for you, automatically. That can also be overiden but it is the default setting. 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

Are the Aussie spec's the same as the UK? 2023 P440e SE Dynamic on order -cancelled

2022 HSE Dynamic P400e

2017 Discovery 3.0 HSE Silicon Silver Nimbus interior and a few extra toys SOLD

2013 HSE Black, Orkney Grey, Ebony Seats and Ivory Interior SOLD

2006 HSE

Plus a few other cars inbetween!

Not sure about the Aussie Specs , I did drive a MY14.5 SVD8 HSE dynamic yesterday and really liked the drive. Bad side was the in car media would not connect to my brand new N5 Galaxy , and the CD player stopped so I could not hear the 23 speakers fitted. I was quite turned off by the faults on a new car that was a dealer demo. Water leaked from inside the rear hatch, drivers side door mirror rattled when closing the door and then there was all the small things missing that I have on a 6 year old R50.

No rear air con , no heated seats , no cornering lamps , no TMPS , no second battery,no Privacy Glass .

But despite these issues I really liked the ambiance the road holding and ride. I could own one even though it is slower than the R50.

Hi IRBAILS,

I would suggest you visit some other dealers, for a better experience.

I have an Aus spec. MY2016 RRS SDV8 Dynamic, only driven 400Km so far.

Re 2nd Battery there is someone in Aus making a 2nd battery kit that fits behind the rear LH wheel arch on RRS & also RR.

My SDV8 has Stop/Start, with a 12V 70Ah AGM battery above the RHS Rear wheel arch, this is for very cold weather starts, and running the computers when Stop / Start is cranking the motor. See Gallery for photos showing the battery mounting position.

Cheers, Steve Aussie Spec MY16 RRS SDV8 Dynamic

Thanks for this info. I am keen on a MY16 SVD8 HSE Dynamic with the meridian 850 watt. Happy to take any other accs that I can get at a reasonable price. Seems like the RRS has not sold well in Aus, heaps of old stock available, still at unrealistic prices.

As stated the car is very under specked for the price, and the buy list of options seem an exercise in price adjustment, no way the top sound system costs anywhere near $10,000 !

So to get back to Lobsters post it seems that if one get the 2016 dynamic then there is a second battery ? Is this assumption correct?

I am also wondering if we can lower Lux tax by buying the car as a base model and then adding the options after so to speak ? Any suggestions would be nice to hear , I have enough taxes as is .

If you have several dealers or can find a good salesman with a patient manner, you should test drive an SDV6 Dynamic, followed immediately by an SDV8 Dynamic.

If you have a good drivers road i.e. hilly with tight corners, you can test drive and select / deselect the Dynamic Mode. After trying this test with SDV6 & SDV8 Dynamics, we were so impressed that my wife insisted we should get the SDV8 Dynamic.

There is no Aussie SDV8 Autobiography available here, and the SDV8 Dynamic RRP$ is about the same as the SDV6 Autobiography.

The Aussie spec. Dynamics have most of the Euro spec. Autobiography features but still allow you to exclude some options that you may never use in hot and sunny Australia. Unless you spend ages stuck in traffic you may also find the basic audio with the digital DAB tuner OK, and save you $13,600 inc GST.

Most options are best installed at the factory, it is too hard to avoid Luxury Tax, you have to install extras within 1 month to get full warranty. The salesman mentioned that tax inspectors have audited dealers books looking for Luxury Tax avoidance.

It is worth getting the salesman to provide the 2016 RRS Australian Specifications book, study it and compare your must have features and the $RRPs.

Not sure of your need for 2nd battery, but I believe the SDV6 only has a tiny Gell battery or an even smaller Capacitor instead.

Cheers, Steve Aussie Spec MY16 RRS SDV8 Dynamic

Don't take this the wrong way, but also I don't think you are comparing like with like with the RRS and the R50 Toureg which was a very limited production vehicle (at least here in Europe) that came with a host of "free" optional extras as standard. I think if you were to compare a standard Toureg with it's nearest eqvialnet RRS or L405 RR the list of standard equipment in the RRS might be better than the Toureg's, might not be in Aussie but it is here in UK. 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

True only 600 made in the world, quite rare.

Lobster wrote:

If you have several dealers or can find a good salesman with a patient manner, you should test drive an SDV6 Dynamic, followed immediately by an SDV8 Dynamic.

If you have a good drivers road i.e. hilly with tight corners, you can test drive and select / deselect the Dynamic Mode. After trying this test with SDV6 & SDV8 Dynamics, we were so impressed that my wife insisted we should get the SDV8 Dynamic.

There is no Aussie SDV8 Autobiography available here, and the SDV8 Dynamic RRP$ is about the same as the SDV6 Autobiography.

The Aussie spec. Dynamics have most of the Euro spec. Autobiography features but still allow you to exclude some options that you may never use in hot and sunny Australia. Unless you spend ages stuck in traffic you may also find the basic audio with the digital DAB tuner OK, and save you $13,600 inc GST.

Most options are best installed at the factory, it is too hard to avoid Luxury Tax, you have to install extras within 1 month to get full warranty. The salesman mentioned that tax inspectors have audited dealers books looking for Luxury Tax avoidance.

It is worth getting the salesman to provide the 2016 RRS Australian Specifications book, study it and compare your must have features and the $RRPs.

Not sure of your need for 2nd battery, but I believe the SDV6 only has a tiny Gell battery or an even smaller Capacitor instead.

Cheers, Steve

Steve, I have a 2014 SDV6 ( 215kw 600nm) SE with Dynamic option. Some of the extras are DAB radio and 850 Watt Meridian system. For me being a recording engineer the 850 watt system was a nobrainer at an extra 1200 Dollars I think. The basic system sounded awful to me, I was surprised that Meridian would put their name on it. The upgraded system is easily the best audio system I have had in a car although I had to adjust the tone controls to get the best out of it.
Re the SDV8 I recently drove one with a view to upgrading but I have to say was a bit disappointed. Didn't seem noticeably faster than my SDV6 let alone the new SDV6 which has 235kw and 700nm. Also exhaust note was very muted unlike my 2008 TDV8.

Anyway I love driving mine and have done a few big road trips in it. All stop start RRS come with two batteries one for the starter motor and the other for the rest. However my friends has been fitted with a third deep cycle battery for his fridge which was needed when we did the Simpson Desert earlier this year. Apart from different tyres Pirelli Scorpion ATRs 275/55/20 and a roof rack the car easily conquered the desert including the rough Hay River Track. His car car also used 25% less fuel than my TDV6 Discovery ( which used 25% less than the accompanying TDV8 Landcruiser) on that trip despite easily being the most powerful.
By the way the dealers down here in Melbourne are all pretty good.

Cheers, Julian. RRS P460e
1983 2 door Range Rover ARB Bar X9000 winch ARB Rear Bar now semi retired.
Many big trips done in this one.
1982 Rangerover nearly restored.
22 Defender D250 with lots of stuff for outback touring
Nice 2013 Freelander TD4 manual (for daughter to learn on) with much better stereo compared with previous SD4 SE with Meridian which sounded bad!
2013 Land Rover Defender ute.

Thanks Julian , very interesting info there. Hate stop start but there must be a disable button. I did not consider the V6 Dynamic but as the new one has been upgraded perhaps it is a car I should at least drive. I pretty much have decided that the specs I am most after are Dynamic, 850 watt sound , Roof , and then what ever options I can get at the lowest cost.

If I wanted to settle for 2014 models there are quite a few available as either second hand or dealer demos. Prices will no doubt really start to drop when we see lease cars coming onto the market.

I switched off stop/start when I first got mine. Now I leave it on and whenever I am driving a car without it I wonder why the engine is still running at the traffic lights!

Good luck with your choice... RRS P460e
1983 2 door Range Rover ARB Bar X9000 winch ARB Rear Bar now semi retired.
Many big trips done in this one.
1982 Rangerover nearly restored.
22 Defender D250 with lots of stuff for outback touring
Nice 2013 Freelander TD4 manual (for daughter to learn on) with much better stereo compared with previous SD4 SE with Meridian which sounded bad!
2013 Land Rover Defender ute.

I suspect a RRS starter motor is quite expensive and would not be paid for by the fuel savings. Also most engine wear damage is done when a car engine starts. The whole stop start things seems a false economy to me.

Time will tell. I think all European cars have to have it now. Of course they spend quite a lot of time stopped in traffic. RRS P460e
1983 2 door Range Rover ARB Bar X9000 winch ARB Rear Bar now semi retired.
Many big trips done in this one.
1982 Rangerover nearly restored.
22 Defender D250 with lots of stuff for outback touring
Nice 2013 Freelander TD4 manual (for daughter to learn on) with much better stereo compared with previous SD4 SE with Meridian which sounded bad!
2013 Land Rover Defender ute.