Firstly thank you for an excellent forum. So much useful information (& banter)!

I have to replace my Defender. As it’s sold, and I have Brian James RT4 trailer, that I cannot tow with my wife’s car - she would k*ll me.

-Budget is £30k max. As the forum experts have explained - I should buy the best I can.
-Autotrader has a L322 at £28,950(!)on a 62 plate but in Fuji white. Just not sure on white… But looks like a looked after vehicle hence price.
-There are a bunch of L405s. Around £30k. Some are higher milers. Typically 2012, with some 2013, and 2014 in the mix too.

I can therefore go for a v.late L322 or early’ish L405. And I have set aside funds for servicing and bills etc.

Q. Late L322 or early L405? Given I want a nice comfy vehicle for long trips and occasional towing. And hopefully reliable too!

Personally, £28,950 is a bit steep for an L322. You can a good number of L405's for your budget. I would suggest you go for a Vogue SE or Autobiography 4.4 SDV8. You can go for the V6 (as have many on here) but personally I would not risk it.

HTH

Ivan 2013 Vogue SE SDV8
2013 Freelander 2 SD4 HSE Luxury

I went to the 405, then back to 322, so my only advice would be to test them, ideally back to back.
Opt for the 4.4L on either one, and you'll be good to go.
in a nutshell:
322: Excellent Range Rover with iconic design if ageing interior
405: Excellent Luxury SUV with great amenities but a relatively bland design
Both tow with ease anyhow. l=Oo\________/oO=l l:OolΞΞΞΞΞΞΞloO:l

Current
RANGE ROVER Vogue 4.4L SDV8 - 2013 - Indus Silver, on Almond.
RANGE ROVER Vogue 4.4L V8 - 2002 - ex-2003 G4 Challenge Event Vehicle, Stage 3: Australia
RANGE ROVER HSE 4.4L V8 - 2004 - one-of-one Overfinch
RANGE ROVER P38a 4.0L V8 - 1999 - ex-2000 TReK Event Vehicle: South Africa

Previous:
RANGE ROVER Vogue 4.4L TDV8 - 2012 - RANGE ROVER 3.6L TDV8 x3 - RANGE ROVER Td6 x1 - RANGE ROVER Classic 3.5L V8 x1

Here goes, there will be many different opinions on this, personally I would go for a late L322 with as low miles as you can find, as long as it has been mollycoddled by a fastidious owner(s)

But.... Perhaps the best option for you would surely be to have a good test drive in both models,
that could possibly sway your mind in one particular direction, or at least to give you a good idea of the pro's and con's of both cars.

I agree with the comments so far. In the 8th year with mine. Longest I’ve kept a car.

£28k odd is steep for an L322, as has been mentioned already.

Keeping a look out in our For Sale section is advisable too.

Consensus seems to be that the L322 is a better Range Rover and the L405 a better car.

 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

Last edited by mjdronfield on 17th Jan 2023 5:44pm. Edited 2 times in total

Having had both, definitely agree with the comments on here. I'm looking to go back to a low mileage L322, yes the L405 is a nicer car but for me the L322 was the last of the true Range Rovers.

OP, have you seen this;

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1539812

I think it has been said before the L405 is a very nice car, but when you walk up to a L322 it just puts a smile on your face :thumbs-up:
Wish I had kept my L322  2017 SDV8 4.4 silicon silver AB
2012 TDV8 4.4 Stornaway Grey AB
2011 TDV8 4.4 Buckingham Blue
2012 VW V6 3.0 Tougreg

IGP wrote:

Personally, £28,950 is a bit steep for an L322. You can a good number of L405's for your budget. I would suggest you go for a Vogue SE or Autobiography 4.4 SDV8. You can go for the V6 (as have many on here) but personally I would not risk it.
HTH
Ivan

AnotherMutley wrote:

Having had both, definitely agree with the comments on here. I'm looking to go back to a low mileage L322, yes the L405 is a nicer car but for me the L322 was the last of the true Range Rovers.
OP, have you seen this;
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1539812

Hi Mutley and the whole FFRR forum. All you advice has made me more determined to find the right one!
I have contacted the seller of that lovely L322 via carandclassics. Fingers and toes are crossed.

