I'm looking at buying a Sport, I've had 2 FFRRs in the past- a TD6 and a 4.4 Vogue but sold my last one due to getting a job that came with a car, I'm changing jobs soon and the new one doesn't come with a car so have decided to go for a Sport this time.
Budget is £16k and I'd like to get one in either Grey,Silver or Blue in HSE spec.

I do about 9000 Miles per Year and can't pick which to get, My plan is to only keep it for a Year or so and upgrade to a 2010/2011 TDV6 3.0 so ideally I want one that will hold its value the best.
Also my main other concern is reliability more so than MPG within reason,I've read quite a few horror stories of TDV8s turbos self destructing and leaving owners with huge bills, how common is this?.
I've driven a TDV6 and didn't think it was too bad at all, certainly felt more nippy than my TD6 Vogue did!. In honesty I would probably go for a remap if I went for one, overall are they pretty reliable as long as you keep an eye out for the camber service being done?.

Lastly there's the Supercharged, for the same or less money you can get one with far fewer miles, 40-60k instead of 60-90k.
Are the engines less prone to going wrong than the diesels?, plus they come really well specced.
The only downside is fuel, what are they truly like around town?, is 15 MPG realistic?, I've had a couple of thirsty cars in the past-SL55, M3 so along those lines?. My head says go for a diesel but on the other side I could well be better off spending the extra £1k-£1.5k on fuel rather than the chance of the engine going wrong and costing far more.
Plus they're cheaper to buy too.
Any help and advice appreciated.

I think the consensus is, is that the petrol is the best engine by a long way. The main problem being an approx. 250m range from a tank compared to around 400m.

Sounds like you've made up your mind already though!

Supercharged all the way mate but youll be luck to get anywere near 15 mpg  RRS SUPERCHARGED, 22 INCH ALLOYS, JAVA BLACK, FULLY COLOUR CODED
EVERY POSSIBLE SOFTWARE UPDATE INCLUDING - BLUTOOTH UPDATE, SATNAV ON THE MOVE, CLOCK ON DASH, 3 CLICK FLASH, GEARBOX RESET, COMPRESSOR UPDATE AND SUSPENSION LOWERED,
BLACK CODE RE-MAPPED, AUTOBIOGRAPHY'D, NEW EXIDE BATTERY, NEW DENSO ALTERNATOR

Supercharged owner for over 3 years - 14 MPG at best - 9000 miles on a motorway - Petrol all the way 9000 miles around town - I'm afraid I'd put up with the diesel for 12 months with a decent warranty  16MY Estoril Blue SVR.............
17MY Autobiography Dynamic - Corris Grey - WOW.
14MY Autobiography Dynamic - SDV6 - Fuji White
12MY Autobiography - SDV6 - Santorini Black - Dual View - Rear Entertainment - Sunroof.
12MY Autobiography - SDV6 - Orkney Grey - awesome ;(
2005 Java Black - 4.2 V8 Supercharged First Edition- will never be forgotten ;(

Test drive a supercharged, that will make you mind up!

If I set cruise control the trip will show 18 - 20 mpg at a steady 70mph. Combined driving is around 14 - 15 mpg, with a heavy right foot sub 10. But, you will have a big smile

A very big smile  RRS SUPERCHARGED, 22 INCH ALLOYS, JAVA BLACK, FULLY COLOUR CODED
EVERY POSSIBLE SOFTWARE UPDATE INCLUDING - BLUTOOTH UPDATE, SATNAV ON THE MOVE, CLOCK ON DASH, 3 CLICK FLASH, GEARBOX RESET, COMPRESSOR UPDATE AND SUSPENSION LOWERED,
BLACK CODE RE-MAPPED, AUTOBIOGRAPHY'D, NEW EXIDE BATTERY, NEW DENSO ALTERNATOR

I do a mix of driving, a lot just outside of London so not all sitting in traffic, and a bit on motorways.Worse than 15 MPG in normal driving is pretty horrific!!. Saying that it's all my SL55 would do on similar runs.
I've sort of ruled out a TDV8 as I've heard too much about them going wrong, which is a shame because it looks to be the best engine, so will go for either a TDV6 or Supercharged.

So the petrol engine is pretty reliable providing it's not LPG converted?.

between tdv6 and SC, 2,7 diesel is just not enough for such a heavy car. I'm affraid tdv6 is just slow.

Supercharged

...I've just completed a near on 600 mile round trip A34/M40/M42/M6 - Bolton / returning via M1/M25/M3 kept it around the 70mph mark and averaged 19.7mpg overall.

...I find a week of around town driving gives about 14mpg. I also do about 9000 miles annually. Carl

Michael7s wrote:

between tdv6 and SC, 2,7 diesel is just not enough for such a heavy car. I'm affraid tdv6 is just slow.

It can be made faster.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

I've driven a TDV6 one before and didn't think it was that slow, if I got one I think I'd take it to JE Engineering for a remap though.
I'm still really tempted by the TDV8 but the horror stories of engines going wrong put me off, perhaps the answer is like someone else above said, make sure it's got a decent warranty.
Then there's a Supercharged within budget with 34k Miles on the clock which is so tempting!.

One last question I had, is privacy glass usually standard on 05-08 Sports or are the really dark tints film, and the lighter smoked glass the factory fit?.

I've owned both the TDV6 and the TDV8 and can categorically say that even with the potential pitfalls of the V8 I would have one over the V6 any day of the week and if you drive one it will make the smaller engine feel terribly slow.

But I suppose it depends on what sort of driver you are, if you tootle about like a Sunday driver the TDV6 will be fine, but for anything else, the TDV8 just makes so much more sense. I also achieved better mpg out of the TDV8, not much, but definitely more.

I don't drive slowly but I'm not always zooming around either, I've sort of gone off quick cars now, sticking to 2 wheels for going fast and having fun.
The TD6 in the FFRR I had was too slow though.

I'm more than happy with my TDV8. 9,000 miles in 10 months and drives beautifully. Averaging about 25 mpg overall, mixed driving. I sleep better having an LR Warranty.

In honesty a TDV8 would be my first choice if I could get one with a decent warranty, but with a £16k budget I'm not going to be able to source an LR approved used!.
If I could get one from a garage that supplied a good warranty I would go for one, the other thing is a lot of all variants seem to have been modified- to each their own with that, just 22 inch wheels, chrome and blacked out windows don't really appeal to me, I must be getting old!.