I was looking at getting another RR earlier this year but ended up going for a Porsche Cayenne Turbo instead, one came up at a good price and it’s been great except for the 12 MPG and like the older RRs doesn’t have all the more modern goodies on.
I really do like the D4- post 2012 with the 8 speed gearbox but I’ve heard the 3 litre engine can have serious issues with the crankshaft.
Is the TDV8 immune to this particular issue?, is it also less likely to suffer the turbo issues of the earlier 3.6?.
Budget wise I seem to be able to get a similar age FF or D4 with 80k ish miles on for the same money, I’m keen to get an 8 speed version for the better economy and I had a 6 speed gearbox fail on a RR I owned previously and general concensus seems to be the 8 speed is much better.
Thanks in advance

i had a 3.6 6 speed tdv8 FF and was undecide don either 4.4 FF or the D4 3.0L. in the end i went for the RR 4.4 and dont look back. i dont think the 3.0 tdv6 would do it for me after the tdv8. D4 would of been more practical but less fun.

knowing plenty have had crank issues was also a contributing factor. Cheers

James

Having both a D4 (albeit 2.7 commercial) and 4.4 Tdv8 the D4 is a better steer and would be more practical, but the RR is the nicer place to be. The crank issue doesn’t seem to affect the 4.4 in the 322.

There is a range of vins on the D4 which are affected by the potential crank failure, so it is possible to avoid them I think. Personally I would go 4.4, there hasn’t been a point where I think hmm I wish I had a D4 as a family wagon instead.. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

I have both, recently changed from a 12MY 322 4.4 to an 07MY 322 3.6 and now in a 405 4.4 and we also own a D4 15MY

They are all loved in different ways! Recently I've been forced to use the D4 and i keep forgetting what a fantastic bit of kit they are, especially when its mapped

But i would still choose to get in my RR (anyone of the three above) as thats the place i prefer

From another forum, details of the 4.4 ZF8 box, this guy is an engine/transmission specialist

"The best automatic gearbox on sale today IMO is the ZF8HP conventional auto but even that is available in several variants.

It's very reliable but also one of the most complex boxes on sale.

Buy one with all the options and you get 8 speeds, torque converter and torsion damper (DMF), lockup clutches from 1200rpm in 1st, adaptive shift points, multiple driving modes and shift times, paddle and lever shift, shift points liked to GPS, engine data, chassis data and steering data, variable hydraulic pressure, launch control and coasting function. All in the control of the gearbox ECU that will talk to other ECU's via CAN-Bus or similar in the vehicle to gain the external info it needs."

I havent had my FF long but the gearbox is very impressive. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

4.4 TDV8 much nicer to drive. I recall a day when I had a D4 loan car, driving into a strong west wind and it slowed noticeably. Later the same day in my 4.4 no noticeable effect. RR also much more comfortable interior.

But check the RR for corrosion, especially around rear wheel arches and upper tailgate, but also underneath, brake pipes, brakes etc, the later cars seem to rust more than the earlier ones. The D4 is perhaps better re corrosion, its wheel arch liners will help for a start. Check what sort of life the RR has had, too much town work can clog the DPF and see if it has had the turbo drain mod. There's a thread by 'Baltic Blue' re known faults of the 4.4. Only Range Rovers since 1988

I had a D3 2.7 for 8 years and thought it was a brilliant piece of kit. I upgraded to a D4 with the 8 spd box and that was excellent with a more powerful engine and more luxurious interior (For some a step down but I liked it). The motor was excellent and never caused a moment of concern, however I did get a warranty to cover the possibility of a crank going pop on me. I think that's far more rare than we make out tbh. I bought a FF in June and have had more grief getting it sorted by the dealers than anything I suffered with the D3/4. I had three suspension compressors with the D3 and 1 with the D4. The D3 compressors were more due to the fact that the dealers hadn't replaced the relay so just burnt out two compressors in a row. Once sorted the cars were amazing family tugs with 7 comfortable seats. The reason I upgraded to the FF was that I didn't use the 7 seats for over 15 months so thought I didn't need them any more. I put a deposit on a D5 but due to business issues had to cancel. 6 months later I bought my FF AB TDV8 and the engine is a pure joy. It out cools the V6 by a mile and really stonks on with a little encouragement. If you don't need 7 seats the FF is a much nicer place to be and with the V8 it's even better. A week after getting my FF I needed 7 seats and could have done with them about a dozen times since. Doh!

for me the tdv8 was the main deciding factor. after having had one its tough to not have it...

now a tdv8 in a discovery 4 or 5 shell would be ideal for me driving wise and practicality. Cheers

James

Or get the best of all worlds and have a FFRR with the Supercharged petrol V8.....

In all seriousness, if you're not doing huge mileage then I'd seriously consider it. Having made the switch to Supercharged Petrol from Turbo Diesel a couple of years ago I'd never go back - I always hated the (admittedly not huge) turbo/gearbox lag when setting off but the fact it simply doesn't exist in the petrol models made me realise it wasn't a "feature" I had to just get used to! 2011 5L SC Autobiography (For Sale!)

