I'm lucky enough to have many toys on mine.

The things I would miss most are:

- Adaptive cruise - makes motorway journeys much less stressful as you can use it when it would be too busy for standard cruise. It took a while to work out how to get the best out of it though.
- Deployable side steps - it just seems so natural to step on the board and then into the car, I don't even bother dropping down to access mode most of the time. Saves wearing out the seat bolsters too as you sit down onto the seat rather than sliding in.
- Surround cameras - I'm not great at parking and they are really useful for positioning in marked bays and not scraping the wheels on kerbs.

Things I wouldn't miss:
- Sat nav - it's useless so I use my phone instead
- RSE - I sit in the front
- High beam assist - don't trust it and have switched it off (probably just my bias)
- TV - I'm driving 2011 5.0 S/C

Top of my list is an opening sunroof It’s especially good on the 405 as it’s large and far forward enough to be able to see out of

But then, I enjoy my fresh air and will have it wide open on a starlit winter’s night

(EPB knock out of gear)

Quote:

It does from 2011MY 4.4TDV8 onwards joe90

Oh heck, I feel an upgrade coming on then  .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

Joe90 wrote:

for me it is still the rain sensor, old school I know (and probably standard now)

and I am starting to really like the EPB, although I wish it would knock it out of gear as well when applied

dexion7@yahoo.com wrote:

surround cameras - also cool but apart from showing them off don't recall ever having found them beneficial

Don't forget, your rear parking camera is much better quality and the parking lines move! You have tow hitch mode and different views etc etc. Thats a part of the camera kit you use daily! Along with Blind Spot Monitoring and High Beam Assist... All part of the surround camera pack. All under mentioned on this thread...

Slight curve ball here but by buying a Vogue instead of an AB I saved enough to buy an "Summer Option" of a Mercedes SLK. I don't think you will find you are missing out with just a Vogue as it still has all the really important things. 2010 3.6TDV8 Stornoway Grey/ Black interior - gone
2005 4.4V8 (M62) Bonatti Grey/ Parchment interior - gone
1998 4.6HSE Blue/ Cream interior (can't remember exact colours) - gone
1977 White - gone (should have kept)

Best option is one RR don’t seem to offer............


Reliability  David

Please let me know if my comments upset you, I may wish to upset you again.

Tow bar.

/\ Electrically retractable tow bar

Electric folding rear seats - bit of a gimmick but occasionally handy

Thanks for all the info guys. It's much as I assumed, but nice to have confirmed all the same. I'd hopped the adaptive cruise worked well as I want the car for motorway work mostly. It appears to be near the top of most peoples lists so I guess it must do. It seems the cooled seats are appreciated too! I've seen a very nice Westminster, but it lacks adaptive cruise & I do prefer the SE/Autobiography seats.. I think I'll wait & find the Autobiography I really want.

Quote:

rear parking camera is much better quality and the parking lines move! You have tow hitch mode and different views etc etc. Thats a part of the camera kit you use daily! Along with Blind Spot Monitoring and High Beam Assist... All part of the surround camera pack. All under mentioned on this thread...

Craig you're absolutely right on this. I just didn't realise if you didn't have the vision assist package you didn't get a better camera, and the bendy lines which are v.cool. Use a lot. Love my car even more now

. Cheers, Greg
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

Must-haves:

Adaptive cruise control - really good on the RRs! Heard lots of complaints from drivers of other makes, but the RR version works really well.

Deployable side steps - my previous RR didn't have them, my current one does. Not sure how I managed without them before. Actually managed to break the switches in my old one because the garage didn't fit them back properly, then someone slid out of the car one day and cracked the casing. It was fixable, but a pain to have to put the car in for.

Heated steering wheel - after owning my first RR, I swore I'd never own another car that didn't have a heated steering wheel. By far my favourite toy on the car. It gets a lot of use at this time of year!

Sun visors for the rear-seat passengers - happy passengers = quiet life. Works for me!

Those dots in the mirrors that tell you when other cars are in your blind spot. Fairly handy in the UK (although I find the Mk. I eyeball works just as well), but very useful indeed when driving on the continent. Except when it's pouring with rain, when it stops working.


Nice-to-haves:

Heated/cooled seats - toasty bum in winter, cool bum in summer. Nice, but not really a must-have unless the weather is really hot. Could probably live without the heated seats if I had to, but I like the cooled seats on very hot days.

Cameras - I never thought these would come in useful, but surprisingly they do. Occasionally.

Rain sensors - none of that pesky "turning my own wipers on".

High beam assist - works well if you're on roads where you're unlikely to meet anything coming the other way. But it tends to dip the lights late, or leave them on full beam if on the motorway! So while it's useful sometimes, mostly it's not. Also, I like to dip my lights before blind bends on country roads so that I can see whether anything is coming the other way. Can't do that with HBA.


Don't want, don't need:

RSE - had it in my old car and the novelty value was high initially. But in these days of iPads, it's not much use. Not fussed about not having it in my current car. On-board TV is just a novelty too, passes a few minutes of boredom while you're waiting for people. But otherwise not very useful.

heated steering wheel, 4.4tdv8 and 8 speed gearbox. 2012 TDV8 Black Edition
2000 Disco. TD5
1975 series III

Maybe a bit picky - but is a heated steering wheel an option ? I thought it was standard fit on all models ?

One thing I miss is the different keys setting different seat positions - I had assumed that was standard, but my L405 came without it as it's now an option - and with a short arse wife, its a PITA

Alistair wrote:

/\ Electrically retractable tow bar