There's definitely a hint of rose tinted glasses Jack, (great username btw, Sweeney reference?)

However I only have to look at one of the many, many videos on youtube where an L322 can be seen being driven from an inside POV to know none of mine since #1 have been right.

In these videos the owners can seemingly maneuver at low speed on tarmac with just one hand twirling the wheel.

Obviously I can't get a visual confirmation of ride quality or engine response from the videos but the steering thing is what bugs me most as what I see in the videos correlates with my memory of l322 #1 (I owned in 2018 so 6 years ago, how time flies)

Me and my now long suffering partner started calling the whole phenomenon 'The virus' as in I infect the cars in some way causing them not to be 'right'

Interestingly with the current daily driver (non RR) I've been careful not to plug anything into it, no Diagnostic tools no adapters nothing and it's fine.

3 old shocks and 1 new one would certainly make for a non optimal ride quality but at least the non CVD shocks are cheap and that should be an easy fix. Tyres and tyre pressure make a big difference on steering forces at low speed and IME OE pressures are a bit on the low side - what tyres and what pressures are you running?. I can palm mine if needed but it's not the lightest steering on a car I've had but then I don't like overly light steering anyway. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

my steering, when it decides to work, which is 95% of the time, is as light and positive as can be RR 2005 4.4 petrol
Any spelling mistakes are the fault of spellchecker
Previous MG J2, CITROEN light 15 x 2 gone unfortunately
Present MERC 180e, RANGE ROVER L322, JAGUAR XJS, MERC 280SE, MG F, JAGUAR S-Type 6v 2003, jaguar s-type 8v 2004, Ford Cougar

Agreed on the shocks,

This one's wearing a newish set of Goodyear Wrangler Territory HT in 255/55/20 at 33psi front and 36 rear.

You don't think that the oversize tyres contribute to extra steering load?

I'm aware they will have an effect Graeme but it was no different on the 255/50/20 it had when I got it.

Just looking for possible reasons...

Taller sidewall shouldn't impact the tread patch - wider tyres maybe. Try upping the pressures and see if it's any better. After a lot of experimentation I now run 37 allround. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

I've tried this one at 36 psi all round and all the others I've owned.

It does make the tiniest bit of difference but still feels to me like there's only 50% of the assist that should be there (again, thinking back and mentally comparing to L322 #1 which used to run 33f/36r)

The servotronic valve/modulator could be partly blocked but they're rather expensive to replace then discover that yours was OK.

I do need to have a look at the servotronic on this one Graeme, it could be sticky/stuck as you suggest.

I did use SDD to force it to 100% and the steering did lighten but not by much.

I replaced the servotronic on the Gold Autobiography I owned in 2019 and it didn't make much difference on that one so was indeed a waste of money.

There's a very fine gauze filter on the inlet to the valve which could be partly blocked. You could try removing it and at the same time temporarily remove the small o-ring from the valve so that some oil is able to bypass the valve thereby increasing the overall flow.

I didnt know about the filter Graeme, does that sit inside the orifice the valve fits in to?

I'll definitely give those suggestions a go when I next get down to the car (it's currently parked up at work)

Does anyone know how to test the valve when it's off the car? I.e what would one expect to happen when voltage is applied?

From what I remember the last I looked at one it didn't appear to have external moving parts.

Yes, the little filter is located in the rack neck ahead of the modulator.
I didn't spot any reference to the signal used to operate the modulator when recently replacing the seal on the input shaft, but I expect it to be 12V pwm with varying duty cycle to control the extent of open as speed changes.

Great thank you Graeme, that's given me something new to check.

I did use SDD to force the valve to 100% (something that can only be done on pre facelift/TFT dash L322s) and it didn't make much difference at parking speed but it was a little easier when driving around the village.

Still not what I class as 'normal' though