My local dealer here in Germany hosted a publicity event today so I went along for a chance to take a test drive (and free food and drink ). I'd already sat in one late last September at a preview event but today I got the chance to drive one.

The test car was the 4.4 SDV8. I only had 30mins to drive it so didn't get a chance to try it on the Autobahn and kept it to city and out-of-town roads. I was blown away by the smoothness of, well, everything really. Gear changes and ride are super smooth with very fast acceleration and little body roll. I found the steering lighter than on the L322 which maybe why I think the steering wheel has been made smaller, at least that was my impression.

Inside is truly palatial and it's easy to get distracted by all the toys available. The speedo is all digital now and at first I found it less clear than the analog dials on my '08 Vogue but you get used to it along with all the neat touches like the animated cruise control indicator that appears when you activate it. It's also a lot quieter inside now but I didn't notice any significant road noise.

In all I think it's an amazing vehicle. Maybe I'll consider one in ten years  2012 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Santorini Black
2008 Vogue 3.6 TDV8 automatic (LHD), Java Black