Anybody any opinions on the difference between the two latest releases from Land Rover.
I have driven both vehicles and I am currently the owner of a RRS, would be interested to see what other peoples opinions are, NeilR should be well placed as he has owned both although sadly the D3 was very poorly.
NeilR, any chance on your opinions. Its out there somewhere. Second V10 Treg on the drive at the moment.

I have one of each, a D3 TDV6 HSE with 11,000 miles and a RRS 4.4HSE with 6,500miles.

D3 is used as a family car, smooth (for a diesel) engine, very comfortable on trip to Austria last New Year, good for towing, a bit slow but much quicker than TD5 it replaced. Had a few quality issues in the first month; electric handbrake failure, pdc problems, instrument lights going out but seems to have settled down now. My wife treats it as a dustbin and regularly puts haybales in the boot without putting the liner in... makes me weep. I bought the top spec as I intended to use it for business occasionally but it has not happened. With hindsight I would have bought an S or SE auto as the nav screen is turned off as soon as she gets in every time. Good for 25-29mpg depending on use with a range of 500 miles.

RRS was an impulse buy. Unlike the D3 that I had ordered in Jan 04 I had no order for the RRS and no wish to try it out. I went in to the dealer for the pdc to be sorted out on the D3 the day after launch and was offered the use of the RRS TDV6 demo for the day. I liked it sufficiently to want one straight away and whilst my preference would probably have been a diesel the V8 was a cancelled order so I took it, Very happy with it, much tauter than the D3 and obviously faster. Seems more luxurious even though there are a lot of common parts. I am getting an aveage of 21mpg with mixed useage.

Sometimes feel a bit uneasy about having two similarly large vehicles but in all honesty I could not find a large salloon/estate that gives the same levels of comfort, especially for those in the central back seat. I have tried BMW's (X5, 5 & 7), Audi's (A6 & A, Mercedes (E & S) and Jaguar (XJ). I'm happy with my choice (for now) and as I placed another order when I took delivery will be able to review at the year end and change to a diesel or s/c if I feel like a change (and can afford it).

In summary, two similar but very different cars. If you want a practical, utilitarian car for all purposes go for the D3. If you want a bit nore responsiveness and luxury go for the RRS.

Simon wrote:

In summary, two similar but very different cars. If you want a practical, utilitarian car for all purposes go for the D3. If you want a bit nore responsiveness and luxury go for the RRS.

Hi Biggles

I test drove the D3 diesel before driving the RRS to see what the engine and performance was like. I was extremely impressed with the smoothness, ride quality, quietness and general driving position. I certainly didn't come away with the impression that it was utilitarian. It is a very comfrtable way to get from A to B. Immediately after the D3 I drove the RR 4.4 Vogue and that is a different animal altogether but I thought the D3 ride quality was better that the RR. May have just been the 20in wheels on the RR?

I think the RRS sits nicely between the D3 and the RR. You really are getting your cake and getting to eat it. If you don't need the space thet the D3 gives you and can afford the extra £'s for the RRS then it is definitely a better car in every way. But you can see why the D3 has won so many car of the year awards.

Ultimately I went for the 4.4 petrol RRS because I don't do a high mileage and there is a definite performance difference with only marginal fuel cost penalty. I test drove the 4.4 RRs a couple of weeks after driving the D3 and RR and felt at home within minutes. My current car is a 5 series BMW and I think the RRS is better in every way but if the budget could not stretch to the RRS I would have been very happy to have a D3 albeit a top spec one with the petrol engine.

Overall I think both the RRS and D3 need more powerful diesel engines. I am sure these will come in a couple of years but when Audi have got a 300+ hp V8 diesel to play with you would think LR could give a bit more.

Where I live there are a lot of D3's going around. They are very popular and according to the local dealer a lot of X5,ML and even RR drivers are changing for D3's. It's a very good car

Keith 4.4HSE Buckingham Blue
Alpaca Premium Leather, Rhodium
Dynamic Pack, PTI