Hi Guys,

Just wondering if I am mad, or if anyone else has found themselves here?

I'm on my 5th RRS, currently a MY18 AB with some nice toys and I love it. But for some time have been working my way up to my "dream order".... a new SVR! So a couple of weeks ago, took the plunge and ordered a lovely spec for next September delivery. I was very pleased!


Now this weekend, I actually borrowed one for a few days. My 1st drive in it, as test cars are notoriously rare!

While I loved the engine noise (Wow, it's addictive), I couldn't help but feel that to actually enjoy it, I needed to drive like a man possessed the whole time and this actually ruined the main reason I have loved the last 5 RRS's.... they are great relaxed cruisers, with all the luxuries and do everything I ever asked of them (Motorway to London, daily commute, put the mountain bikes on the tow bar and take shooting in the mud).

The SVR just feels like it's designed to do 9mph down Knightsbridge and I guess I am really surprised that all I feel like doing after a "real world" test, is cancelling the order and opting for another "normal" diesel RRS.

Am I mad, or missing something?
I can't be the only one that has met their hero and been left disappointed. Now
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2022 SVR
2021 Bentley Continental GT
2020 Defender 110
2022 Defender 90 V8
Plus 16 other toys!

Plenty of SVR owners will soon be along to answer you Im sure.

I hear what you are saying though and its one of the reasons I have kept a separate sports car rather than have the one car that can do it all. The SVR is fantastic but as a daily driver for the uses you mention you cant beat the silky smooth 3.0d unit. Just did a long commute back from Cambridge to London and was effortless with 37mpg returned...brilliant

Also why on earth are they giving you a September 2019 delivery date!? You can get one within 5-6 months max..

Not very often you hear a negative thought about the SVR.

I have just sold my SVR so am in the withdrawal stages at the moment planning my next move.

The noise is what made it for me i never really drove the car with the paddles and rarely used dynamic i just dont think a Range Rover of any kind is for that purpose. If you do try to drive it like a Sports car i think you would be disappointed as its just to heavy to take corners like a sports car or accelerate like one.

The smile it puts on your face though when you start the engine is great but you have other cars for that so maybe thats why the SVR didnt give you what you thought it would.

After 3 sports including a my18 facelift diesel sport made the mistake of having a svr for the weekend.

I didn’t want to hands the keys back, I just had to have one. Replaced both my 3.d ab diesel and 911.2 targa gts with the svr

After a 6 month wait arrived last week to my spec and have been grinning ear to ear ever since.

Deffo made the right decision. What a beast and on a spirited drive from bucks to Kent and back averaged 23mpg which is way more than the Maserati granturismo I had over the summer gave me on a similar journey.

I have a lambo urus on order which I’m now having second thoughts on after the svr.

Suggest you keep it simple if you like, want one, go for it and enjoy.

All the best

Exactly my opinion of the V8SC.

It didn’t light my fire as a driving car. Fast if driven like a maniac but as a daily driver, I preferred the diesel loan cars I have had. I didn’t rate the overall quality of the materials and suffered numerous niggling problems, my old car is still in the workshop.

I don’t care anymore, I just got my new F80 M3 ZCP. I am loving the drive as well as an infotainment system that works properly. Gone - 2008 Stornoway Grey RRS 2.7 TDV6
Gone - 2009 Buckingham Blue RRS 2.7 TDV6
Gone - 2010 Alaska White RRS 5.0 V8 Aspirated
Gone - 2017 Chawton White RRS 5.0 V8 Supercharged
Current - 2010 Java Black RRS 5.0 V8 Aspirated
Current- 2024 RRS P400 SE Dynamic

GJW1 wrote:

The noise is what made it for me i never really drove the car with the paddles and rarely used dynamic i just dont think a Range Rover of any kind is for that purpose. If you do try to drive it like a Sports car i think you would be disappointed as its just to heavy to take corners like a sports car or accelerate like one.
.

