Hello All, congrats for this beautiful forum that I have just found!

I am from Italy and my L322 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 has been stolen two weeks ago!
It was by first RR, I purchased it new in 2011 and I really enjoyed it 100%.

Now I need to buy a new car and I am struggling in a comparison that may look quite strange in this forum. The contendants are:

1) Range Rover L405 Vogue 3.0 TDV6

2) Audi Q7 e-tron (hybrid plug-in...)

If I do an "emotional" choice, the new Range wins the contest, but when I compare specs and features, the Audi becomes very interesting: for a lower price I may purchase it in full optional version, including a lot of features like Head-Up display, Night Vision, Matrix Led headlamps, semi-automatic drive, and a fantastic cockpit. Moreover, it has a fantastic average of 50+ km/liter (realistic?) and I may drive it in full electric mode everyday in my daily commute to work.

Did someone of you consider the Q7 as an alternate of the RR? I really don't need off-road capabilities, but I drive a lot and may do 1000+ km travels, so comfort and safety are my primary concerns.

Do you know if Land Rover will ever make a Range Rover with hybrid plug-in configuration?

Many thanks for your valuable opinions!

Well you can already buy the L405 as a hybrid diesel, however it's a very expensive car just to save on economy and emissions. Your right in saying the Q7 has the better tech, I tested one back 2 back, but you can see where it's built to a price and in comparison the cabin did not feel as premium. I was also disappointing to see the residuals on the Q7 were quite poor which for me made the L405 a better buy, not withstanding that it has a totally different feel to drive. If you like your L322 then you should love the L405 for the same reasons, I chose the 3.0 TDV6 in the end and find it a strong and pretty economical (38mpg on my 1st long motorway run). 2021 L405 Vogue D300
2016 L405 Vogue 3.0TDV6 (Sold)

Oh and I drove both cars for an extended test drive over 2 days, the Audi with the higher output TDV6 was a good engine, but over the same sort of test run it was actually no better on economy than the L405. No doubt Audi have moved the Q7 on from the last model, ride quality was very good (with optional air suspension) but no quite up there with the Range Rover, when I told the Audi salesman that I chose the L405 he said himself the Range Rover has way more emotion for the buyer. 2021 L405 Vogue D300
2016 L405 Vogue 3.0TDV6 (Sold)

Thanks for your reply James.

I can't consider the RR Hybrid because it's not a plug-in hybrid (can't be charged from an electric source and has a very short range of ~2km in full electric), while the Q7 is a plug-in hybrid with 50+ km of pure electric range.

If I buy a RR, it will be the 3.0 TDV6, or eventually the 4.4 TDV8...

andyravenna wrote:

...I really don't need off-road capabilities...

Well, in fact the off-road capabilities weren't the main reason of my choice when I purchased my RR five years ago.

Actually my decision was based on safety, comfort and road presence. Obviously the safety is also associated with the off-road capabilities, because I drive quite often in the north of Italy (Alps) where we get a lot of snow. My RR with winter tires was superb in this regard.

Cheers

I considered the new Q7 when I changed my l405 late last year. I was impressed with the quality, tech and performance of the 272bhp v6, which felt a fair bit quicker than the RR.

Unfortunately for the Audi there were a few big things which tipped the balance over and persuaded me to by another L405. First of all was the looks, which to my eye aren't particularly pretty and then there was the prospect of losing even more of my money (comparatively speaking) than I do buying Landrover products. To evidence this they were already offering substantial discounts on the Q7 after just a few months from launch.

However the biggest differences to me was the Audi felt like an estate car, rather than a 4x4, albeit a long one and seems lower than the model it replaced, whereas I prefer tall cars, even if they don't corner quite as quickly.

The deal breaker was that the Range Rover makes you feel special and the Audi not quite so. One makes you feel that you've done well for yourself, whilst the other makes you feel that you've arrived.

I sold my MY2013 L405 late last year (big mistake) and wanted to try the PlugIn revolution. However, at that point only the X5 xDrive40e was available, the Q7 was there in TDI and the eTron was just announced. I drove both X5 and Q7 and liked the Q7 but went with the X5 due to its availability. That only lasted 2 months, the car was said to do 30 km on electric charge but barely managed 18 km. The X5 just did not feel special every time I walked up to it, unlike my L405 which makes me smile every time I see its extraordinary silhouette and also feels very solid upon entry.

The demo drive I had in the Q7 revealed the many gadgets it comes with when fully loaded, it is a mighty nice experience at first, I do like the looks but it ain't the RR, that is a class by itself. So I guess that's why I am waiting to see what happens to the MY2017 L405, I already love the outside but it would be nice to have some of the Q7 electronics wizardry inside especially in the dashboard and ACC/self drive department. You cannot compare the leather and seats of the RR to either the X5 or Q7, especially the Style 24 seats with upper seat articulation: its the best seat by far that I ever experienced.

Style 24 seats in tan:

Oh good at last they have returned to the upper back rest articulation that they had in 2002 and deleted in 2006... it's on mine and I love it....  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-

I loved the upper seat articulation on mine as well! MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

SQ7 has to be the pick of the Q7s, but ultimately they (and X5s and XC90s and the rest) are just compromised estate cars.

In the old days they where called the Comfort Seats, straight from the BMW 7 series. BMW had a patent on it, as I was told, hence LR could not offer it for a while. Apparently the patent expired  RR's that are part of my car timeline since I bought my first RR Classic in 1999:

On the waiting list for the RR EV MY2025

RR D250 Autobiography MY2023
RR P510e Autobiography MY2023
RR P530 LWB First Edition MY2023
RR EVOGUE Cabrio MY2017

RR P400e Autobiography MY2020

RR TDV6 Autobiography MY2016
RR TDV6 VOGUE MY2013
RR TDV8 VOGUE MY2009 & MY2006
RR TD6 VOGUE MY2004

RRC 3.9i VOGUE MY1994 & MY1992

<----------- german - buys english since 20 years now - german cars are boring - sorry  All my spelling errorz are belong to me!

2023 FFRR L460
2021 AM new Vantage

Yep!
Can't agree more with you there angel

German cars are boring....... not as boring as Swedish cars though.

American cars are not far behind and as for Japanese ....................

Not exactly the same as a Q7, but I've had a new Q5 all weekend and covered 600km/400miles today in it.

Whilst the infotainment system was better and it drove really well, it just didn't feel special at all to me.

To sum it up, it was very efficient, but just didn't wow me 2015 SDV8 Autobiography - Black, Cirrus, 22" Style 707 Wheels