Just home from the Scottish public launch event and what a day. Left home at 8:30 this morning and back home at 17:30, full of wonderful free food and tea/coffee and man what a motor the 4.4TDv8 is. Torque that would pull a forest out never mind a tree stump and available at way through the rev band from about 1100rpm and no peekiness, it just flows in a tidal wave - how far up it goes I don't know, I never tried to get the engine into high revs. All the cars i drove were also brand new for the day, the first car I drove had only 15 miles on the odo, the highest miler I drove had 155 miles on it!
The car has slightly harder suspension than my 2010, but it isn't much harder and the motor has a lovely growl under full throttle acceleration but nowhere near as good a growl as the RRSport TDV8 has when you wellie that. The stiffer suspension shows in fast corners, there is some roll but nowhere near what we all have at the moment, the car corners flatter than the 2010 and brakes................... jeez can they haul this RR down from speed, great to report that if anything they are even more powerful than the Brembos I had on my Sport but also beautifully progressive. The Jaguar gear selector is OK but will take a bit of getting used to, especially when you are doing multipoint turns it's a bit of a hassle. Turning the knob only gets you round to drive, there is a tiny amount of press down required to shift it into Sport mode which is nice as you cannot accidentally pull away in Sport mode. Other nice points - when you are in low box and select any of the TR programmes the car automatically rises to offroad height, no longer any need to manually select it. Also you can now stop and turn off the engine in D without being in P, the computer automatically puts the gear box into park when you switch off.

The day started off, after checking in and checking our licences!, with a coffee and wander around the gun auctioneers room and displays, then onto the LR Press photographer's exhibition - have your hand writing analysed (didn't bother with it!), wander around Hopetoun House which is an amazing place (palace!) and I will have to go back next year when it re-opens to the public as I love visiting these fantastic historical houses. This is Scotland's Longleat house without the lions in the garden I suppose. Out into the forecourt to collect my designated car. Each group of invitees were allocated their own car for a one hour drive around the area of South Queensferry, Kirkliston and out onto the motorway along to the next exit and then back via the rather rough local back roads to the house. This is where you find that while the 3.6 isn't a slouch, the 4.4 is on another planet with so much torque, it just pulls and pulls and doesn't seem to need to drop down any gears to just fly up the slip-road onto the motorway - to the extent that you really really do have to watch your speed - it isn't silent but it is no noisier at full throttle than the 3.6 but it just has that momentary little thought that oh he wants to go a bit faster and then it just zooms up to chosen speed so smoothly you don't feel it changing gear or hear any engine note changes. Slowing down is no problem and there is none of that feeling of lack of stoppers that 2010MY TDv8's non Brembo cars have, these are seriously efficient stoppers again.
Returning to Hopetoun after 45 minutes I was escorted over to the "skid pan" which wasn't a skid pan, it was a very very slippery sheet of polythene boards with what appeared to be soap sprayed onto it................. First a driver shows you a flying start, full lock left, full lock right at about 40 mph and emergency stop with the DSC on..... then with the DSC off all to show you how the new ABS works braking the corner with the most grip but not pulling the car off line, all very quiet and smooth. Then you get to do the same run, but with the DSC on all the time! Next off to your designated car for the offroad drive in the backgarden of Hopetoun House, play with the TR settings and surround cam, drive over a grassy cross slope and up and down steep slopes testing out the gradient release function and for those who had never tried it, the HDC (amazing how many had taken their L322's off road and had never experienced HDC working properly). As I was by myself I was paired with a very nice young lady who is a motoring Journo for the Herald newspaper. Several runs round the course while drivers and passengers changed places so all could have a go, and then back to the house again in time for lunch. Afterlunch, specialist teas and how to brew them, a massage then off to enjoy a session on the Terrapod followed by a cookery demo. All in all it was a brilliant day out that only cost me the fuel for a 90 mile round trip. The weather was VERY cold and frosty but clear blue skies which really made the day, but unfortunately for some coming south from Aberdeen, Inverness and points further north, due to some severe icing on the roads in the Highlands and snow over the Cockbridge to Tomintoul road which was enough to close it some never made it.
Stills pictures are here. I will post video to my Photobucket albbum later and will add another link when they are up. http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y217/joll...0Hopetoun/
Some comments - a) The Black headlining is awful, especially the black leather, it makes the interior of what is normally a light and airy interior feel more enclosed than the cabin of a black clad RRSport, even with the sunroof blind pulled open it was dismal. b) all 6 cars I drove were Vogues or Vogue SE's and they all had a ton of extras on them like dual screen, surround cam and the rear e-diff.
c) There appeared to be not a single invitee in an S/C, there must have been 50 FFRR's in the carpark by mid-morning along with assorted Freelanders, Sports Disco 3's and some very exotic German sport cars, even a Rolls Phantom Drophead appeared at lunch time, with the roof down of course!
d) The comments i heard most during the day................... "this engine in my Disco4/wife's Sport would make a good car great" , "makes my Supercharged feel slow"  2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on 20th Oct 2010 7:57pm. Edited 7 times in total

