Hi everyone I'm new here, although not new to RRs, I owned a 2002 4.4 Vogue a few years ago and found it a fantastic car, it did have a few niggles but it was one of the most comfortable places to be and I even did a bit of green laning in it too and found it great for that, I also have owned a 300 TDI Classic before.

So my question really is at around a 2005 vintage would you go for the FF or the Sport?, did the FF have the revised interior at this age or would it still be the same as the 2002 model I had before as that would feel slightly dated to me now, I also will need to be going for a diesel this time as I will be driving every day, around 50+ miles so I need some kind of economy, which would be better out of TD6 and TDV6?, the TDV6 seems slightly better on paper, also is it a more reliable package than the TD6 as I've heard scare stories of gearboxes going wrong which I really would rather avoid.

For people with the experience of them how would you say the Sport compares to the big RR as looks wise I quite like both-although not a blinged up Black Sport-yuck, would be going for a more reserved factory looking one in Grey if I got one .

The only other option I have considered is the newer shape 2005+ Mercedes ML, they have a better rep for reliability than LR, they look good but in my opinion not as good as either of the RRs and I'm fairly sure they don't hold up to either when it comes to ability off road or in snow etc so it's definatly a left field choice but would like to know if anyone has any experience comparing them either?.

My budget is about £17k-£18k and ideally I would like to go for something that is 55 reg to avoid paying the £400+ a year in road tax, I know it's a petty thing when it comes to running a car like this but it would irritate me to be paying double just because it was registered a few months later!.

Any help and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

The exterior was face-lifted in 2005 so you should get the revised bumpers and lights on a 55 plate FFRR, but the interior face lift was not done until MY 2007, so the earliest FFRRs with Terrain response are on a late 56 plate. 
Gone - Range Rover Supercharged 2006

Mines a late 05 that has the touchscreen..

Thanks guys, I think the main thing would be to just test drive both and see how I get on, I was mostly interested in how the 2 compare, especially build quality and reliability wise between the FFRR and Sport, I've done some reading up on the ML and while it is a good car it seems their off road ability is pretty poor unless you find one specced with the rare off road pro pack(low range transfer box,difflocks, adjustable air suspension and under body protection) so on this basis I'm more or less ruling it out so it really will come down to which is the better car overall between the FF and the Sport, I may be wrong but is the Sport slightly more economical or is there nothing in it?.

Hi Restless

I moved from the MB ML320 CDi Sport to a 4.4v8 Vogue at the end of December and all I can say is they are completely different vehicles. The Merc drives much more like a car with excellent build quality and reliability (although not infallable) not a great choice if you are off road a lot but a superb vehicle. The RR has an amazing engine that would beat the ML hands down in a drag race but any curves or bends and the Merc would be unbeatable.
It really depends what you want from the vehicle but both have great kerb appeal and are quality bits of kit. I have not tried a RRS myself but a buddy has just swapped his for an ML! Say no more.
I chose the Vogue over the Cayenne v8 and ML but was buying new and a new ML is out later this year. Vogue was the only one the whole family loved and havent regretted it yet

Cheers

Nigel

the MPG from the TDV6 would be a bit better and likely improve more with tuning, but the TD6 is the stronger unit, bar the gearbox anyway which isn't too bad if you factor in £2k for a replacement or do oil changes on the box every year.

The TDV6 is costlier for repairs as the belts can be a fun job to do every 5 yrs iirc.

Also the interior may feel older but with the touchscreen its not too shabby and i think the seats are good

TBH have you got a budget as if it includes sports then SOME TDV8's are in your range with the facelift which i would say is the better more reliable option! FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

The FFRR interior is way nicer than that of the RRS in my opinion! You probably won't get the facelifted interior with your budget, but if you could stretch it a little, or haggle very hard, you may do, and get a tdv8, so you'd then also have a better engine.  Range Rover-less at the moment - Pining!

Full Fat. Full Stop.

I can speak from experience, had a 2005 RRS SC from new, wife has a 350 ML, I have a FF. Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

Stretch a little and go for a TDV8.

The RRS is just a ''normal'' car, and the merc even more normal.

With the tdv8, you've got very good mpg and an engine that pulls like hell when needed.

Though to be fair, you could probably predict the answer you'll get on this forum. If you post the same question on the RRS forum, guess what they'll advise!  Range Rover-less at the moment - Pining!

Well obviously I was expecting some bias , thanks for all the opinions though, particularly in regards to the FF vs ML, wish I could afford a 4.4 TDV8!!, I could probably stretch my budget to get an early TDV8 but it would be an early leggy example and as I want to keep the car about 2 or 3 years I would worry that it would be worth next to nothing by the time I was finished with it and most likely have some expensive work being needed as the mileage gets higher.

Out of interest what is the expensive service on the TDV6 about?, I've not been in a Sport yet so their still an unknown, although they do unfortunately have a slight image problem.

If I could find a TDV8 Vogue close to budget then that would be my first choice, I really quite like the ML too but finding one with the off road pack, and hence some actual off road ability might be a challenge.

cloudwind wrote:

Hi Restless

I moved from the MB ML320 CDi Sport to a 4.4v8 Vogue at the end of December and all I can say is they are completely different vehicles. The Merc drives much more like a car with excellent build quality and reliability (although not infallable) not a great choice if you are off road a lot but a superb vehicle. The RR has an amazing engine that would beat the ML hands down in a drag race but any curves or bends and the Merc would be unbeatable.
It really depends what you want from the vehicle but both have great kerb appeal and are quality bits of kit. I have not tried a RRS myself but a buddy has just swapped his for an ML! Say no more.
I chose the Vogue over the Cayenne v8 and ML but was buying new and a new ML is out later this year. Vogue was the only one the whole family loved and havent regretted it yet

Cheers

Nigel

One thing that has not bean mentioned here is that the ML is a much smaller car . I borrowed on in OZ this year and struggled to put a week ends worth of stuff in some thing the Full Fat wouldn't even notice . 2008 MY Supercharged
Rimini Red / Jet
four zone climate
remote park heater
and no ugly kid windows.
magnus satis quod turpis satis

^ Yes, another good point - I took the boot liner out of mine before it was recovered, and went to use it in the ML last night to move some garden crap, and it stuck out the back by a considerable amount!!

The Merc is a car.
A really BIG car, (and ugly, if you ask me), but still "just a car".
The Sport is an LR3, not a Range Rover.
And then there's the Range Rover.

Not that I'm biased or anything.

(edit to add the following)
Click on this link:
http://www.landrover.com/us/en/rr/range-rover/photos-and-videos/

scroll about 1/2 way down the page, click on the video entitled "Range Rover Launch Film".

Now...
What do you want to drive?  Jim
2000 NAS HSE
2005 NAS HSE