Well my first three L405's have all been 3.0tdv6 and I have to say that I think the engine really suits the car a pulls really well, despite what some say but by way of a bit of an experiment I've just put down a deposit on my very first 4.4. So, give me a month and I'll tell you what I honestly think

Nice one. I'm changing mine this year. Still love the 3.0 but thinking of a change, so will be interesting to see.

I have the 4.4, a lot of owners say there is little difference between the 3.0 and 4.4 but I can definitely tell the difference!
Look forward to hearing your verdict  2010 defender utility
2010 RRS TDV8 (gone)
2007 discovery 3 (gone)
2004 discovery 4 (gone)
1994 discovery 1
1970 v8 hybrid (gone)
1975 bobtail (gone)

Congratulations , look forward to hearing your views.

Likewise, i'd be keen to hear a real world difference.

Was a close call in deciding on the TDV6 over the SDV8, but i didn't drive the V8 so just went off hearsay & on paper stats which kind of supported the choice of the TDV6 being the slightly better suited engine. Having covered 1200 miles in mine now i still can't say if my choice was right, however the performance of my TDV6 hasn't left me feeling it's underpowered & has kind of surprised me how quick it is & i'm averaging 32mpg even though the engine's no doubt still got alot of loosening up to do.

Would be good to hear if the small performance improvement vs. poorer consumption & the quite significant extra cost is worth it. That said, the idea of a V8 over a V6 is appealing & i wish i'd tried out the Dynamic drive to see if that's worth the extra pennies. Paul

MY17 TDV6 Autobiography In Carpathian Grey With Cirrus Interior

Basilfawlty wrote:

Well my first three L405's have all been 3.0tdv6 and I have to say that I think the engine really suits the car a pulls really well, despite what some say but by way of a bit of an experiment I've just put down a deposit on my very first 4.4. So, give me a month and I'll tell you what I honestly think

Geez Basil, did you change it every year - here im still contemplating getting my first one and you are already on your 4th

I had my first L405 nearly three years ago and it was an AB with fairly high miles. (I always buy used, so I've had a 13, 14 and 15 plate. The one I'm getting next week is a 16). The next two cars after the AB were both VSE's with average miles. All have been the 3.0 version and I am a big fan of that engine as it's so refined, just as economical as an Evoque we had and certainly pulls its skirts up and moves briskly when you want it to.

After my first Autobiography I had a really good think and realised that there were a lot of features that the AB had were either rarely used or just a bit gimmicky so decided to experiment to see if the VSE suited me as much as the AB and to be totally frank it very nearly did. The only thing that I really missed from the AB spec as daft as it sounds was the winged headrests, and to a lesser degree the park heat, so after finding that a retro fit was absolutely mad money I discounted doing that and made sure that the third car I bought was a VSE with winged headrests.

I think if money is absolutely of no importance then it's AB all the way but if you like quality but also a relative bargain then for me the VSE is the sweet-spot of the range (that is before the MY17 update which took adaptive cruise off the VSE spec sheet)

Trouble with me is that I'm pretty car daft and always looking for the next one and had always promised myself a 4.4 AB at some point, just so I would know once and for all which is best for me. Anyway, last Friday a friend of mine suffered a pretty serious heart attack and as I believe that we are all a long time dead I decided to buy the car I'd always promised myself, which I did the following day.

Will be getting it next week, so we will see!

Geez Basil, did you change it every year - here im still contemplating getting my first one and you are already on your 4th[/quote]

If you can afford it just do it. They are wonderful. I drove back from Costco this afternoon with David Bowie blaring out whilst singing badly along with it and thinking to myself "Boy Am I Lucky". Treat yourself because it's either that leave or leave too much to the kids who would spend it on things we'd never approve of

You have got it dead right Basil and i very much look forward to seeing and hearing about the new beast .

Well said Basil and so true! Good taste in music too.

Basilfawlty you have me waiting with bated breath

And your verdict is...................... 2010 defender utility
2010 RRS TDV8 (gone)
2007 discovery 3 (gone)
2004 discovery 4 (gone)
1994 discovery 1
1970 v8 hybrid (gone)
1975 bobtail (gone)

Hi Bear, I wasn't being evasive, I just thought that before I gave my honest opinion that I best give it at least a month of regular driving so that I can actually allow the new feel good factor that you get with almost any car to wear off and give a proper, dispationate response. I will do that in a month or two but just for you I'll tell you some of my early observations as it will be interesting to see if I change my mind on these over the fullness of time.

The most striking thing so far is the colour. Firenze red; I wasn't really sure but I honestly love the colour. It's so much better than I'd feared and even better than I'd hoped. The next was the 4.4AB is lovely but then so was my VSE V6.

The 4.4 SDV8 seems more refined than the last one I'd driven, which was a 2014 but it's no 3.0 tdv6 in terms of calmness and refinement. On its own it's very good, but there's certainly more noise there when just tootling around and surprisingly you seem to have to make it rev a little more to get it moving initially than you do in the smaller engined car.

