I have had my RRSC for two months now and while it is really great to drive and I love it to bits, there are some design items of which I am critical. So I will get my moaning done now once and for all, and you guys can spit right back in my face if you must. I realise that several of these are covered in the posts and have relevant items bookmarked for future use. I.e. I am not necessarily going to live with these faults and intend to rectify all possible.

1) The amount of plastic used in the car is unbelievable – it does not do much for a tough image. The door handles are a disgrace.
2) I liked my old Defender where you could see every nut and bolt, and how to dismantle things was obvious. In the RR you can break stuff before you find out how you should have got it off.
3) The Radiator Grill has to be the most aesthetically displeasing aspect of the whole car. I have seen more attractive pieces of Swiss Cheese - which the designers no doubt intended to imitate.

4) The ABS is lethal on gravel! I have to find a way to disable it (switch in line with fuse?). The first time I braked coming up to a corner at speed on a gravel road I thought the brakes had failed and nearly s**t myself. We made the corner at an unbelievable rate, but the screams from SWMBO were pitiable.
5) The plastic imitation brushed alumin(i)um finish on and around the dash and airvents is tacky – it just doesn’t fit with the leather and wood.
6) I know the big dangly chunks of cast iron on the rear end are supposed to be dampers. Has anyone removed them to see if they actually do anything? Or are they there just to add needlessly to the cars already ridiculous weight?
7) I have a black interior. The rear courtesy (misnomer) lights are feeble and don’t even come on as a passenger opens a rear door.
8. The access height should be selectable from outside the vehicle with the third button on the key. But no.
9) Why did they not make the extended height selectable? I am going to crunch the front and rear panels in one rough spot that I could easily access with my RR2
10) Why couldn’t they have given us an aux video input on the nav screen so as to install a rear view camera say?
11) My rear hatch door lock failed after 3 days; the dealer replaced the whole electrical locking mechanism - I hope this doesn't turn out to be a continuing problem
12) The nav voice assist makes me jump everytime she says "Turn left ahead" or somesuch. Can the volume be adjusted? I don't think so.

That's it (for now?) Next time the good points! .
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Come for a visit, Victoria is beautiful!

AlanM
re#4
I spend most of my time on gravel roads and yes you need to lock up and build up a wave of material in front of the wheels to stop quickly in this situation.
If you can't STEER your way out of trouble then you need to change your underpants.
I do not know of ANY vehicle (here in Australia anyway ) that allows the ABS to be turned off.
Some of the local designed and manufactured cars have an adjusted ABS profile which allows the wheel to lock up for longer before releasing, building up the gravel wave, however on bitumen roads their ABS is not as effective as it could be.
Perhaps the answer for Landrover is to have a selectable setting for the ABS. (presuming this is not already in the Terrain programs )
ANY INPUT FROM THE GURUS WOULD BE WELCOME.
Like you, I love this car but have a few minor points to make which I feel would be constructive criticisms.
For now ( my 6th Landrover product ) I am sooooo glad I can now park in my friends driveways and not leave any oil stains

"Can the volume be adjusted? "

Yep - just adjust the volume while the nav is speaking and voila!

"(presuming this is not already in the Terrain programs ) "

...think it is, traction control etc certainly changes. Cheers

Simon

2007 2.7HSE 20" Wheels
2005 TDV6 D3 S Auto - Zambezi Silver - JE Tune - RRS 19" - Sidesteps - Roof Rails
Body Side Strips - Xenons - Bright Pack - Cold Pack - Premium Stereo
Alpine Roof - Towpack - Alpine Touchscreen Satnav - Veba Rear DVD changer
Alpine Roof Monitor - Webasto FBH Timer - Brembo Frt & S/C Rr Brakes

Hi Alan,

All valid points as long as you remember all cars have their design faults - my old BM 5 series, although very capable on the road had (to me) some very annoying design features

Cheers

Kaine

Thanks for our responses. Would you believe I pressed every button on the nav and radio but neglected the volume control!! I will try it today.
One more difficulty is getting one's hand down the side of the seat to operate the seat controls. The memory buttons are hard to find by touch. There is also some connection between dipping mirrors not coming back up and the lazy entry, but I haven't yet analised that comletely. And in my list I made no mention of 12mpg around town!
You are right no vehicle is perfect and one always has to put up with something silly in our estimation. Fortunately on the RRS the merits of the car completely overwhelm the deficiencies. I LOVE the power ; the suspension with anti-roll is fantastic; the comfort and interior are luxurious; the sound system is great; and it drives wonderfully. .
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Come for a visit, Victoria is beautiful!

