Just a quick update on my experience of RRS TDV8 ownership.

I've done 750 miles now, albeit most of those on the motorway bringing the car to Germany. Other than that I have only had time to take it for one (wettish) test drive through a good twisty B-route I like to drive and a little bit of round town driving.

As far as being compensated for the colour mix-up I have to say that I am very satisifed with the level of service I have received. In addition to the usual(?) rubber mats and bottle of champagne on collection, I have also been offered a free service and fitment of electrics to allow me to fit a swan-neck towball. (Already owned.) I think that this is fair enough and have let the matter drop.

Brian Horne, my LR sales agent in Gutersloh has been remarkably good throughout the whole purchase and I recommend him highly.

As for the car itself, all I can say is that it is brilliant to drive. It is noticably a significant step up from my last one (a TDV6 HSE) and now the car genuinely feels sporty. I drove a V8 petrol D3 for a while and this feels punchier than that, even though my TDV6 always felt much slower. As I've said previously, this is the engine that should have been fitted from the very beginning. Top-end speed and autobahn blasting is a real pleasure and overtaking on the b-roads is now much swifter. I also appreciate the uprated Brembo brakes - they really are excellent and significantly better at bringing the car to a halt.

I have used the ACC quite a lot now and whilst I probably wouldn't have bought it as a standalone option I now think it's very good.

Fuel economy to date, despite some high speed motorway miles, sitting in christmas traffic jams and a little 'spirited' B-road blasting has remained at 25mpg for the 750 miles covered to date.

Any downsides?

The voice recognition was initially painfully awful but I think I may have just cured that by switching one of the settings from US to UK. I was parked up at the time but it seems to be working better.

I have only made a couple of calls using both the phone cradle and the bluetooth but each time the person at the other end has said the quality of the call was awful to the point of being unworkable and I have had to pull over to speak to them without handsfree. My last car was excellent however so I think there may be something wrong with this one. More research is needed but I've already mentioned it to Brian. I initially thought the problem with the voice recognition and phone may be connected. ie a poorly wired microphone or bad feedback from somewhere in the system causing both to fail; now I'm not so sure.

Whilst listening out for the suspension knock (not heard BTW) I did appreciate the different engine note of the V8. Hadn't really appreciated it before as I'm always playing music when I drive.

I'm going to fit some new Nokian winter tyres before I head off to the Alps over the holidays but I haven't needed them to date as it's been so mild (err did anyone mention global warming?)

This month's Top Gear Magazine's test of the TDV8 concluded with something along the lines that the best RRS no longer has Supercharged written on the back. Having not driven, or fuelled, a Supercharged RRS I couldn't possibly comment, but I'll bow to their more informed judgement for now.

Is the TDV8 worth the extra money over the TDV6? I think so, particularly if you like a sportier drive from your diesel car and especially when you factor in the cost of the options it comes with.

HH Driving - TDV8 HSE in Stornaway / Ebony / Brunel
Sold - 56 TDV8 HSE in Java Black EBONY/RHODIUM/PRIVACY GLASS
Sold - 05 TDV6 HSE BONATTI/BLACK/RHODIUM 20''STORMERS, PTI AND FACTORY TINT.

Re the phone - if you have the RRS volume set to over 19 there is feedback on the phone. You probably know this but thought I'd mention it. 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
2009 Alaska TDV8 - Gone and much missed.



WINNER - 2009 �Idler Of The Year� Award
Runner Up - 2009 �Just Doing What It�s Designed To Do� Award


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Thanks. Didn't know that and will factor it in when testing.

Cheers,

H Driving - TDV8 HSE in Stornaway / Ebony / Brunel
Sold - 56 TDV8 HSE in Java Black EBONY/RHODIUM/PRIVACY GLASS
Sold - 05 TDV6 HSE BONATTI/BLACK/RHODIUM 20''STORMERS, PTI AND FACTORY TINT.

Gutersloh = No it well , played Rugby out there at the RAF base.

Enjoy your TDV8 - Great car  
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "

<-----is still jalous !  
L 405 2013 FFRR 5.0 SC
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WINNER - 2009 �Best Avatar� Award
WINNER - 2009 Comedian Of The Year Award

great post HH

Love hearing about the TDV8, someday I'll probably get one but while I get free petrol, why would I change...(not sure if I have mentioned that one before)


Supercharged + free fuel = Much Pleasure and big grins all round..26,000 miles worth of big grins to be precise!  L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

RRUK - sounds like an expat package . I'm on free housing, free telephone, free broadband, free car (insurance and full maintenance) and free petrol - have been for years...and people wonder why I don't move back to Canada...

In my case however, the RRS is mine (for my lovely wife) while the company supplies the XC90. Belgian taxes, which are based on Kw and horsepower, put an RRS S/C out of the running under our company policy - not to mention that the poor residual for petrol cars, makes the leasing costs ridiculous.

A TDV8 on the other hand....now that might work  2006 Range Rover Sport TDV6 HSE, Java/Ebony/Cherry, Privacy, Sunroof, PTI, Premium Sound, SatNav, Cold Climate, Tow kit, CarStyle coded grill and vents, Tasmods, Stormers, JE Exhaust, Autobiography badge

OK so it's not really a first impression but I thought I'd say a few more words on how the TDV8 HSE is shaping up.

Drove it down to Tignes in the French Alps over Christmas and New Year. Did both the trip down and back in single trips.

The car handled beautifully at speeds between 120-130MPH on the Autobahn and the gearbox seems to have adjusted itself to give me quicker acceleration from 90mph+ where as before there was a slight delay when I put my foot down. I just love the engine in this car! MPG from new has now dropped to 23 MPG for an overall average speed of 54 MPH over 2000 miles, but this is the result of driving at either very fast or very slow speeds and not much in between.

Due in part to a navigational error I was given the opportunity to extensively test the RRS's ability off piste at 3AM on a snowny French mountainside. All I can say is that the car is absolutely fantastic on snow and ice. Steep slopes, from standstill in reverse? No problem and not a hint of wheel spin. On icy roads the car car handles like a dream too and the braking is smooth and progressive. After 2 weeks parked up in the snow it restarted immediately.

Overall I am happy to report that the new car is performing brilliantly.

Happy new year to all,

H Driving - TDV8 HSE in Stornaway / Ebony / Brunel
Sold - 56 TDV8 HSE in Java Black EBONY/RHODIUM/PRIVACY GLASS
Sold - 05 TDV6 HSE BONATTI/BLACK/RHODIUM 20''STORMERS, PTI AND FACTORY TINT.

Thanks very much for posting this latest update. With not many TDV8s on the road (at least in the UK anyway) even as demo's at dealers, it is vey reasuring to hear positive feedback from real life users and not just the magazine testers.

Had mine on order for a month now but it still seems a long wait ahead of me until the predicted date of delivery.

Excellent posts, HH... as rrsjo says it's good to get some direc feedback from one of the rare breed that are a TDV8 owner!  

2009 Outstanding Contribution Award - Joint Runner Up
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Just got back from Solihul.

Had a trip round the factory and a couple of hours on the off road courses.

FANTASTIC. We asked for a TDV8 it was superb

Missing mine   SDV8 vogue SE.
Corris grey and ivory leather + most of the toys.
Limited edition RRS model number 0001
Gone TDV8 RR Sport. Never to be forgotten.

Wife has an i8 BMW

http://www.rrsport.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=261  RRS TDV6 Gone but still around
SL55 AMG
760Li Alpina
BMW 535D M Sport
BMW X6 XDrive35D
BMW 320D Coupe M Sport
And A Van For Rex!

WINNER - 2008's Idler Of The Year
WINNER - 2008's Comedian Of The Year
WINNER - 2008's Funniest Incident

I love boobies i love boobies i love boobies cuz i'm a big kid now! (Come on everybody sing with me you know the words!)

Just took delivery of the TDV8 as a eplacement for a TDV6. I have to say that I fully intended to swap this car as soon as I had due to a general disappointment in the TDV6. After having the TDV8 for less than a day now I have to say that I am a total convert back to the RRS. It may be a combination of the engine, dynamic response and the brembo brakes, but the whole thing makes the car more complete.

Very impressed, change to M5 may go on hold for a few months now.

Good to hear you are sticking with the RRS for a bit longer, why didnt you like the V6 though, are the two cars that different some of my Previous cars
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P38 Range Rover Autobiography
RRS 2.7 HSE Silver
RRS TDV8 HSE silver
FFRR Vogue black
Disco3 HSE silver
RRS 2.7 HSE silver
RRS 3.0 HSE BALTI BLUE
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current vehicles
RRS 3.0 L494 Autobiography
Audi R8 V10 Spyder
AC Cobra
Landrover Defender 90
Landrover Defender 110
Suzuki Jimney