Well it's been a few weeks now since I took delivery of the 5.0 Supercharged and I've gradually become accustomed to it and can now tell you what I think to it, properly, compared to my previous models.

I have to bare in mind that my TDV8 was remapped by JE Engineering and therefore not standard, and it's been a while since I drove a standard one, so here goes.

The TDV8 was no racing machine off the line, the turbo lag prevents it from leaping off the line when pushed, but it was the surge or torque that followed that made it a truly wonderful car to drive. You can pull away from junctions nice and smoothly and once into 2nd and 3rd gear with your foot planted it felt like a train that was never going to stop pulling. It truly is one of the best diesel experiences I've had and even though I've driven the 4.4TDV8 and the SDV8 in the L405, they didn't seem to have this same surge. (However, they were not remapped, they were out of the box).

The TDV8 would continue to accelerate smoothly and relentlessly well into triple figures and would sit at crazy speeds completely unfussed, still returning low 20's MPG!
Overtaking was so easy and didn't need 3 miles run-up or planning. If you have a 3.6TDV8 I would suggest you get it done because it transforms a great car into a brilliant one.


The 5.0 V8 Supercharged is a very different beast. When I first had it I found I was lurching off the line unintentionally as it has immediate launching power, no waiting for turbos etc. it took me a while to get used to driving it differently, so that I moved away smoothly.

The torque figures are lower on this car out of the box compared to my TDV8 and you can tell, it needs to drop a gear or two to really fly, but acceleration is smooth and powerful nonetheless. Unlike the 4.2 Supercharged which entices you with the howl of the Supercharger whine, the 5.0 is very quiet in this respect, you rarely hear the SC whine, unless at lower speeds and gentle acceleration you sometimes hear it kick in (which still sounds cool!)

Mostly the 5.0 has the exhaust noise, and the engine note, it's a bit more growly than the 4.2 was, and if you stick it into Sport mode and floor it the noise from the gear changes sound awesome, and again, very addictive. The few times I have revved it while stationary you can hear the blowback in the exhaust that you get on high performance cars (such as the F Type and XKR-S). It starts to sound a bit 'spit and fiery', if that makes sense.

The L322 5.0SCV8 was designed to be understated though, so it's not a loud raucous V8 like the new Sport is, but has a lovely deep smooth burble. At traffic lights you can forget the car is even running it's so quiet.

So far it's proving to be a lovely machine to drive, I did a trip to Norfolk and back at the weekend, 250 miles in a day and lots of it were spent in traffic at steady speeds, it's so smooth, my passenger fell asleep for most of the journey and was only awoken when I stabbed the loud pedal a little to get past a caravan etc.

My real world mpg seems to be creeping over 18mpg now, which for a car this heavy and an engine this big isn't too bad. If anything I am actually driving slower!

I'm loving the newer 2010MY updates, the TFT dash and Infotainment (although it won't play certain USB sticks for some reason) and the spec level of the Autobiography is lovely stitched leather everywhere etc.

I had a funny episode the other day as I joined a dual carriageway, I floored it in sport mode and in the process undertook a van with two 'van men' in it, they looked quite young, I think they were pretty surprised to see and hear a RR fly past them and pick up speed so briskly, they caught me up at the next roundabout as I was driving normally by then and I could see they were trying to read the badge on the back to see if it revealed what on earth was under the bonnet, but of course it doesn't - as I said...understated!

Those who know, will know what it is, other will just think it's a standard Range Rover  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

RRUK

Mine is a standard 2002 V8 and I am happy with as its a family car .

But my best Range rover pal , much richer than myself , has had a 4.2 SC for 2 years , a,nd now owns a 2010 5.0SC autobiography .
And as he is handing me the keys almost every time we have a journey together , I had the chance to drive both his SC .
Never driven any of the TDV8 though .

I totally concurr with your feelings re the 2 SC's , and I would add that the 5.0 is also handling much better than the 4.2 as they did a lot of work on the drive trains and suspensions ; And Understated is certainly the adjective which goes with the 5.0 .
And truly , its world's apart with my old 2002 V8 . Jaybear

2002 V8 , premier edition , 19" alloys ,

jaybear wrote:

its world's apart with my old 2002 V8 .

Imagine how they compare with my ancient TD6?

I think 'understated' applies to both 4.2 and 5.0 RR's.

I love how the differences between them and a TDV8 are so subtle and how people don't expect them to move quite so quickly. I'm sure a well-sorted 3.6 or a 4.4 TDV8 can match the S/C's in-gear times, but it's also the way that power is delivered and the noise the S/C engine makes that wins me over.

I was watching in-car YT clips of an Australian Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III (351 cu-in and around 380bhp) accelerating and the noise it made doing so. The S/C has a very similar, yet far more muted, growl to the engine and it's rather enjoyable trundling it along at walking pace and then gunning it forward as the engine almost explodes into life from muted burble-burble to loud roar, in the way only a petrol V8 can. 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.

Would be interested to hear about the TDV8 remapping. I have had pretty much all my TD cars done and even though the 272bhp makes it no slouch...if there is more available I want to unlock it !

What kind of performance figures can i expect, and can anyone recommend a local mapper in or around manchester ?

A few years back when TFC was frequenting the D3 forum, his TorqTune map was the one to have and made the TDV8 a real flying machine...

So long as I could spank a supercharger I'd be happy  Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

Nice write up. The 5.0 has really won you over I can tell.  Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI