OK,

I'll come clean.

I dont have a RRS but my son does which I have posted on his behalf as he don't have the time with work and his family.

But i have taken a fancy to these and maybe will have one in a few months.

But reading about RR's or Land Rover as a whole.

Many sites say to keep away from them unless you have a fat wallet due to their reliabilty very low at the bottom of any list.

Are they really that bad L320 or L494 3.0 sdv6 auto or Evoque 2.2 auto RRS HSE SDV6 2012

What age or £ you lookin to spend

£16/20k

Not interested in the post 14 2.0d Evoques with the engine oil issues with the DPF's. RRS HSE SDV6 2012

The Evoque 2.2 are pretty reliable, I believe. A search of babyRR will allow research of the common issues.

The L320 RRS is well known and benefits from being mechanically all but identical to the Disco 3 and 4 so there is a wealth of knowledge about them and their foibles.

The L494 has been around a good while now, seems to be more reliable than the L320 - at least we're not swamped with queries in here, anyway.

£16-20k will get you a very nice L320 with a choice of engines from 2.7, 3.0, 3.6, 4.2 and even 5.0 litres, although if you're going to buy the pedestrian 2.7 you may as well buy a Disco and enjoy the more voluminous space available.

Each of the engines has its own issues - none is without some problem or other. If you enjoy driving at anything other than Miss Daisy pace, buy one with dynamic response - the hydraulic anti roll bars. They make the on road drive much better and, if you should go off road, give better wheel articulation than the traditional anti roll bar set up. They can and do leak but they're not that troublesome really, in terms of failure rate. The bigger engines all come with this anyway.

Avoid makeovers by Overfinch et al. They're often lower spec vehicles with questionable bodywork / interior mods. Fine if you like the particular style, but it does limit your market if/when you sell. None will generally have any performance mods, it's all just bling. Your choice, of course.

What you choose depends on your use and preference. If I was doing a few thousand miles a year, I'd have a 5.0 supercharged and not worry about the fuel economy. As it is, I do over 20k miles a year and have a 3.0 SDV6. I did well over 100k miles in a TDV8 before that and would say it's a better engine, more suited to the vehicle (in my opinion).

As always, buy on condition of the vehicle in front of you, not the service book. A book full of LR dealership stamps is no promise of a well looked after vehicle, sadly.

Expect suspension bushes to need doing unless there is evidence of recent replacement. Ensure any belts have been done at the appropriate time/miles (an older, low mileage vehicle will need the belts doing - the time requirement is just as important as the miles). The TDV8 has cam chain drive - one less worry - although it's not unheard of for the tensioner to need work. EGRs on the V6 diesels are an issue with age, on the TDV8 much less problematic, strangely. The TDV8's turbos can be an issue if not allowed to cool down for a minute before switching off. The V6s can have exhaust crossover pipe issues. The V8 petrols can have supercharger issues and chain tensioner issues along with coolant pump issues.

All will benefit from a gearbox flush. Ignore LR's fanciful 150k mile oil change advice. It's bunkum. Change the oil before 70k miles, preferably around 50-60k.

The transfer box output shaft seals can leak. It's a box out and split job to replace. Not an issue as it's all designed to be done, but check if you can for oil leaks. The internals of the transfer box are pretty good otherwise. Check for activation between low and high range. This is quiet and takes a couple of seconds. If there's noise other than a small clicking or two, then that suggests an issue in waiting.

Anti roll bars can leak and this can require replacement - budget over a grand per bar for this.

As said, suspension bushes wear, especially the lower arms at the front.

The electronic park brake can play up, especially if underused or not correctly serviced. Any squealing on activation/release is a sign it needs looking at straight away. Not in a month's time. Now. No, really, NOW. You don't want to be there when it decides to jam on. Trust me.

Check adaptive cruise works if fitted. Check the headlights align correctly if adaptive lights are fitted. Failure of one unit is not unheard of, although not massively common. There is info about hereabouts.

Check the spare wheel is fitted under the back of the vehicle. If not, it's probably been stolen and the wheel winch will also need to be replaced. A cheap metal plate can be bought to protect the spare. Check the retractable load cover is fitted. Not unknown for these to disappear when on a forecourt.

Otherwise, check everything works properly. And then check again. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Excellent summary  L494 3.0L SDV6 Autobiography in Chile Red (Current)
L320 3.0L SDV6 Autobiography in Baltic Blue (RIP 29/03/2021 insurance total loss)

Thanks,

Excellent explanations of the various things to look out for.

My mileage is approx 15/18k yr with 30% Mway and 70% fast A road. RRS HSE SDV6 2012

To add to that I was going to say check the ARC pipes, they run across the right side of the chassis. If they are rotting, looking sorry for themselves will cost 500quid in parts.

grab a code scanner as well and quickly read out any issues.

the 5.0L has timing chain guide issues which cost a bit to repair. But if they've already been done its a massive boost.

The 4.2 SC seems to be fairly reliable but does suffer from issues with the supercharger cooling pump, but a new pump is 100quid and you just swap the wires around and install fairly simple job.

I'd personally defo go for a 5.0L now I've got the 4.2L

At 18k miles a year, I'd go for the TDV8. The engine is great on motorways giving lovely torquey push when requested to go by something. The SDV6 usually needs a bigger throttle request and often changes down where the TDV8 would just gain speed with a nice rumble.

