OK, So I had a day long test drive in the 4.4 SDV8 Vogue SE demonstrator from Stratstone Nottingham last week. My car was in for a big Inspection service (covered in another thread in Dealership feedback).

It was a Causeway Grey (A premium colour so costs more) car with Cirrus interior (like a light grey), had the panoramic roof with the black headlining and pillars, the 21” wheels as you can see from the pictures and massage seats (I asked if they were standard on the L405 VSE and was told they are, however when I checked the brochure they are not standard at all) It also had the electric side steps which look cool, but are a pain if you are long legged like me, as you tend to step past them, plus they make one hell of a clunk when deploying and retracting, it’s a bit like being on a plane and hearing the undercarriage fold away.

The salesman did a good job of walking me through the features on the car, and it was worthwhile, I wouldn’t bother on an L322 obviously as I normally know more than the salesman, but I learnt a few things, especially with the infotainment.

The engine sounds just like the 4.4 in the L322, nicely muted on tickover and certainly no NVH in the cabin. I did feel there was a bit of scuttle shake or wheel wobble going on whilst driving though, manifesting itself through the driver’s seat, but not through the steering, so maybe the rear wheels were out of balance a little.

OK, let’s get the negatives out of the way first:

1. The keyfob looks really cheap and nasty for a car that is a smidge under £100,000, the previous keyfobs on the 2010MY> L322 of the keyless go variety were much nicer. The new key is smaller and thinner, but with a plastic chrome effect side strip that you’d expect on something like a Vauxhall.
2. The driver’s door /arm rest seems too far away and too low. In the L322 it’s in the perfect place, but I struggled to find a comfortable rest for my arm, so the top of the door had to do.
3. The awful cupholders have made it into the L405 with no changes, they still don’t fit standard water bottle brands without a fight. Why didn’t they do something about these?
4. The cupholder slide cover is a bit odd. To open it you really have to push against the spring loading, it feels like you’re about to break it, in order to push it all the way back. The return quick push is nicer, and it slides back automagically.
5. The seat adjustment buttons are not marked with what they do
6. There is no longer a dual cubby box in the centre armrest, you lift the lid and you access the fridge, plus a little plastic tray on top (I had this on my RRS SC back in 2005, wasn’t keen then)
7. There is no longer the amazingly useful sunglasses holder in the roof lining – a major Concorde moment, unless it’s now somewhere else and I didn’t find it?
8. I found the steering wheel a bit thin in my hands

The Positives:

Driving this car really highlights how out of date everything else is. You will want one. It drives beautifully and handles so nicely. The 4.4 and the 8sp box with sport mode on is a delight, it really zips along, and when pushed, the SDV8 sounds nice and gruff, a proper V8 noise from the standard exhaust. The shift times using the paddles was fine, not F1 standard but good enough for this car, I really liked it.

The steering wheel is nicely laid out, and apart from it feeling a bit weedy in my hands compared to the L322 wheel, it was a nice instrument to use. I found the stalks a little too short though, they don’t protrude beyond the wheel perimeter, I would guess for aesthetics more than anything else. It’s a minor thing, and only a comparison of the L322, but noticeable.

At last the RR now has the noise free wipers that all other cars have had for a decade, and the windscreen washer is a dual fan spray item rather than dual jets, much better. The rear washer might have been badly adjusted on this one as it seemed to spray a single jet onto the glass about a centimetre from the nozzle, so most bounced off. Was a good strength spray though!

The electric steps look nice but unless you’re a woman, child or a small man, I think they get in the way more than anything. It felt unnatural to use the step to get in and out. I wouldn't pay the extra.

The quality of the interior is stunning, as you would hope and expect, however there were the odd creak and rattles when I was driving, I couldn't tell from where they were emanating, but it seemed like interior trim noise.

The 8 speed box is nice but when using the Sport and paddles mode, you can only really use gears 1-6 meaningfully, after that 7 & 8 are just lowering the revs and extending the legs on a run, there is little performance to be gained in those gears. But I liked it.

I loved the Bluetooth streaming of music, very easy and handy and all the phone integration worked as it should. The surround camera system is a nice toy but I’m not convinced you would use it in everyday driving, such as the blind junction scenario, would you really navigate 2 or more screen clicks to get to the camera view you need before just pulling out? I doubt it. Handy for manoeuvring though.

I liked the new seat adjustment where you can slide the seat squab in and out, depending on how long your legs are and how much support you need, much better than the BMW and Audi style sports seats extensions.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed, the car drives like a car, not a 4wd, and despite its size, feels much lighter and very nimble, much less body roll and great brakes and road holding.

I want to try out the 3.0 TDV6 version too for comparison, but as it stands, if I could afford one I would get one.

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Yip thats the Disco/RRS key with a different bit of cheap plastic on it Real shame about that and the cubby being shared components to cut costs and it sounds like the seats are the same ones as fitted to the new RRS as well which is never a good sign as your paying £25k+ to have a really different car, not just a slightly larger one. Im hoping on friday i get a quick go in the new RRS so i can compare it to the 405 i get a go in on wednesday

Think i'll be getting back into the euro millions again for £4 a week  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Nice write up... Great photos.  Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI

+1 sunglasses holder, cubby box.

Key fob not an issue for me unless you are throwing it on the bar or into the bowl! 2019 D5 HSE Lux SDV6 Indus
55 D3 SE
98 MX5 1.8 RS
gone 17 older variants of FFRR

Actually I do like the key fob, it's much thinner than the L322 one.

But really missing the sunglasses holder!


JJ

The sunglasses holder in an L322 is made from the same plastic Iceland use for their horse meat lasagne trays.

JJ

Excellent write-up, Adam (correct name, for once).

I find myself wanting one more and more, especially since looking at one at Stratstone's Cardiff the other week when I collected my S/C.

I also think the L405's seats are just SO much more comfortable than the '07-onwards L322 models (which are inferior to the '02-'05 models IMHO). Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

If you want to read about my test drive in the 3.0 TDV6 follow this link!

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/post197149.html#197149 Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB