Yoar fergivon

Caddyshack wrote:

Mine is Autobiography and after trying it next to a VogueSE it felt massively different...not just all the lovely gadgets (I specifically wanted the cameras

I understood that the leather was better, the head rests certainly felt much softer but maybe that's due to the excellent wing back head rests that the VSE I tried did not have.

As you say, each to their own. The VsE just didn't feel as special to me. I had an L322 in VSE and I was looking for a huge leap forward on the l405, the VSE was good but the AB felt special and I think the extended leather on doors, dash, roof plus wood and leather wheel all brought the ambience up a level.

Mattl29 wrote:

Hi all thanks for your help, much appreciated. As this is a step up in the luxury car stakes for me I am looking (been dazzled by!) the autobiography spec as seems a step above and as I said earlier do like the idea of massage seats etc. In my head I have been favouring the 3.0 as no need to tow.
Any other views on the massage seats option? Thinking it may also be a way to show the Mrs that the money has been well spent
All in all really excited by the prospect, had been looking at RRS's for a while but now I have been actively looking at cars on the road I only see about 1 in 20 round Derbyshire being driven by men!

I'm glad that you really like your AB but the thread is about a newbie wanting some advice and I think you've confused the issue by stating things as facts which aren't correct.

Mattl29 wrote:

Cheers both, I have not seen many with deplorable side steps and can't justify the retro tag so may go with fixed for wife and kids

Basilfawlty wrote:

I'm glad that you really like your AB but the thread is about a newbie wanting some advice and I think you've confused the issue by stating things as facts which aren't correct.

Not sure which facts I got wrong but this is from Land Rover directly about the autobiography leather

BEAUTIFUL MATERIALS, FLAWLESS EXECUTION

Contrast-stitched Semi-Aniline leather with high-grade hides is hand-picked for exceptional suppleness and natural appearance.

I take this as hand picked leather from high grade hides...seems to read as better to me?

My advice FWIW is to go to a dealer and take a look at both a VSE and AB of the sort of MY you want and decide which you like more. Then compare the standard spec sheets for both and then decide which options are essential.

Once you've done that you then have your ideal spec which you can use as a baseline when looking. It may take some time to find your ideal fattie (either VSE or AB) at the price you want to pay but its worth waiting as the right one will be out there.

And remember that the cost of new car options are rarely ever recovered in the used price. They may help to sell a car but don't increase the price. That'll always be based on model, condition and mileage etc., never on options.

Good Luck
. 2017 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography
2012 4.4 TDV8 Westminster - Gone, but not forgotten

I'm possibly not helping here, but i thought the same regarding VSE vs. AB. I thought the leather was a different grade & it certainly felt softer & higher quality in my AB than the 2 VSE's i drove. That said, mine was brand new & the demos had a few thousand miles on them, also being an AB mine has the winged headrests, but it still feels softer, smells more leathery (not sure that's even a word) & has the appearance of being a higher grade.

I did opt for the Style 24 seat upgrade, but i thought that only gave more adjustability for the front & rear seats, however perhaps that offers up a different grade in which case my thoughts on standard VSE vs. AB may or may not be correct. Paul

MY17 TDV6 Autobiography In Carpathian Grey With Cirrus Interior

I looked at VSE and AB and chose the AB because I believed that it was a nicer interior with softer leather but the winged headrests did have a lot to do with that. The VSE was very nice but the AB upped the comfort.

Incidentally, I do find this forum interesting and diverse as I would not be without the deployable side-steps and adaptive cruise control but I know that some on here don't like one or both of these extras/functions. I guess that just proves that we are all different and have different driving styles and needs.

Caddyshack wrote:

Not sure which facts I got wrong but this is from Land Rover directly about the autobiography leather

BEAUTIFUL MATERIALS, FLAWLESS EXECUTION

Contrast-stitched Semi-Aniline leather with high-grade hides is hand-picked for exceptional suppleness and natural appearance.

I take this as hand picked leather from high grade hides...seems to read as better to me?

Look I don't want to hijack someones thread but here's the actual quote from the LR Brochure

"Vogue SE, Autobiography, SVAutobiography Dynamic and SVAutobiography Long Wheelbase feature Semi-Aniline leather with high-grade hides selected for their exceptional suppleness and natural appearance"

There are others that I could mention but don't want to get into that, so hopefully we can leave it for those in the know to offer some advice to the Newbie. I've always agreed with you about the winged headrests, they are fab!

"Those in the know". Nice!

We both have our own evidence and beliefs, the OP can pick out the advice they want from all opinions given, I am not the only one who feels the AB is a nicer place to sit.

There isn't a clear answer as they are all basically options packs......

VSE is just a bunch of options that you could spec on a Vogue and AB is another set of options that you could spec on a VSE

There may be a few exceptions that I don't know (or care) about - but when test driving (or just sitting in a car on a forecourt), you have to ask very specifically what the seat style is to actually know.

AB has the highest base spec, but perfectly feasible to spec a VSE the same or higher - though it may not make any economic sense if you spec'd up everything......

Thanks all for your help, and to let you all know I am a little less confused then when I started so glad I posted and joined the forum. I am out over the next few weeks and will pick out the comments to find the best car for me. Sat in a few but not test drove yet and I have been leaning towards the AB spec as not a huge difference in price between Ab and VSE when I look at sort of options I may want. Cheers for the responses, most interesting is probably the engine. I had not even considered the 4.4 as just assumed it would be well below the 3.0 in mpg stakes but this is now a contender as there are a load more higher spec AB's for sale at the moment