I think the advice of driving both makes sense. After my '90, which TBH was not the latest in modernity, anything would be like a magic carpet! But I will try one of each. There is a dealer, not too far away, in the Cotswolds that has a couple of variants of both models. With some luck I can get over to drive them in the next few days.

I will also keep a keen eye out in the For Sale section on the forum. You never know someone here may be selling the perfect FF for me!

I went from a 110 TD5 SW to my L322 5.0 S/C as a condition of marriage 5 years ago, much as I had always planned to keep the 110!

For me it had to be a petrol because of London's ULEZ, but personally as above, I preferred (and still prefer) the amazing purposeful design of the L322. The L405 (and 460) just don't do anything for me, much as I don't dispute they will drive better on road. But for me, having had a Ninety and then a 110, pretty much anything is more refined/"better" on road than those...

I don't regret my decision, and still have absolutely no plans to swap my L322 as I love it to bits and enjoy every drive.

I seem to be in the minority on this thread but I wouldn't go back to a 322 from a 405...

A year ago there is no way I would ever have thought I would say that....  Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

paulbrown22 wrote:

I went from a 110 TD5 SW to my L322 5.0 S/C as a condition of marriage 5 years ago, much as I had always planned to keep the 110!

For me it had to be a petrol because of London's ULEZ, but personally as above, I preferred (and still prefer) the amazing purposeful design of the L322. The L405 (and 460) just don't do anything for me, much as I don't dispute they will drive better on road. But for me, having had a Ninety and then a 110, pretty much anything is more refined/"better" on road than those...

I don't regret my decision, and still have absolutely no plans to swap my L322 as I love it to bits and enjoy every drive.

Agreed! I loved the 90 and it had so much torque. But SWMBO was not a fun of the cart spring suspension!
I’m waiting to hear back on the L322 in Car&Classics…

I will try take both out for a test drive though. Just to be sure.
Ps. Attached is photo of Defender and trailer. This was before I fitted an adjustable tow ball, as in the photo, nose of the 90 is too high due to low hitch on trailer…

If you look on the site Auto Uncle there is a dealer with a 2011 L322 Autobiography in grey. It hascjust 31k miles and the asking price is £28750. It has been listed for 126 days so there might be a deal to be had.
Also on eBay there is a grey L322 seller is called fullfat4x4. It looks like a sorted car with 69k miles. I was researching grey L322s for myself and picked up a great 2012 Westminster with just under 54k miles.

Just to be clear I have no connection to either of these cars or their sellers and hadn't HPI'd either of them.

On a 30k budget you are probably going to have to consider a 3.0 rather than a 4.4 or accept high miles examples. I love the analogue nature of the L322. Plus mine is a second car and I couldn't justify the price of an L405 as well, as preferring the older shape.

Good luck with your search.

Well I certainly prefer my 405 to the 322s for everything except towing. The 405 is a lighter car so a 2-3ton trail is more noticeable in it, but its still perfectly fine for my once a month on average towing usage - and obviously better than just about any other car on the road for that and anything else!

One thought on finance if that's a consideration. The 322 is relatively expensive because its not been used much. Will you be using it much? If you do you'll be in the unusual position of seeing significant depreciation on an older car compared to the newer one. eg Low milage '12 322 £28k - high miler maybe £10k. Mid miler '13 405 Maybe £30k - high miler maybe £20k. Also White is a marmite colour for fatty's so its a limited market when you come to sell. Everyone seems to lust over Black/Black before moving on to the various Greys/Blues/Greens - White not so much. So again likely to hit resale price IMO. Mike - MPx

2017 5.0 V8 Supercharged SVAutobigraphy Dynamic SVO Palette Grey (2021-...)
2012 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autoboigraphy Orkney Grey (2017-2021)
2007 4.2 V8 Supercharged Vogue SE Tonga Green (2012-2017)
2002 4.4 V8 Vogue Bonnatti Grey (2008-2012)

Haylands wrote:

I seem to be in the minority on this thread but I wouldn't go back to a 322 from a 405...