Insurer insisting Cat 5 or fitment of OBD Protector on new RRS. Anyone had any experience with this ?. Much appreciated.

I'd try another insurer. I've just upgraded to a 2017 a/b & a Cat 6, as fitted as standard was accepted. I was told by insurer that the R/R sport a/b is group 44 & a Cat 5 is only required on groups 45 & above. current 2015 hse dynamic, grey.

My new car was refused by 4 or 5 insurers, including the ones that covered my old Sport, because of the pointless keyless entry system.

In the end, I got a reasonable quote from Sabre. Only double what the old car cost to insure.

After two weeks of ownership, I am looking to sell it for something else!

pko wrote:

I'd try another insurer. I've just upgraded to a 2017 a/b & a Cat 6, as fitted as standard was accepted. I was told by insurer that the R/R sport a/b is group 44 & a Cat 5 is only required on groups 45 & above.

I thought this issue had gone away since LR did some software updates. They moved the OBD port and locked Key module so you cannot code a new key.

I have not had any insurance company ask for anything so far thankfully. MY16 3.0 SDV6 Autobiography in Aleutian silver, stealth pack and toys.

This shouldn't be an issue and sounds like an ill informed insurance company. No new keys can be paired without replacement of the KVM.

I've just posted a new topic on this before doing a search. Sorry!
I was asking the same question about whether it was necessary to protect a newish 2016 RRS bought from a dealer. I'm assuming the update would have done. But is there a particular update I should ask the technicians about when I ring up? Cheers
Wyn Mills

Range Rover Sport 3.0 SDV6 (306) 2016
Colour: Corris Grey

Black Bess wrote:

My new car was refused by 4 or 5 insurers, including the ones that covered my old Sport, because of the pointless keyless entry system.

In the end, I got a reasonable quote from Sabre. Only double what the old car cost to insure.

After two weeks of ownership, I am looking to sell it for something else!

Because I regard the L494 as an inferior car to the old Sport in many ways that I did not appreciate when I bought it. I expected an update over the old car but it is just full of electronic frippery, most of which doesn`t work very well. My main disappointments are:-
No low range-for reversing trailers, would not have bought if I realized it was missing
stupid keyless entry - keys are very convenient, foolproof and do not slide around inside the car
daft touch screen switching for things like heated seats
Less ergonomic switches on the dashboard
seats less comfortable
more body roll
clunky unresponsive 8 speed transmission (6 speeder was smoother)
proximity sensors so slow to react that you can hit things before they work
vulnerable pipes and cables hanging down underneath. the separate chassis was far more robust.
Lack of a dipstick - don`t get me started - whose idea was that???
Stupid stop-start which cuts the engine just when you need power to turn right. Very dangerous, and not consistent with a luxury car. I turn it off after every start up.
The one saving grace is increased power compared to my old car.

I have been looking at downsizing to a Discovery Sport with manual transmission, or going old school with a Defender. Both look like offering more fun. And if I can extract value from the RRS, I can spend it on something more enjoyable.

Pretty certain that you must have bought an HSE and not an HSE Dynamic if you don't have low ranges as Dynamics have low range as standard and the full TR system.

If your gear changes are clunky then you need to get your gearbox looked at because all the 8 Speed ZF autos I have driven (including my own) have undetectable changes unless I drive it in S mode and even then the auto changes are silky smooth but more audible.

Agree with the heated seat controls but for 2016 LR returned them to the proper place

There is a software upgrade for the parking sensors that will cure your problem

Stop/Start is brilliant once you are used to it - you are pressing too hard on the brake pedal, less pressure on the pedal and the engine won't stop. Try switching it on and learn how to use it properly before decreeing it is useless.

Body Roll, I ran an L320 TDV6 SE and a TDv8 HSE before the L494 - even in non-Dynamic mode the L494 is way less rolly than my old TDv6 and on a par with the DR kitted out TDv8 but in Dynamic Mode there is no body roll at all even at silly cornering speeds.
I would recommend that you see if you can borrow any of the RRS Dynamics for a weekend because the Audio Controls apart they are streets ahead of any RRS that went before. I think you bought the wrong RRS for your needs.

Disco Sport has only 2.0ltres and rolls like an ocean liner in a hurricane if you attempt any sort of spirited driving. It is by far the worse LR product on sale on that front. Defender production ceased 18 months ago, you will end up paying ludicrous prices for anything after 2015MY (run out cars) and the price of older Defenders is also getting to silly status - My 23 year old TDI300 acquired 40% more value in the last 12 months - was offered £10,000 for it with 83000 miles on the Odo and lots of bramble rash and dents last year - this year the same dealer offered me £14000 for it with 85,000 on it................

Insurance - I live in an agricultural area with high incidence of Defender, Discovery and RRS thefts - my premium is £367p.a. including offroad use and my insurers do not require any additional security than the factory provides (although I have secondary and tertiary backup!) - my Defender costs exactly the same to insure and it has no antitheft devices at all (and is probably now more desirable to thieves than my RRS). OK I am about to get to 60, have a weighting on my policy because of my job and have 30 years of no claims history, no points on my licence or prosecutions either. 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

+1 on the "should have gone "dynamic" "thing.

I am constantly amazed at the almost total lack of body roll in my L494 (HSE dynamic) when I hurl it around corners. It is a remarkable thing.

The gearbox changes are imperceptible.

The seat heating/cooling controls are rotary controls.

18 way seats are v comfortable.

Keyless entry works for me, but I can see it is a personal choice thing.

And stop start is controllable, if still annoying. MY2016 HSE D SDV6 - gone due to fuel dilution problems.

By the age of 50 you have the face you deserve - George Orwell.

Yes, I did not check for low range and buying used it is a case of choosing from what is available. However, both my previous RR had low range (it is a Range Rover right?) so I assumed it would be there and I am miffed that the salesman didn`t bother to mention it. Presumably most customers don`t even know what it is.

The dynamic thing sounds intriguing. The longer wheelbase of the L494 definitely means a lack of 'turn-in' compared to the L320. A change of tyres, when the time comes, may change the balance a bit.

My peev with stop-start is that it cuts the engine when in drive, rather than when in neutral, which is a real distraction. Yes, I can feather the brake and keep the engine running, but better just to switch it off to ensure that I have instant power when turning right. Stop-start is really only there because it helps to achieve a low CO2 score on the type approval test, which we should all be grateful for - less VED. But unless the engine is off for at least 2 mins at a time it is likely to make the emissions of NOx and PM worse, not better. Believe me, I have commissioned laboratory testing of this for my work. So it may have more relevance in city traffic.

Is there really a software update to improve the parking sensors? As they are, they are useless. The dealer told me the car had had all updates, but I am not sure I believe them. I may have to enquire elsewhere.

One reason for the L494 HSE not having low range (even at launch it didn't have it) is that the transfer box adds 20kgs to the vehicle weight and 99% of owners never use low ratios so to save further on VED the HSE Non Dynamic was offered. It's is one of the things that people buying an HSE tend not to realise although the HSE non dynamic could have the On-Road/Off Road pack option that added the transfer box and low ratios but the price difference to the HSE Dynamic was then small and with the Dynamic version you didn't just get the low ratios but also the trick electro-hydraulic handling pack and an e-diff (in addition to the centre diff) on the rear axle as standard. Up to 2016MY the HSE Synamic also had a more powerful engine - 306bhp producing 700NM of torque whereas the HSE had less, but now they have the same tuning.

There has recently (in the last 12 months) been a software update for the PDC because the front sensors were not switching on - which could be the problem with your car if as you say you get nothing until your are too close to the object. 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

Ah, interesting. That`s good to know.

I will have to check on the PDC update because that sounds like the thing that is happening to mine.

Thanks
Adam..

Black Bess - I just automatically switch stop start off when I start the car up. Irritatingly on the D4 this leaves a bright orange ECO sign lit on the dash. The SO's X£ just has a discrete orange light alongside the stop start button beside the steering wheel.

Hopefully one day Pat from GAP will programme the IID Tool so stop start is off as default.