I have a dilemma in that I have had 3 FFRR all of which were bought by me brand new but all of which have either been returned or sold back to the dealer due to faults.

The first was in 2011 when the new 4.4 TDV8 engine was fitted to the L322 and it would seem my car was one of the first and suffered more electrical faults than I thought was possible.

The second was in 2019 and was an SVA that had an engine issue that LR took 3 months to fix and they should have simply replaced the engine but instead tried to fix it - not very well as it transpires.

The third was just last year so a L406 and the D350 engine that suffered the dreaded alternator/starter motor/regen system after 3 days and was with LR for 2 months whilst a fix was being sought.

All 3 were either returned or sold back with a large contribution from LR.

I have had a LR car for over 25 years now and several new Defenders but my days of off road driving are coming to an end and I fancy some luxury when driving.

Now I am foolishly considering a further FFRR and placing an order for an Autobiography but not sure if I should go for the D350 or the P530 - thoughts please chaps  "UNDERSTEER" ----is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"OVERSTEER" ------is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"HORSEPOWER" ----is how fast you hit the fence.
"TORQUE" -----------is how far you take the fence with you.

Forget the P530 go for the P615 no gremlins for me so far, that's my view

The only trouble with the SV is there is a glut of them sitting at the dealers and they are offering massive discounts thereby killing the secondhand market

My dealer has said to me that not only would I loose my shirt I would most likely loose my house and lot’s of other stuff to boot

Also, it would be my everyday car and whilst the extra power is nice, it would rarely get used especially in this nanny state we find ourselves  "UNDERSTEER" ----is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"OVERSTEER" ------is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"HORSEPOWER" ----is how fast you hit the fence.
"TORQUE" -----------is how far you take the fence with you.

I have covered 7k miles over 7 months in a P550e Autobiography and it has not missed a beat. I use EV for the short trips and then a combination of EV and the petrol engine for longer distance. I would highly recomend it.

Depends how much time you want to spend refuelling and how much you want to spend on fuel.

My D350 has a real 600 mile per tank range and often delivers 40+mpg on a long run, and I’m maximising progress when traffic allows. It’s a quiet and refined drive train which I believe has been improved recently with a new gearbox. Worth driving one before dismissing. MY23 D350 HSE
On my 7th RR plus various other JLR vehicles

I have discounted the e petrol engines only, sorry just not an e person of any kind and never will be so it’s either the D350 or the P530 but erring on the D350 👍 "UNDERSTEER" ----is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"OVERSTEER" ------is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"HORSEPOWER" ----is how fast you hit the fence.
"TORQUE" -----------is how far you take the fence with you.

I’ve got a P615 SV and a D350 RRS. The P615 is obviously sublime but the market is knackered for SV as you say (and mine was handsomely discounted). The D350 is a peach of an engine and is refined, efficient and has great range. You won’t regret it.

A friend has the D350 engine in his 2024 RRS. It’s currently sat in the dealer yard awaiting a new transfer box. Been driven gently as his only means of transport. It’s covered around 5,000 miles. So not really a good advert for quality!

I just got over 500 miles range out of my p530 and just over 30mpg. The BMW V8 is very efficient on long motorway journeys and has good acceleration when needed. What’s not to like?

I watched a Youtube video on the new Sport SV which had also had a new transfer box at a relatively low mileage. Haven't heard of any proper RR's needing one though. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

Whilst the info on the transfer box is concerning it’s the same box across the LR range i.e. FFRR, RRS, D5 and Defender etc and across the engine ranges (please someone correct me if I’m mistaken) so I would assume it’s either a faulty batch or a couple of isolated issues so regardless of what engine I choose it will be the same transfer box

Still leaning towards the D350  "UNDERSTEER" ----is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"OVERSTEER" ------is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"HORSEPOWER" ----is how fast you hit the fence.
"TORQUE" -----------is how far you take the fence with you.

I had the D300 as the only available car at the time.

Perfectly adequate for me, 12000 miles per year rarely above 100 mph.

However , bigger is always better so given a choice I would take the D350 as I’m a firm believer in Dirty Diesel being a cleaner and economical way of driving with Adblu. No doubt petrol is going to be even faster, but actually I no longer need 155mph car or to save 0.1 of a second at the traffic lights. Can’t be bothered to race anyone… best I can do is rev at the traffic lights and watch the boy racer leave half of their tyres on the tarmac. Amuses me!

MPG is good on the D300, I assume for the D350 as well, although it shouldn’t be a concern if you have parted with north of £100 k for a car.

Just coming up to two years and no issues other than new car gremlins, ie a recall on a rear light & something wasn’t right with the battery. The battery issue was resolved with an overnight charge. So in terms of reliability absolutely no serious issues. Touch wood! Arse ache with the dealer, but that’s not JLR’s fault.

Consider an HSE & adding those things you really want from the AB spec list. With AB you may be paying for stuff you may not need/want/appreciate

In terms of depreciation , just don’t think about it. It’s a hole in the head. That said I was talking to a friend and they leased a sport. Stunningly good value. I have never considered the option always buying cash/outright. ;p

There is nothing that saves you money when buying one of these beasts, you do it because you want to do so, be it a rusty hulk FFRR from the turn of the century or a sparkling new one from the showroom.

Check insurance costs!
Good luck! Filters are in fact so good that in certain circumstances, when the ambient air is already polluted, a diesel car will tend to extract more particles from the air than it emits. Emissions Analytics worked with........etc etc

He who dies with the most toys wins...

Hi Bill

Very good points and many thanks for your comments

My last FFRR suffered the electrical issue and was a D350 Autobiography. Just could not accept that LR did not have a fix for a new car that had only covered 120 miles so gave it back

Priced up an HSE D350 and compared it against an Autobiography with the same engine and only £4k cheaper with the options I want so think it will be the Autobiography  "UNDERSTEER" ----is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"OVERSTEER" ------is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"HORSEPOWER" ----is how fast you hit the fence.
"TORQUE" -----------is how far you take the fence with you.

On the electrical issue.

I should not of been surprised, as they had to jump start it at the showroom on delivery. They thought that they had run the battery down fixing/testing the steps. I was just keen, they were embarrassed!


Something went wrong , some months later, despite good mileage at reasonable speeds on the day before , it died overnight. I can only think, they were stockpiling cars prior to launch/had delays on some ,or waiting for parts and somehow the battery took a hit …Maybe there was an update over the air, who knows?
They couldn’t find a fault, anyway all good now. Filters are in fact so good that in certain circumstances, when the ambient air is already polluted, a diesel car will tend to extract more particles from the air than it emits. Emissions Analytics worked with........etc etc

He who dies with the most toys wins...