Out of interest what turbo diesel model did you have ? , both my 3.6 and 4.4 TDs had / have no lag whatsoever. If anything the torque from tickover is incredible and instantaneous. 2015 4.4 AB
GSXR 1000 K5
R1 1998

I'm happy to evidence my comment: I'm a bit of a serial LR offender and have felt victim to being a pseudo LR new product tester for quite a while now!! Not meant as a brag but more to qualify my comment about throttle response from standstill; since 2013, I've had the following models (generally each kept for 6-12 months):

2013 L405 Vogue 3L SDV6
2013 L494 (Sport) Autobiography 3L SDV6
2014 L494 (Sport) Supercharged 5L V8 petrol
2015 L494 (Sport) SVR Supercharged 5L V8 monster!
2013 L405 Vogue SE 4.4L SDV8
2016 Evoque Convertible HSE 2L TD4
2017 Discovery 5 HSE 2L SD4
2017 Velar R-Dyn S 2L P250
2011 L322 Autobiography 5L V8 petrol
2019 F-Pace SVR on order!

As you'll see, there's been a fair mix of petrol / diesel LR products of varying capacities in varying models. I acknowledge that this is a very subjective view, but from my experiences I got very frustrated by the lag/hesitation with the diesel variants when I needed to get moving quickly from standstill. I don't want to de-rail this thread into being about driving styles, but if I see a gap in traffic and wish to pull out safely into it, I plant my foot firmly in order to expedite. This isn't a regular occurrence and appreciate some may never wish to set off briskly so may never encounter this.

There were times with my RR 3L SDV6, 4.4L SDV8 and Disco 2L SD4 where I'd end up being closer that expected/hoped to the oncoming traffic - not due to lack of power, but due to the time it took for the foot plant to result in surging forward. I also acknowledge that this may not entirely be down to the turbo engines but potentially the gearbox selecting the appropriate gear to set off in, nevertheless, it didn't happen with any of the petrol variants I owned (including the 2L P250 in the Velar - but that overall was a woeful engine and a big mistake buying!) The only diesel engine I felt that did not suffer the same hesitation was the my wife's Evoque Convertible.

I've see many threads over the years querying why this hesitation occurs and I believe the most technically educated response was that it was a small element of turbo lag, but the majority of the issue was to do with the gearbox ECU and the from standstill gear selection. In most scenarios the cars were configured to pull away happily and smoothly in second, plenty of torque to do so. It was only if you demanded lots of power that the gearbox took a split second to recognise the demand, and kick down from second to first in order to provide a faster revving pull away in line with the throttle demand.

Don't get me wrong, my 4.4L SDV8 has probably been my favourite all round car of all the LRs I've owned to date - I kept it the longest and covered 25,000 miles - actually still miss it a bit now. I got used to the slight hesitation therefore either pre-empted a "gap" more or manually paddle flipped down a gear before set off if I needed to make progress quickly. It was fantastic car, but the hesitation was still there. It doesn't exist in the Supercharged models - even though some share the same 8-speed ZF gearbox as in the SDV8.

Those who've driven (a lot) in both petrol and diesel variants will, I believe, acknowledge the slight hesitation. As I said at the start though, in 90% of driving situations and for the vast majority of drives the turbo diesel pull away from standstill is "fine" - it's only when you've experienced the zero lag petrol that you actually recognise it can be improved on. 2011 5L SC Autobiography (For Sale!)

I would have appreciated a more comprehensive answer but thank you. I should have mentioned both my 3.6 and 4.4 were / are remapped, however my 4.4 never had any lag while my 3.6 did have ( you are correct ) at some junctions before the remap. I have driven an 5.0 SC sport 2015 model but only for a test drive and wasnt really concerned with the low down pull !!! I bow to your superior knowledge sir. 2015 4.4 AB
GSXR 1000 K5
R1 1998

Quote:

it was a small element of turbo lag, but the majority of the issue was to do with the gearbox ECU and the from standstill gear selection.

I would argue that the primary issue is still dependent on turbo spool up time.

Gearbox shifting will depend on throttle position and engine load. The spool up of a turbo just puts that half second of delay into the engine load factor ... the rpm and boost just hasn't built up at the time of pull away compared to a petrol, so the system just delayed in realising whats being asked of it cause its looking to sense the engine load as part of its decision making.

That as well as the power delivery from idle revs to load revs is delayed by the spool up on a turbo. As soon as the petrol throttle opens, its pushing out the power, the diesel will have that half second delay of going from idle revs to an rpm which will provide boost. A freelander of mine couldn't pull the skin off a rice-pudding when off boost. On boost it pulled like a train. So stand still pull away was poor.

Its a double whammy - I dont really think there is much you can do about it.

Unless if you know you're wanting a sharp pull away and temporarily put your left foot on the brake and put demand on the throttle pedal, getting the turbo's going then left off the brake .... it'll launch then.  V8 or else ...

Try planting your foot in a 3.0 D4 with sand mode selected - no hesitation at all, although sand mode has been modified in the latest vehicles to not be nearly so aggressive.

Are people really in that much of a hurry, to worry about a very small lag when they start off