As many of you know, I have a new L405 LWB, 5.0 SC Autobiography coming to me next month, (all being well) which I am still very much looking forward to.

One or two of you also know, that I have decided to hedge my bets and I've also paid a deposit on a new L460. Which car will ultimately stay and which will go will be decided once both have been delivered.

I got a cracking deal on my L405, and to spec like for like on the new L460, actually works out at more than I initially thought. I checked again last night on the configurator, and the same spec L460 with the new 4.4 V8 works out at a total of £37,000 more, when factoring in the £4,500 finance contribution, discount received, reduced base price etc.

So, if I do decide to part with the L405 next year, I doubt I'll make much of a loss despite the new model, especially when also taking into account the extended lead times on new, and general shortage of used cars that currently shows little sign of improving.

If I decide not to keep the L460, I can stick it in the garage for a few months, then sell it on with delivery miles for same money, if not a slight premium.

Moving on to my question, in light of the "like for like" price difference above, I'm not sure I'd need to go for the largest engine on the L460. Also, the L405 has one or two other element as standard, which are now cost options that I wouldn't choose to select, thereby bringing the price down further of the overall cost of the L460 (rear seat entertainment, cabin pre conditioning, etc are now cost options).

The question is, do I select the L460's P400 MHEV 3.0 Petrol engine which is available now, or wait for the P510E PHEV which will be made available in early 2022?

Is the P400 MHEV identical to the outgoing L405 3.0 petrol engine?

If so, is it good or bad, would you recommend it?

If it is a completely new engine, does anyone have any views on what to expect?

With regards to the P510E PHEV due to be released in early 2022, most of my journey's in this car will be long distance, so is there really any benefit?

And, if a P510E PHEV provides circa 60 miles of electric range, what does is actually cost to charge a car to that level, is it really that much cheaper than petrol, especially with the significant increases in energy prices that we keep hearing about.

As always, your thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

We have the P400 in a Defender 110 X which is identical to the new L460 version. It's a very good engine but has worse fuel economy than the 5.0 SC in the SVA...

You need to rev it a lot more to get the performance...even though it looks fairly close on paper.

P530 is the engine of choice IMO.

If most of your journeys are long distance then I don't think the hybrid makes any sense. Most of the time you will be lugging heavy batteries around that will be doing little other than blunting performance, dynamics and fuel economy. Hybrids only make sense if you are doing a lot of short journeys where you can run on electric most of the time and keep charging up at home or work. Also if you gain from any tax benefits.

Not absolutely true, Hybrids make good use of capturing energy when slowing down / braking which can be used to get the tonnage moving again. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

This is true to a greater or lesser extent. However if your journeys are mainly ones which take you well beyond the range of the battery it's difficult to make a case for the hybrid being your best option.

Thank you Autobiography, 5.0 and AJGalaxy2012 for your comments.

Seems like the Hybrid is probably not my best option, or at least not by a significant margin.

From what Autobiography says, the 3.0 petrol may also be a little underpowered.

The question is, if the new 4.4 litre petrol is going to be the engine of choice, even after removing the standard spec items included on the equivalent L405, and switching to my preferred cheaper paint choice on the L460, it's still going to cost me a further £27,000 to own the new car....... When I have a brand new L405 and L460 side by side, is it worth the extra £27k for the new car?

I'm not yet sure - It's going to have to be good!

Because the PHEV option doesn't arrive until a few months after launch, I have ordered an early 4.4, with a view to swapping it for a P530e in the same spec. I'm guessing that the demand will be so high that I won't lose much.
Couldn't live with the prospect of seeing these beauties on the road without actually being in one myself!!

I am in a similar place. I have ordered the V8 but the 510e would probably be a more sensible choice for my regular journeys. I don’t want to commit to having a hybrid though until I have had a chance to test one properly because if the car feels lacking versus the V8 when the battery is empty on a long journey then it’s not worth it for me. I rather just stick with a V8 until they bring the all electric version out.

I’ve had a P400e for well over 3 years and 45k miles and can honestly say it’s the best car in the world. And the new one has double the leccy range and loads more power and torque. So it’s no gamble for me to commit to one.

The hybrid seems to polarise opinion which is what makes me cautious regarding one. Some owners rave about them and others can’t wait to switch back to a normal engine.

Thanks 5.0 - I'm going to go 4.4 V8 Petrol

I'd probably go D350 because I do regular long journeys and hate filling up, so it's more about the range than anything else.

If that wasn't the case, 4.4 V8 ahead of the other options even though the hybrid is much more appealing now it's a 6 cylinder engine and decent electric range.

I don't want to worry anyone unduly....but I had the BMW 4.4 V8 in a 2017 750i and it was less relatable over 2 years / 55k miles than my RR has been. although I have only had that 18 months / 20k miles. The only issues were engine related, oil leaks from the turbos and a coolant leak which they hadn't properly got to the bottom of by the time I traded it in despite it being in twice for a couple of days each time. MY23 Panamera E-Hybrid
MY19 SDV8 Autobiography - Sold

Great choice! I have the BMW 4.4 V8 in an M5 Comp and it’s sublime. I expect it would be easily tuneable in the RR, if desired.

As for the extra £27k, as we all know it’s not about purchase price it’s about depreciation. The new RR looks like it will have a typical deprecation rate. Your discounted L405 will probably have a lower depreciation rate initially but not for long. Either way you’ll still lose £10k-15k on average per year on both. So I think there’s little in it on the long run. Keep the one you like best

Out of interest I bought my current L405 in June 2020 with a massive discount. I put the Reg in the LR P/X valuator this week and they offered (estimated) just £2k less than what I paid 10,000 miles ago. I need to get out of it before the depreciation kicks in. MY23 D350 HSE
On my 7th RR plus various other JLR vehicles

The early BMW N63 seems to have had an awful lot of problems, hence the revisions.

The S63 used in the M5 is not quite the same engine as the N63 being used by LR. The N63 is still a good engine though and is tuned to good effect by Alpina.

The BMW V8 certainly has had various issues in the past but it has been heavily revised over its lifetime and the most recent version is a good engine.

I would rather take my chances with this than a box fresh Ingenium 6 hybrid.