Perhaps a little more time spent reading the manual would be in order...

I too had several things I was initially frustrated with, until I read the manual and figured out how to do the things I wanted to do. For example, the homelink buttons - my garage door has rolling codes for security reasons. I initially thought this precluded me from using the homelink buttons. Then I read the manual. 5 minutes later I was all set, and felt like an idiot for not having done that before.

As for the aesthetics, that's a matter of opinion and something you can easily see before buying the car. I think most of us on this forumn would say that the RRS is the best looking SUV on the market. And the sales obviously support that as well. The grill and side vents are great, and the interior generates envy from anyone I've ever had in it, including those who drive the full size RR.

My suggestion for improvement would be to have a split rear hatch, like that of the full size RR. A small tail gate would really come in handy. Not sure why they didn't do that in the first place. But all-in-all this is a great vehicle on and off road.  2006 Bonatti Grey HSE; Ebony Lux Package; Bluetooth; Sat Radio; Rails & Crossbars; Mudflaps; Nitto TerraG's; Matt. 6:33

Boaz,
Thanks for your input. I had an RR2 before this with a split tailgate. This is nice for picnics but makes it difficult to reach the far end of the luggage compartment - you had to climb onto the tailgate and drag things back; the wife never even attempted it. I much prefer the RRS setup for my purposes and I do carry a lot.. The best vehicle I ever had in that regard was a Rambler (yes, American Station Wagon): the glass went down electrically into the lower half of the rear hatch door. You could then open the door either downwards OR sideways!! So that would make both you and I happy.
I agree with you - the visual appeal of the vehicle is tremendous, and I was certainly attracted to the car because of that. But I AM going to alter that grill!


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Come for a visit, Victoria is beautiful!

Hi Alan i hear where you are comming from on some of the design features but Like Kaine said you get poor designs on all cars, But what an overall car it is.

It does beg the question , What are you going to do with the grille, i personally love the S/C grille 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
______________________________
current vehicles
RRS 3.0 L494 Autobiography
Audi R8 V10 Spyder
AC Cobra
Landrover Defender 90
Landrover Defender 110
Suzuki Jimney

Please don't put that Strut grill on there. Looks like a pasta strainer...  2006 Bonatti Grey HSE; Ebony Lux Package; Bluetooth; Sat Radio; Rails & Crossbars; Mudflaps; Nitto TerraG's; Matt. 6:33

Envoy and Boaz: I agree the Strut design is not quite it. I would like to get something like the photo below, which harks back to the series 1 and 2 RR's, but this is made only for the Big RR not the RRS as far as I can tell. Maybe a little adaption? Must go to the dealers where I can compare the two vehicles and see. Any other suggestions?




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Come for a visit, Victoria is beautiful!

AlanM wrote:

. And in my list I made no mention of 12mpg around town!
I LOVE the power ; .

Hmm, think you will find one, will not go without the others, , But try paying over 9 CAD a gallon, My G4 with the 4.4 is aroung the 17mpg, !!

Will agreed with your point 7, grimm !! and the Volvo electric seat switch, being a tight fit 997 TT, RR TDV8 Vog SE 90 V8 Hybrid
www.wessex4x4response.org.uk
http://forum.innovate4x4.com
G4 RRS Gone

TJ101 and point #7 Open rear door...courtesy lights come on !!! Here's how...

I just worked out how to do this and posted it in the mods section, but check my webpage:

http://www.admiral.bc.ca/RRSC/reardoorlights/reardoorlights.html

It may take a while to load as there are lots of photos.

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Come for a visit, Victoria is beautiful!

Hmm... Why doesn't the suspension automatically go to access height when I select Park?

This would be of benefit to me.

Re the ABS........................... have you tried using the TR in the "Sand" setting rather than the grass/gravel/snow setting? The owners manual recommends trying it for "deep" gravel. The TR adjusts the ABS to suit the conditions so the sand programme tones the intervention down a bit. 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

Invictus wrote:

Hmm... Why doesn't the suspension automatically go to access height when I select Park?
This would be of benefit to me.