Agree with RRSTDV8. Even my 3.0 2012 is pretty quick cross country in S mode and dynamic with occasional paddle use. An Alive remap helps but these cars are very capable at speed if properly specced and driven. The fact that on RRS2 and other JLR products eg Disco and Velar dynamic setting and arbs, even air suspension are not standard is sheer penny pinching: jack up the price and reduce the spec, make everything an extra like BMW.

The car is very capable of driving quickly but you do feel the weight. I didn’t use it for racing around but felt I got what I wanted from the car.

When I say it isn’t sports car quick I mean it’s not R8 or Merc GTS or many other circa 100k Sport cars but you can’t compare a SVR to a Sports Car like these there is always a compromise.

You can't really compare the Diesel to the SVR as they are both completely different beasts. As RRSman said - for an overall dd it would be hard to beat the diesel unit but for someone not doing many miles a year or someone who can afford the petrol to run one as a dd then the SVR is a game changer. I used to have a Cayenne Turbo which is certainly a better drivers car and handles like a Porsche should however the SVR is an overall better package IMHO.

What I do find disappointing is that on the MY18 onwards you have to drive it like you stole it to get a decent soundtrack where as on previous SVRs even at low speeds the car sounded amazing. That equates to even less mpg

I would not go as far as the chap above comparing an SVR to an Urus as that machine is something else. The Urus is a sports car that can seat 4 the SVR is not.

I have an SVR and its my first petrol RR. I do tend to drive it faster than any of my other RR,s as its justs so addictive, whereas in my Diesel,s i just used to cruise around slowly and comfortably without the need to push them .
This is where it's different imo, i do try to control myself though.  SVR 2018 in Santorini Black.

If you did sell that URUS given the asking prices it would buy another SVR

For fast I ride motorbikes. For off road, gravel , adventure I drive a RRS. Plenty of fast options that do it much better than an SVR IMO. M16 SVD8 ,4.4 HSE with a few extras, Sold R50 , Wife SQ5 , BMW R1200GSW.

I've had my SVR since mid July and have done almost 4k miles. I think the impression you get on a test drive or even the first week is a bit different than when you really get to know the vehicle and the combinations of drive modes + S or D, etc. At first I only drove in Dynamic and S or using the paddle shifters and then gave the other modes a chance. In Comfort and D it's pretty smooth and tame, and I like that when in city driving only with lots of traffic lights or rough roads. Or even Auto terrain mode. I imagine this is what a supercharged autobiography is like but perhaps with more exhaust noise. But it's very comfortable and the power is still there, waiting for you to command it if needed. Then as soon as I get on a highway it's Dynamic all the way and so unbelievably fun.

I can't imagine how anyone would be disappointed with an SVR. I really can't. No one should expect it to handle like an R8 or 911 with the weight and center of gravity that it has. Sure there are lots of cars with better performance in that regard but I don't get to drive on a racetrack to work so I'm fine with that. But hp and torque are a slippery slope and I can't go backwards anymore.

Off topic but I love how stealthy my SVR is but then I spec'd it that way. Only some Land Rover enthusiasts would know what it is and I've only seen one other 2018 SVR and perhaps 2 of the old generation. 2018 Range Rover Sport SVR – Bosphorus Grey

Thanks for the comments guys...

I do genuinely love the idea of the SVR, and I'm certainly not doubting its ability as an all rounder. Nor am I expecting it to handle like a sports car, though I was impressed with it's ability to cruise (relatively) quietly in D and the active exhaust off.

My main concern lies around the fact that as my daily driver, I think the "need" or desire to drive it hard could well spoil the main attraction I have towards the RRS in the first place.

Frustrating, that after working towards the point of being able to buy one....I'm faced with the fact that I may be better served by getting another "normal" RRS and sticking with my AMG as the "fun car". Moral of the story, never meet your hero's I suppose!  Now
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2022 SVR
2021 Bentley Continental GT
2020 Defender 110
2022 Defender 90 V8
Plus 16 other toys!

have you tried a new G Wagon - very very comfortable and bloody quick too...only issue is the price! It's bloody expensive for what it offers.