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Well i thought i should report back now that i am the proud owner of a new L322
I test drove the 4.4 first and simply fell in love with the new interior of the last of the L322, It's funny as i have heard a few people say that they think the later interior makeover on the L322 is horrible, I have to say personally i think they hit the nail on the head and it is beyond awesomeness, Likewise the 2010 onward front end.. i think its fabulous and works so well with the rest of the ten year old car
In the end i decided to save the best part of 20-30k and opt for a 3.6, Main reason been is that i am building a house and really should be putting as much into that as possible, Other reason is i found the most immaculate one owner Autobiography in the color i like including interior which without any word of a lie is in showroom condition.. I simply could not say no  , The cheapest 4.4 i could have got was still best part of 15k more and it was in horrible abused condition with a white (ivory) interior which whilst did look nice and impress is simply not practice for my use, Ive had this 3.6 now for two weeks and can not believe i was once looking at spending another 20k for the 4.4, Well worth it i am sure but i am glad to have the money in my pocket .. it suits my situation much better
The 3.6 is great coming from a TD6, Not comparable in any way and i figure been the 2010 model i am in the same late model car as the 4.4 just missing the 4.4 and 8 speed which yes i really would have liked but i am in heaven all the same, I don't drive cars very hard at all but i did give the 3.6 a squirt and took it to 3200 rpm (that's nothing i know) but blew me away how hard it pulled, the sound of the stock exhaust and induction noises are orgasmic, I will disable the egr and blank them , de cat the exhaust system and might re map it at some point but not for power just see what economy i can manage from it as that sort of thing i like to do
The 4.4 engine i think was quieter for sure but the 3.6 can hardly be heard, I find once your moving at speed any road noise is louder than the engine .. and once again compared to the TD6 i may as well be in a vacuum, One bonus i think with the 3.6 is having a proper gear stick, each to their own and yes i think the rotary dial is very cool but not overly practice , i guess the steering wheel paddles perhaps make it a better system to use .. don't know
Only a couple of minor complaints or things i am yet to learn / understand , One thing i really cant stand and beats me how they ever designed it in such a way is the ventilation system is so dam noisy!, Even with the blower on the lowest setting it makes a hell of a noise, yes i have all vents open etc and i suppose to be fair half the reason it is noisy is because the interior is so quite but i honestly think the low speed fan setting should be half of what it is and im going to investigate a way to have it do so if possible
One other weird thing i don't understand and cant find reference to in the manual is the ventilation system re sets itself to different settings every time i start the car, Well not so much adjust itself but sometimes it starts with the air con on all by itself and some times it does not, I find that i have to keep on turning off the ac as it turns itself on... seems stupid, there must be some preset thing it is trying to do.. no idea
On that note the TV, I keep setting the tv to Australia however it always reverts back to UK as its setting, ive tried and tried again... something else ill have to try and work out
I thought the self dimming rear view mirror was the center in car one only however tonight im sure the passenger one dimmed also but not the driver so ill have to sus that out, From what i read and understand all three mirrors will be auto dimming if the center one is
Another thing really annoying and just not practice is the stupid lower side add on sections of the front air dam / bumper, I know they are removable and i do like the look of them but they are so low!!!, The approach angle compared to the early L322 seems so pathetic its not funny, I have tackle a bit of a rough embankment to get up my half formed driveway and scraped the hell out of them, Even in lifted mode it will still scrape if im not on the right angel where as the old car i left standard height and never gave it any thought, Im just nit picking.. not really a problem but one of those things that is a step backwards in a true off road environment.. In saying all this i also read in the manual that i have an extra extended height mode if i hold the highest setting button down for three seconds 
Also when i want to use manual mode as soon as i go over to sport even if i then go up a gear straight away it drops a gear for the sport mode instead, i find this annoying.. the td6 i could snap it into a higher gear if i was quick (beat the sport mode).. i cant seem to do it with this
The 6 speed gearbox seems to get a little carried away with engine braking at times but ill hope it adapts to my driving style or reset it at some point ... as well as service it
Really i cant fault this car, Its astonishing.. My feet yet to touch the ground .. totally in love, My plan is to one day (say 8 years time) perhaps fit the 4.4 to it and 8 speed from a wrecked one etc, i know that sounds bonkers to many but i honestly can see me doing it many years down the track and falling on love with the car again all over
The L405 are very nice, and so much more advanced but there is something to the L322 which i just love, These later models with all the bugs ironed out and great engines and equipment are so well sorted its just amazing
Sorry guys im rambling on but as you can tell im very excited
Dave
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30th Jun 2016 2:27pm