Great Report Tim, pity i missed it , sounds like you had a good time liked the pic's as well

Hi Tim just back in the door from a VERY boring and totally pointless day and having just read your post feel even more fed up!!! Next time I get an invite from you to something like this ... wild horses won't stop me from going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway ..Really glad you enjoyed the day and as you said earlier Hopetoun House is a fantastic venue for something like this

Glad to hear you had a happy ending.

The day that is, not the massage.

If I had the money, my 3.6 would be on it's way to iTlad's garage and I would have the new car tomorrow but unfortunatley it wasn't me that won the £113million on the Euromillions! And a very big thank you to James and LPR for volunteering my name to Land Rover for the invite - one of the very best events I have been to on a Land Rover freebie - if you ever get one don't turn it down.

Jim - there appears to be a slightly different design of front seat in the new cars, if anything they have even more adjustment than the 2010 standard chairs, they are just as comfy which is the main thing.

I was also aked to find out about the folding rear seats when you have the recliners - sorry but that wasn't an option on any of the cars I drove and none of the staff there knew if the recliners fold flat.

Oh and they had the sales literature for the Evoque ther, but is wasn't for taking away, just a huge binder of specs and colours - anybody for a metallic Lime Green Evoque................... with Orange and Lime green hides? I assume that is the Beckham option 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Sounds like you had a cracking day Tim, the weather was perfect and the location couldn't have been better. Thanks for the report, next time we meet I'm sure a new FFRR will be with one of us

Good photos Tim, and a good report. Sounds like it was a brilliant day...

Drop your car round when you are ready...

iT, I was thinking earlier if that £113million on the Euromillions had been my lucky numbers on my first ever attempt at the lottery the other week, I might have been looking for a buyer for a low miles TDV8, but then "Nah iTlad wouldn't want a cheap 2010MY TDv8 in Stornaway on Ivory, he would have to turn it down- wrong colour, wrong interior......................... not an SE, too cheap.................it's had mud on it."  2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Good report Tim.

Sounds like a corker.
Hope the first owner of mine looks after it.

I'm sure they will appear on a dealer's forecourt in the next six months, low miles ex-management cars........... they were all Stornaway or Santorini with Ivory or Jet interiors and lots of extras on them............... never raced or off-roaded (well not seriously!) and nobody will know because they are the wrong colour for LRE cars............. all offroad functions well tested
on the Terrapod too! 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Looks like a great day interesting you didn't like the dark headlining, I haven't seen it in the flesh but wondered what it would be like. 2021 P400 Silicon Silver AB
Gone 2011 Bournville TDV8 VSE
Gone 2008 Black Canadian HSE LUX

Mine has ivory leather roof lining, but my business partners is black, it is like a coffin, horrible. Land Rover Addict
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Excellent write-up, videos and photos Tim - Thanks

I am going today on the event organised by Lookers Park Royal, which they have very kindly invited me and a guest to - for a spot of off-roading and shooting etc.

After your fabulous review on the new 4.4 TDV8 - I can't wait to try it for myself...

...wait a minute - i've just thought - me, the new 4.4TDV8 and a selection of shotguns at my disposal...

...hmmm - reckon I should be able to negotiate myself a pretty good discount

Hi Tim! Great report, you should start writing in a car magazine!
Thanks for asking if the reclining seats fold away completely, it seems no one can answer this one.
Did you ask them about the DPF clogging up and the tiresome procedure to get it cleared? Do you still have to drive 40 miles at a constant 3,000 rpm once in a while just for the sake of clearing the DPF?
I'm a bit worried about this as I drive quite a lot of short distances, only doing some long motorway trips a few times a year.
Also, you said the new engine sounds really nice, not as nice as a Sport TDV8, I know exactly how the Sport TDV8 sounds as I had one too but I find both Sport and FFRR 3.6 TDV8 sound a bit agricultural at idle and at low speed getting more refined at speed.
You say no need for a SC but is the engine as refined and money no object would you still go for the 4.4 TDV8 intsead of the 5L SC (Have you driven the 5L SC)?
It would have been interesting to drive them back to back.
Anyway, great report!

About the rear recline: I just found the answer by looking at the pics from the excellent Autocar road test where it shows a picture of a flat loading space with the rear recline seat.
If you hadn't already read the road test: http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/RoadTe...hy/253532/ [url][/url]