I had a RRS2 on loan when I had the MY13 Black Edition and I was underwhelmed

The DS has really impressed me

Managing 40-45mpg and feels as quick as both my previous RRS and can't tell it's not a V6  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

Thought I would add my two penneth...

I have owned 3 RRS1s in the past, 1 pre facelift and 2 post. The only problem I had with the first one was wrong fuelling it ! But in truth it was a bit of a dog to drive even without the wrong fuel !. The second I had for about 3 weeks when we were woken up early one Sunday morning by the alarm going off. I could not unlock the car or get any response from the remote and my neighbours were not happy bunnies. Long story short is the car had a wiring loom fault and the dealership (Guy Salmon) lied to me when I asked what would be involved in fixing it. They ended up completely de-panelling the car and dropped the dashboard after telling me they would not need to (I turned up unannounced to check one day and took pictures). So I wrote to the dealer quoting the relevant section of the sale of goods act and told them I was rejecting the car. I eventually got the replacement car 9 months later and only after endless letters and phonecalls and threatening them with litigation via a solicitor. The 3rd car I only had 3 months and do not recall any particular problems but sold it for personal reasons I will not share here.

I have owned several cars since including a couple of Porsches and BMWs and never had a blip with any of them. I am a pragmatic car buyer and choose what to have depending on circumstances and have decided my next car will be an SUV with a 3rd row. I am also a bit impulsive in making those decisions and have ended up regretting a number of them. I have delayed placing an order for an RRS2 purely because of what I have read on this forum. Yes, you have to be careful what you believe as there is a lot of c**p posted. But like others I am simply stunned by the number of issues raised by different owners on this forum. So many people cannot be wrong.

So, I rang LR UK on Monday to tell them why I am hesitating buying another of their products and to seek some reassurance. Their initial response when I told them the source of my information was to tell me it is their policy to ignore what is written on forums as they do not believe it to be genuine. Can you believe the arrogance ?? After a bit of a to and fro they asked me to send them an e mail listing some specific areas of concern so I did based on the most common issues raised here. One them was fuel slap and when I mentioned that as an example the lady said she had never heard of it. When I pushed her on this she went away and checked and confirmed it is a known problem and a service bulletin has been issued. I asked if she could send me a copy and the reply was no. I still await any reply to my e mail - even an acknowledgment.

So will I buy another RRS ? As I write this no. The other car I am considering is the XC90 and it is a simple dilemma of choosing style or substance. The RRS wins hands down on style but personally I cannot risk buying a car for its looks that I will end up taking back and forward to the dealer. Jury still out....

Parish, it is the arrogance of the "Land Rover Corporate Machine" that is now making me look elsewhere.

I came back onto this forum, after quite a lengthy break, with the intention of comparing the experiences of those who have purchased a HSE rather than a HSE Dynamic. What I have found is that Land Rover have gone back to their old ways in denying that any form of problems exist with their vehicles, even though many of their customers are experiencing them.

Today I have been looking at the new XC90, Q7 and the VW Toureg, all of which are well equipped, more economical, far cheaper to buy, tax and insure and do not appear to have the mechanical and quality control issues that Land Rover products are renowned for.

I have been on the various forums for the above vehicles and guess what, no where near the number of disgruntled customers when compared to the various Lamd Rover forums.

I wanted to buy another L494, but this is looking increasingly unlikely every time I log onto this site......

Jim

Last edited by jim4244 on Wed Oct 21 2015 9:19pm. Edited 1 time in total

There is one undeniable truth in all of this Jim :

As long as JLR can continue to sell their products like hot cakes in the volumes they currently do, to discerning and loyal customers they don't deserve, and to less discerning customers in far flung places who care less and only buy their cars as status symbols, the arrogance will continue - as will the poor QC and reliability...

Like I have said previously - let's hope that China has the mother of all recessions so that JLR loose 75% of their current customers.

Maybe then they will start listening to their customers in the UK and Europe.

Jim

The only objective reason for buying LR over any other "premium SUV" is off road ability; when away from tarmac, the whole LR stable will leave for dead comparable vehicles from other manufacturers. That's it. Any other reasons in favour of LR are purely subjective - "looks", "style", "class" etc. Dare I say it that badge has much to do with it too.

When one looks at how few of LR's non-Defender sales get used off road, one wonders how long the subjective purchases will continue.

Take any of the premium SUVs and it will be just as capable, just as comfortable and usually more economic to use on the commute etc. as the RRS2.

At some point the LR bubble will deflate and I'm looking forward to a good choice of suddenly under-valued RRS2 and FFRR to choose from... I do quite fancy a nice old Series 2, though, so maybe that's the way forward.  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Well said that man.

Looking at the very long (and no doubt very costly) list of stuff you have had to fix on a car that's only 7 years old, I think has finally made up my mind.

A number of the issues on mine were caused by a less-than-decent LR dealership. Starter motors fail if you wade and the breather pipe isn't fitted or is lazily routed. Took me a couple of replacements to figure that one; the dealer was surprised when I told them I'd jacked it up and checked it myself. Steering rack damaged when they took the body off to redo the turbos they'd replaced only a few months before. Alternator killed by someone fitting the wrong sized battery earlier in its life (a Jag battery so I'm guessing it was a dealership cock up).

I did do 28k miles in it over the last 12 months including some off road pay-and-play trips. It tows our horse box too. That's my problem - I actually use it and a suitable replacement would be what? 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Agree with most of your comments RRSTDV8, except comfort. I have driven other premium SUVs and I know what my choice would be for a 2,500 mile trip. The driving position and air suspension give FFRR, RRS and FF Disco that extra advantage. Q7 is a close second but the more "saloon like" driving position lets it down slightly. Current: Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription Pro PHEV with some optionals on top
Gone: MY16 RRS2 3.0 SDV6 Autobiography Dynamic, Carpathian Grey & Santorini Black Sliding Pano/Ebony & Ivory 2 Tone
Gone: MY13 RRS 3.0 SDV6 HSE Black Edition, Orkney Grey/Ivory
Gone: MY09 RRS 2.7 TDV6 HSE, Santorini Black/Almond

I had a Toyota Camry SE for a recent US trip. Did 2500 miles in a couple of weeks and it was perfectly comfortable. The air con was excellent (even in 40deg C+ temps we never needed the fan on more than a couple of clicks) and the seat was good enough to spend 4 hours at a time in. It had a decent lumbar adjustment which is crucial for me.

I'm not sure I would have trusted a RRS to get through Death Valley without breaking down...which is a sad thing to have to admit. The climate control in mine certainly isn't a patch on the one fitted to that hire car. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Lol.....I guess that we will all wait until you start having problems......

DRDILL wrote:

I guess you lot above wont be buying then, you wont talk the rest of us out of getting one, we already have one, and we are enjoying the best 4x4 luxury vehicle on the planet, you lot in yhe meantime will still ve moaning and driving around in a bnw, toyota or what ever, go buy and enjoy, lifes to short.

 Arrived: MY16 A/B SDV6 in Aruba, Ivory interior, piano black trim, black panoramic roof, spare wheel, blind spot monitoring, mudlaps and more...

Gone but not forgotten:
2014 RRS2 SDV6 HSE in Loire Blue
2011 Freelander 2 SD4 HSE in Santorini Black

RRSTDV8 wrote:

I had a Toyota Camry SE for a recent US trip. Did 2500 miles in a couple of weeks and it was perfectly comfortable. The air con was excellent (even in 40deg C+ temps we never needed the fan on more than a couple of clicks) and the seat was good enough to spend 4 hours at a time in. It had a decent lumbar adjustment which is crucial for me.

I'm not sure I would have trusted a RRS to get through Death Valley without breaking down...which is a sad thing to have to admit. The climate control in mine certainly isn't a patch on the one fitted to that hire car.

fkarim wrote:

Agree with most of your comments RRSTDV8, except comfort. I have driven other premium SUVs and I know what my choice would be for a 2,500 mile trip. The driving position and air suspension give FFRR, RRS and FF Disco that extra advantage. Q7 is a close second but the more "saloon like" driving position lets it down slightly.

jim4244 wrote:

Like I have said previously - let's hope that China has the mother of all recessions so that JLR loose 75% of their current customers.

Maybe then they will start listening to their customers in the UK and Europe.

Jim

Wishing thousands of British workers out of a job because LR won't dance to your tune?