[MashinBenzin]

Thanks to an incredibly generous and accomodating dealer (Guy Salmon LR in Bristol), I've been tooling around in two Range Rover Sports since Wednesday afternoon. What was planned as 36 hours in a diesel became almost 72 hours in a diesel with a couple of days in a hybrid following immediately.

First things first - love them both, outstanding cars. These things simply ooze charm in a way that the German competition does not. I've realised that I've misjudged the appeal of them completely for years, seeing the image rather than the vehicle beneath.

The models
RRS 3.0 SDV6 HSE - this represents the entry level for this engine, but still comes with a comprehensive equipment level that lacks no essentials - electric/heated seats, cruise/speed limit, 380w Meridian stereo.

RRS P400e PHEV Autobiography - 2.0 300bhp petrol four mated with a 85kw/31 mile battery. In kitchen sink AB spec - 22 way heated/cooled/massage seats, driver assistance city, pano roof etc. etc. An £85k touch, £20k more than the HSE SDV6.

The Drive
The RRS really is an outstandingly comfortable vehicle. The stresses and strains of everyday driving are just soothed away with the combination of the fantastic view all around, the comfortable and quiet interior and the way the air suspension wafts you around. Local tarmac imperfections that jar in my F36 (adaptive, which I consider rides pretty well) are just smoothed away.

The way the nose rises and sinks is compelling, an almost boat-like tranquility BUT the things do not handle like a boat. I've spent most time in the SDV6 which does not have the dynamic suspension in this spec. It's air, but with none of the clever trickery of the dynamic anti-roll systems in others.

Pointing the nose around a roundabout and burying the throttle on exit, the RRS steers and handles far better than my F36, or any other F3x I have driven. The steering is much better geared and unwinds more naturally.

On a motorway, the RRS just cruises quietly and you get to your destination feeling unruffled. Again the high driving position helps immensely as you can plan far further ahead.

More to come later, I have the P400e for the rest of today, so will post up more on that. For now, pics of each in the next two posts.

[MashinBenzin]

3.0 Sdv6 Hse

[Tengocity]

Very interested to hear how you like the hybrid!

[carl w]

It's actually 85kw producing the equivalent of 104 bhp.

Kindest Regards
Carl.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by carl w

It's actually 85kw producing the equivalent of 104 bhp.

Kindest Regards
Carl.

Edited. Cheers

[pmgreenwood]

Will be interested in the comparative fuel consumption of the two.

[MashinBenzin]

AB Hybrid pics - thoughts to follow

[aquazi]

I’d love the hybrid, love how discrete the charge port is, hidden within the grill... however at £85k its well out of my price range

Also man mathes cant make the numbers work out... i’d never save £20k worth of fuel over the diesel.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Very interested to hear how you like the hybrid!

Well, it turned out that I loved the hybrid! I wasn't even considering one, put off by the four cylinder petrol attached. The only reason that I tested one was a persuasive Sales Manager when I was calling up to book the SDV6 test drive.

I was wrong about the effect of the four cylinder, at least in my usage. I was imagining a car that spent a lot of time having the petrol engine kick in to assist, but it's just not needed much in urban use. Even when it is, the amount of power available means that it's unobtrusive.

I picked up the car with zero electric charge on board, so my first few miles were purely reliant on the petrol engine. When you push it, it's undoubtedly more uncouth than the SDV6.

Once charged up (initially a couple of hours for use yesterday and then a full charge overnight), the magic of the electric mode became apparent.

In Normal mode, with a full charge and going with the urban flow, the P400e spends a lot of time using battery power only. It suits the car incredibly well, as it becomes the rolling gentleman's club that it always threatens to be. The loudest noise at times was the cooling fans in the seats.

It goes like a scalded cat when prompted. 0-40/50 is over in no time and with no need for much noticable assistance from the petrol engine. From the mpg reading, it's obvious when the petrol engine kicks in, but that's the biggest indicator.

It's pretty clear that for our usage - which rarely exceeds 30/40 miles per day - the hybrid makes sense. Not purely financial (it costs more), but as it is more suited to urban use and feels right in the environment.

Originally Posted by pmgreenwood

Will be interested in the comparative fuel consumption of the two.

Urban comparison - the diesel can manage over 30mpg fairly easily. With no charge, the hybrid is less efficient. But with a charge, it's brilliant.

I think the 13kwh charge last night would have cost me around £2.30. That genuinely managed 30 or so urban miles, with all of the MPG readings finishing up in three figure (i.e. minimal petrol engine usage).

The example in the last pic above is 168.4 mpg over 9.8 miles. Those 9.8 miles were as follows. Suburban, roundabout to roundabout with a few traffic lights. Then joining the M5/M4 interchange at Almondsbury. The smart M4 was limited to 60, so a couple of miles along there and off at the M32 and around the Bristol ring road (50mph) to the supermarket with a few traffic light stops. I'd started the day with 30 mile electric range, driven about three miles to the gym, then this run. As you can see, the e-range was down to 15 miles by then. I did another ten or so urban miles this PM before dropping it at the dealer with some e-range still remaining (about 4 miles).

As for a proper motorway run - the SDV6 was easily into the mid-40s on a long run. I didn't get chance to do that in the P400e, but would expect to be in the low-30s once out of electric assistance.

[Wills2]

I'd love the Hybrid if it had a 6 pot and 75-100 miles EV range.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by aquazi

I’d love the hybrid, love how discrete the charge port is, hidden within the grill... however at £85k its well out of my price range

Also man mathes cant make the numbers work out... i’d never save £20k worth of fuel over the diesel.

The hybrid starts around £70k for the HSE, then £75k for the HSE Dynamic and £85k for the Autobiography they lent me. In HSE spec it has slightly more equipment than the diesel (e.g. pano roof). I think the price increase is only about £3k over the diesel in the same spec.

It's easy to get tempted with the higher spec, but in reality the HSE (any engine) has everything you need. It's amazing value for money in my opinion. Not cheap, but worth every penny.

That said - for 20k a year, I'd probably take the diesel. It's a really superb engine. I'd be equally happy with one for my use too, just think the hybrid edges it.

[Broncho]

Lovely cars, a very good friend of mine has a 2015 5.0 supercharged full fat autobiography that he’s had from new, he lives in warrington but visits his family regularly in Scotland, he’s fed up of filling it up all the time, he reckons on the way up he gets no better than 14mpg.

He’s very interested in the hybrid Range Rover sport as he can get into Liverpool to his office on purely electric power, I did say to him though that the diesel may be a better proposition on a day to day basis.

Very nice though.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Wills2

I'd love the Hybrid if it had a 6 pot and 75-100 miles EV range.

Yes, I kept telling the salesman that too - why, why, why a 4pot. In reality, it's great, but if you were regularly out of electric you'd want a 6 pot. More EV range would be great too, of course. The 4 isn't to be thrashed for the fun of it, as it is, erm, thrashy!

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

Yes, I kept telling the salesman that too - why, why, why a 4pot. In reality, it's great, but if you were regularly out of electric you'd want a 6 pot. More EV range would be great too, of course. The 4 isn't to be thrashed for the fun of it, as it is, erm, thrashy!

I think the diesel makes sense a lot cheaper, they seem to hold their value as well, my friend has one for sale a 2015, 40k HSE Dynamic @ 43k retail, I've had a sit in it and it's very nice and doesn't have the facelift dash like yours.

What are deals like on a new diesel HSE?

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Wills2

I think the diesel makes sense a lot cheaper, they seem to hold their value as well, my friend has one for sale a 2015, 40k HSE Dynamic @ 43k retail, I've had a sit in it and it's very nice and doesn't have the facelift dash like yours.

What are deals like on a new diesel HSE?

They are very nice inside. Discounts are pretty low across the board - Rockar (online dealer) offer around £3k off most models and 4.9% APR. Other dealers through CarWow sometimes offer similar but APR may be 6.9. Haven't got to the haggling stage yet, just some general research.

The lack of deals is a bit of a culture shock after BMW, but the residuals (as in your friends case) speak for themselves and explain why. Most AUCs are well north for £40k and I think they only cost just over £50k when the model was introduced in 2014.

[Mr Burt]

Temped by one of these come May 2019, put I've no need for a diesel or a hybrid, so I guess it's a non starter.
4 year PCP, figures anyone's So I can do some man maths and eliminate it from my thoughts.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

Yes, I kept telling the salesman that too - why, why, why a 4pot. In reality, it's great, but if you were regularly out of electric you'd want a 6 pot. More EV range would be great too, of course. The 4 isn't to be thrashed for the fun of it, as it is, erm, thrashy!

I think that's why I find the Cayenne so appealing. The drivetrain is so refined and cultured and seems ideally suited to the vehicle.

These large SUVs are just too big for what we need or want so I'm just hoping that more of the decent premium manufacturers will bring a hybrid mid size SUV or estate out by next summer when the 330e lease ends.

So is it definitely a RR for you?

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

I think that's why I find the Cayenne so appealing. The drivetrain is so refined and cultured and seems ideally suited to the vehicle.

These large SUVs are just too big for what we need or want so I'm just hoping that more of the decent premium manufacturers will bring a hybrid mid size SUV or estate out by next summer when the 330e lease ends.

So is it definitely a RR for you?

I need to take another look at the Cayenne, but I would say the RRS is more refined. The Porsche has the nicer engine, but the RRS isolates you better.

Cayenne is so expensive though. Options are crazy.

Volvo dealer has put the XC90 out of the running.

All meaning the RRS is the front runner for sure.

[Tengocity]

Will you have a look at the new X5?

[Broncho]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

I need to take another look at the Cayenne, but I would say the RRS is more refined. The Porsche has the nicer engine, but the RRS isolates you better.

Cayenne is so expensive though. Options are crazy.

Volvo dealer has put the XC90 out of the running.

All meaning the RRS is the front runner for sure.

What happened with the Volvo?

I’m looking at potentially an XC60 next?

[six]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

I need to take another look at the Cayenne, but I would say the RRS is more refined. The Porsche has the nicer engine, but the RRS isolates you better.

Cayenne is so expensive though. Options are crazy.

Volvo dealer has put the XC90 out of the running.

All meaning the RRS is the front runner for sure.

Really interesting thread, I appreciate the insight

Why is the Volvo out? And what about the new X5?

I’ve been looking at the configurator and it seems the new X5 tries to make you pick packs not individual options. Makes it difficult to keep the price down. Also the pano roof, which is a must for me, is over £2500 due to the stupid lights in it that the driver will never see, unless they drive looking up

[Wills2]

I think the front of the new X5 looks a right mess with the beaver tooth grille and the option pricing is crazy 30d 70k+ without even trying.