There's no doubt that the SDV8 is quicker. I have not made any direct comparison on this it's just a feeling but I'd say the smaller engined car gets away almost as well as its big brother but once into its stride the V8 feels that it's got a bigger set of lungs. It's quick in a straight line and at this point when the taps are open it actually sounds at its best. I owned a V8 tdi Touareg a few years ago and I'd say that it wasn't as quick as that, nor did it sound quite as good. The Touareg sounded like a V8 whereas the RR sounds like a V8 diesel, albeit still a nice rumbling sound.


One surprise was the fuel economy. It really doesn't feel much different to the tdv6. I'd guess three or four mpg different in real world difference. On a long trip of almost 170 miles it average 70mph and was over 35 mpg, which went up to over 39 mpg on a slower 70 mile trip. The tdv6 wouldn't have been a lot different on those trips from memory. Maybe a little more on the gentle trip but averaging 70mph over 170 miles I'd guess the three litre would have been almost the same. I guess it probably points to less stress at higher speeds on the V8.

The next surprise was the handling. And I say this because of the bag of tricks that the V8 has that is omitted from the V6. I can't tell any real difference. Neither car corners like a Cayenne, nor a RR Sport for that matter and if I had to hazard a view I wouldn't be surprised to find LandRover needed to put this into V8 to stop the extra front end weight washing the car out too much on fast corners. So what I'm really saying is if you heart is set on on something that makes a doddle of the twisty section of country roads don't choose the V8 over the V6. Buy a RR Sport but then you'll be penalised in other ways.

So if you were to pin me down and make me say which engine is better suited to the FFRR I'd probably say that the smaller engine is best for my driving style but if I were leathering down the motorways then it may be a bit more even. I've had sporty cars in the past but for me a full fat is about words like serenity, smoothness and even cosseting and the 3.0 does this better and no matter what you hear about it being breathless or just plain slow; it ain't, even compared to the V8.

Now; moving onto something that may take a little longer to appreciate and that's whether the AB is worth the premium over the VSE. I have to say that prior to this car my favourite 405 was my last VSE with the winged headrests. When my new one arrived I wasn't immediately thinking that I've gone up in the world and I have to say that my father, who is a long serving LandRover customer or even our friends who are not wouldn't really have been able to tell they were stepping into a car that was listed 15 grand more than the last one.

Once again I used the massaging facility and for me as a bad back sufferer they felt just a bit gimmicky and I was pleased to have to use the surround cameras when going to order the hanging baskets at a farm on a very tight road, where someone had parked awkwardly but found them difficult to comprehend. For someone who offroads it may be a different thing but I don't. Then there are other nice touches but in the scheme of things they are not game changers for my needs. That said I hope to get some use out of the park heater in the future and I'd never buy a car without the winged headrests, which discounts many VSE's from any future equation.

We are all different and for some there's only one way to go and that's buy the fastest and the highest variant and that's fair comment. However, for me I'd buy another VSE or AB but it would depend on what I thought was best value for my pounds. If money were tighter I certainly would not feel short changed with the right spec VSE, nor would I pay a sizeable premium, if any for the V8.

Hope this helps and standing by to eat my words in the coming months.

Interesting thanks for the feedback - will watch for th next instalment 😀 2016 (L405) Autobiography in Black with Ivory - for ULEZ
2014 (L405) VSE in Black with Ivory
2011 (L322) VSE in Black with Ivory
2005 (3.2 V6) Porsche Cayenne in Black with Savanna
1999 (P38) VSE in Burgundy (?) with Sand

Interesting. Thought the same regards the engine after driving both for a short time, finally buying a 3.0, which I've been more than happy with. For me, refinement is more important than performance. The 3.0 is excellent and still quite quick.

I'm intending to change in the next 12 months for either a 4.4 or 5.0SC. Was hoping I was wrong about the 4.4 after reading posts from its plaudits, but I'm getting more convinced SC is the way to go.

Only problem is the SC only comes in Autobiography, and like you, never thought it was worth the premium.

Great initial write up & kind of what i'd hoped to hear. Being someone who spends most journeys on the motorway at 80mph & very little back road hooliganism, i wasn't interested in all out grunt as don't think it suits the car & i've had many fast cars that are very good at going fast, the FFRR i don't put in that same bracket as at some point you'll need to turn &/or stop.

I know many will disagree, but i really don't get the point of the big 5.0 petrol engine in such a car, but likewise i don't get the X5/6M, big AMG jeeps & the Cayenne Turbo/s, purely because for me these cars are about luxury & refinement, so a big loud brash engine upfront is a bit Gangster Rapper & the same engine in the respective road cars is a far better application. But that's just me as i also HATE what Kahn & Overfinch do to these vehicles.

I'd be keen to hear your thoughts VSE vs. Autobiography as i never considered looking at anything other than the AB. Reason being i'd always had a FFRR on the list of cars i at some point wanted to own & if doing that as i'll likely only own the one, i wanted the bells & whistles, therefore i've no real idea what you get on the AB that isn't standard on the VSE? I just wanted the full FFRR experience so lusted after the highest level of luxury which i assumed the AB provided with the higher quality leather (everywhere), larger wheels, better sound system & the endless toys (some of which i agree are pointless nice to haves). It did appear that to add everything on the AB as standard to a VSE would have cost a good few Grand more than the AB's cost, but of course an astute buyer would unlikely add everything. Paul

MY17 TDV6 Autobiography In Carpathian Grey With Cirrus Interior