So I wasnt very impressed driving a RRS SDV6 vs my SDV6 Disco4 , its the same with better front seats but less rear space.I also drove a RR Vogue SDV8, which is nice to waft around in but the boot space is frankly silly and it drinks fuel. So is the RRS the best of the bunch, My SDV6 D4 uses 9.5 litres (30mpg) RRS SDV8 best of all worlds, sounds fab and only uses 10.2 ? or a pipe dream ??

YES!

I get better than 10 on trips high 8's low 9's , 10 around town although I don't worry about it as it is way better than my R50 V10. M16 SVD8 ,4.4 HSE with a few extras, Sold R50 , Wife SQ5 , BMW R1200GSW.

I used to run a 2014 RRS SDV6 and now a 2017 RRS SDV8. On paper, there doesnt seem to be much difference in performance between the SDV8 and SDV6 but on the road there is a definite difference particularly in the mid range. I found the SDV6 to be a bit of a slug overtaking so I would always knock it into Sport mode before attempting an overtake. After about 12 months of ownership, I had the engine remapped by DMS which improved the mid range performance markedly. My SDV8 is no ball of fire but it does have more mid range performance than even my DMS remapped SDV6 and it feels more relaxed at high motorway speeds because it has more performance in hand. I can imagine for some owners, the SDV8 is not worth having over the SDV6 but for me, it makes the RRS an all round nicer car to own and drive. There is one slight downside though. The extra weight of the SDV8 engine up front does make the RRS understeer a touch more than the SDV6 but the RRS is no sports car by a long way so its a small price to pay IMHO

As for fuel consumption, I averaged about 32mpg with the SDV6 over 3yrs/50k miles and I'm currently averaging 28mpg with the SDV8 but I do expect that to improve a bit because both engines seem to loosen up considerably after 15-20k miles

I'm currently thinking about having my SDV8 DMS remapped and that should make it even nicer to drive

Also Mike you haven't got the worry of the crankshaft failing  Andy.
21 Ford Ranger
Gone but not forgotten
Focus RS Red Edition
2015 RRS AB Fuji.
2014 RRS SC Santorini
2016 VW Amarok
2014 RRS AB Fuji
2012 RRS Red Edition Fuji
2015 Nissan Navara
2012 RRS SE Santorini
2008 RRS White
2007 RRS Santorino

Slightly off topic but related, the D300 in the Velar - is it prone to the same crank failures?

I went for the SDv8 and haven't looked back, it's much smoother and power is always available when you need it.

It's important to echo the comments from mikef re the nose weight, it does feel less nimble then the SDv6 but if you push past that it handles just fine.

@mikef, intrested to hear how things go if you get it remapped, I am happy with the power mine has right now but the knowing the MY19 changes made it slightly slower to 60mph does bug me!

What are the changes that have changed the 0 to 60? SDV8 arrived and fantastic even the infotainment!
1983 2 door Range Rover ARB Bar X9000 winch ARB Rear Bar now semi retired.
Many big trips done in this one.
1982 Rangerover nearly restored.
22 Defender D250 with lots of stuff for outback touring
Nice 2013 Freelander TD4 manual (for daughter to learn on) with much better stereo compared with previous SD4 SE with Meridian which sounded bad!
2013 Land Rover Defender ute.

Not sure if it’s related to gearbox, emissions or a combination but SDv8 use to be 6.5 to 60mph now it’s 6.8 to 60mph based on the brochures

mikef wrote:

There is one slight downside though. The extra weight of the SDV8 engine up front does make the RRS understeer a touch more than the SDV6 but the RRS is no sports car by a long way so its a small price to pay IMHO

As for fuel consumption, I averaged about 32mpg with the SDV6 over 3yrs/50k miles and I'm currently averaging 28mpg with the SDV8 but I do expect that to improve a bit because both engines seem to loosen up considerably after 15-20k miles

I'm currently thinking about having my SDV8 DMS remapped and that should make it even nicer to drive