I found that on similar AT tyres, the SDV6 in my hands, for my driving mix, only does a handful more MPG than the TDV8 did, although on pure road tyres I'd expect slightly better again.

For fast driving, the SDV6 might be slightly better due to a little less weight over the front wheels, but to be honest, it's not noticeable unless you're really pushing on down a windy road, and by that point you're already at "this is going to end badly" speeds. Choice of tyre would make more of a difference.

But if ultimate fuel economy is an issue, you don't want to buy a 2.5t 4x4...

If I were looking to replace my current SDV6 RRS, I'd be looking for a TDV8, having owned both engines.  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

This is one thing that I find particularly strange, that we (in Britain) are rubbish at promoting our own things, we are all to ready to believe that anything we design is rubbish, and anything, say German, is uber reliable.
Take Jaguar for instance, they have been more reliable than the BMW, Audi and Mercedes, in the JD Power survey for that past 3 years, and have been at least as reliable for a lot longer. Yet we still worry about buying one, but will forgive all manner of expensive faults on a German car.
I like BMW's having had 3 over a 10 year period, but looking back I spent a lot of money on them. (Seized calipers, warping discs, vanos issues, rear diff mounts, traction control modules, auto dimming mirror failure, door locks, V8 coolant problems).
I'm not wanting to stir up any arguments at all, and am certainly not bashing other manufacturers, but challenging judgment about what is and isn't reliable.

I also appreciate LR is not Jaguar, but Range Rovers are a bit more complex, so inevitably there will be more issues, yet an informed owner can go a long way to ensuring a better ownership experience.
When I was first looking at buying a Sport, I did a lot of reading around, and probably similar to the OP, was a bit worried, but stacked against that was that (here in the UK) there is such a huge knowledge base for these cars, and a very good network of specialists and independents, plus numerous parts suppliers. Its vast.
I've been running my L320 for 5+ years, and it's had no problems other than expected service items. By that I include things like the air suspension compressor, as after 10 years, it's not an unexpected failure.
(As you can probably tell, I'm on my own little mission to promote British engineering, particularly as I am an engineer, though nothing to do with cars.)
So, to cut my rant short(er) , if you want one, do your research, then get the one you want, but make sure you address any potential problems before they appear. That's what I do, and my ownership experience has been overwhelmingly positive.

On another note, if we really want to talk about reliability, my father has had Toyota's for about 20 years, and I think he has had 1 problem in all that time.

i think buying any 2nd hand car, well your just at risk of it going tits up. the more expensive the car is the bigger the cock up. i mean RRS was around £60k when it came out no? So I have to assume it'll expensive as if something breaks.

Well said.

Also bear in mind forums will always have people complaining about their vehicles or asking how to fix faults. My experience is Audi are great cars but not a reliable as you would expect.

I also was heavily involved with Toyota in Africa, once again they are not as reliable and need loads of maintenance, however rarely do they actually stop and let you down completely and therefore get you home.

When I bought my RRS, my reasoning was it is a long term and therefore depreciation over 10+ years is on a par with changing every three years some lesser vehicle. Reliability, maintain well and hope there are no expensive bills, but if there are I have to take it on the chin.

At the end of the day driving a RRS I feel I have a great car and have no desire for anything better, whereas driving say a KIA Sportage I would be always thinking "I wish...."

CornishRob wrote:

This is one thing that I find particularly strange, that we (in Britain) are rubbish at promoting our own things, we are all to ready to believe that anything we design is rubbish, and anything, say German, is uber reliable.
Take Jaguar for instance, they have been more reliable than the BMW, Audi and Mercedes, in the JD Power survey for that past 3 years, and have been at least as reliable for a lot longer. Yet we still worry about buying one, but will forgive all manner of expensive faults on a German car.
I like BMW's having had 3 over a 10 year period, but looking back I spent a lot of money on them. (Seized calipers, warping discs, vanos issues, rear diff mounts, traction control modules, auto dimming mirror failure, door locks, V8 coolant problems).
I'm not wanting to stir up any arguments at all, and am certainly not bashing other manufacturers, but challenging judgment about what is and isn't reliable.

I also appreciate LR is not Jaguar, but Range Rovers are a bit more complex, so inevitably there will be more issues, yet an informed owner can go a long way to ensuring a better ownership experience.
When I was first looking at buying a Sport, I did a lot of reading around, and probably similar to the OP, was a bit worried, but stacked against that was that (here in the UK) there is such a huge knowledge base for these cars, and a very good network of specialists and independents, plus numerous parts suppliers. Its vast.
I've been running my L320 for 5+ years, and it's had no problems other than expected service items. By that I include things like the air suspension compressor, as after 10 years, it's not an unexpected failure.
(As you can probably tell, I'm on my own little mission to promote British engineering, particularly as I am an engineer, though nothing to do with cars.)
So, to cut my rant short(er) , if you want one, do your research, then get the one you want, but make sure you address any potential problems before they appear. That's what I do, and my ownership experience has been overwhelmingly positive.

On another note, if we really want to talk about reliability, my father has had Toyota's for about 20 years, and I think he has had 1 problem in all that time.