I've been driving LR products since about 1994 when I got my first Disco 200TDi. This was followed by several 300TDi's, a V8 Disco and a Disco3 in 2006. Worth mentioning that the best thing about the Disco3 was Disco3.co.uk!!

The change to a FFRR came in 2009 with my brand new TDV8 Vogue which is still in the driveway after nearly 13 years and 156k wonderful miles. However, the latest (Nov 2012) 4.4 TDV8 Westminster arrived here at 11pm last night (on a trailer) with 42k miles straight from a main dealers forecourt, so I thought I'd present some first impressions for your perusal.

Today, I covered 150 miles in the new car and I have some thoughts to share. Firstly, the 2012 (2010-2012) facelift isn't setting the heather on fire in the looks department. If I'm brutally honest, it just doesn't have quite the regal presence of its forebear. Don't get me wrong - it's perfectly nice, but the front is more Disco4 than FFRR! There's nothing specific to set it apart from its stablemates in the way the 3.6 did. Parked side by side, the 3.6 is more dated, but it's just more Full Fat! These are both L322 in every way, but they are not the same. The 4.4 is more 'soft' in appearance, and it's a softness that I'm going to take some time to get used to.

Inside is very different, yet completely familiar. The easy entry/exit on the 4.4 (where the seat moves with the door opening/closing) is a nice feature, but.... and it's a big 'but'..... the seats are not as good as those on the 3.6. This may be attributed to the cooling seats, as opposed to just seat heating on the earlier Vogue, but there simply isn't the same level of base cusioning on the later model compared to the earlier Vogue. That said, having tried the seat cooling for the first time, it is akin to someone cramming an ice-pack from a cooler-box up your jacksie without warning!

The keyless Start/Stop button is 'interesting', but I'm a Luddite. I'd rather it had a normal key start, but I'll just have to get used to it. Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done, and this follows through numerous features of the 4.4. The first big no-no is the lack of a dipstick. I've always liked checking my oil. It's an essential feature of running a car and I've been doing it since the days of my MkII Ford Escort. Running through a menu on a digital screen to find a sensor telling you that the oil level is OK, just doesn't give the same confidence as an analogue optical check.

This brings me neatly to the virtual instrument pack. You may think this is a new innovation, but I have another two cars in my possession which have digital dashboards and both are a source of a frightening reality. If this item packs-up, you can't legally drive your pride and joy. My other two digitally enhanced cars are thirty-one and thirty-six years old respectively! This may be a shock to those who thought that a virtual dash was a millenials wet-dream, but these other two cars are firmly from the 1980's! The problem is, as with all things 'modern', that they can fail, drastically. Also, as with all things 'modern', when they are over a decade old, they typically can't be serviced or replaced off the shelf. Yes, the sunset view on switching-off is passable as vaguely cool, but as a photogrpher myself, I have multiple images of my own which make this screen look boring, at best. It may please the x-box generation, but I'm more interested in the practicalities of the real world. At least I can say, I have lived.....

So, what's the good news then? Well, the 4.4 with the 8-sp box is sublime! Trundling along the motorway at 70mph with little more than 1400rpm being diplayed, whilst showing over 30mpg is incredible. The 3.6 doing 70mph is at 2k revs and will be lucky to be doing 23mpg at that speed. Furthermore, planting the foot in the 4.4 is noticably quicker, if you look at the speedo, but not if you look at the scenery. It IS quicker, but it doens't feel quicker! The lack of revs and noise means that three-figure speeds can appear without warning. That never happened in the 3.6. I've had my Vogue at 120mph on a German Autobhan, but this Westminster may have seen 110mph today without me realising it!

Finally, the general handling is different. If it were a tight twisty road, I'd rather have the 3.6 on 19" wheels than the 4.4 on 20's! God only knows what these blinged-up motors on 22"+ wheels are like, but they are not being driven by people who understand how cars handle bumps and potholes. The steering may appear sharper, but the margin for error is narrowed considerably.

In summary, if I could put a 4.4 with the 8-sp into my 2009, without cooled seats or digital dash, it may be the perfect FFRR. It's not going to happen, so we'll never know. The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

I wonder if earlier seats (3.6 facelift) could be fitted to the 4.4 and only have the heated option? Gone to a good home: 2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE Buckingham Blue with Ivory and clear glass = "Rory"
2025MY Defender D350 90 in Silicon Silver on coils
1974 Series 3 Lightweight = "Millie"
Many, many other Landies over the years
My preferred specialist: www.glenrands.co.uk
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I think the Westminster had the standard vogue seats. where as the vogue SE and Autobiography had the better ones. 2011 Vogue SE TDV8

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ur20v wrote:

Is one of your digital 80’s cars a ur Quattro by chance or a Corvette?

Or an Astra GTE or an MG Maestro.....

Looking at your forum name, you'll know what I mean when I tell you there's a WR, an RR and a full blown Gp4/B here!!! Fortunately, the rally car doesn't have the digi dash!

I may be slightly affected......  The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

Omg, those pics nearly made me have a trouser accident 🤣. Cracking motors.

My Aunt and Uncle had a brand new MG Maestro 1600 in 1984 with digi dash…. Interesting Lol.

I like the dash in my 2011, but hate being without a dipstick.

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

mjdronfield wrote:

I like the dash in my 2011, but hate being without a dipstick.

I want to be in love with my 3.6 replacement, but fear I'll always be hankering for specific items. A bit like that girlfriend who you wonder about every time your wife says No! You know the one who would do absolutely anything with a wicked smile......

Consider this about the dash though. Electronic components seldom last forever and even the solder which attaches them to a PCB can give rise to dry joints.

Just one faulty capacitor could leave you stranded without a functioning dash and no way of knwing if you have oil in the sump. Personally, I don't think that's progress.  The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

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Zermat is an '85 WR. Titan is the '90 RR. Rally car is a proper one, but not ex-works (thankfully). The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

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that sport towing the sport is probably the coolest picture ever taken

ur20v wrote:

Wasn’t sure if it was post editing with the titan (could have been Zermatt), looks in really good condition.

I want a pearl white ur20v. 🤫

Did you see the Pearl RR that went through Silverstone Auctions last month? It was only £166k….  The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom