Range Rover Sport SVR

Caporegime
Joined
20 Jan 2005
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45,621
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Co Durham
I give you the Chelsea Truck Company!!!

The perfect London vehicle, a snip at £499,999!

 
Associate
Joined
19 Dec 2002
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2,002
never owned one but worked on loads (electrical wise) main thing i remember was when i had to speak to a friend from school who was a senior tech at a rr main agent.. his comment was owners fell into 3 categories.
1/ entitled and had the vehicles under warranty and then got rid before warranty expired.
2/ wanted the ethos of owning a rr but couldnt really afford it so rarely got repaired or on a shoestring.
3/didnt care and mainly ran them into the ground spending whatever (also tending to run older models).

i would add he said he would never have one . but saying that i had a service manager friend working at peugeot and he ran toyotas again said never would have a peugeot lol.

main thing i remember was whenever we had a rr in for work we had to do a pretty comprehensive check on all the systems before commencing any work. was nearly caught out by one company owner who tried to blame a suspension knock and warning light on my immobiliser fitment.....until i rang the dealer up and gave them the details only to be told he had been told what the problem was when they had checked it 2 weeks before we worked on it ...plonker still wanted us to repair it . i told him i would have to take it to the dealer as my insurance would need to inspect it..then he backed down lol
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
21,785
I give you the Chelsea Truck Company!!!
hadn't realised that was a company , neighbour had a matt black wrangler, only one in the village, with their decals on spare wheel, thought is was a cliched p*** take,
like baby on board, he got rid recently, now tinted black macan, custom plates.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Apr 2008
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3,867
Location
Bryn Celyn Wales
Range Rovers in general seem to garner quite polarising views these days, more than most other cars imo. What’s with that?

You don’t have to be a ‘tuber or a drug dealer to drive/want one, so are the negative reactions just down to spite, because they are seen as obtaining a certain level of success? (whatever that maybe).

Back in the day it wasn’t uncommon to see them in use by country/farming types. Rugged, comfortable and practical. That’s why my folks had them anyway.

I’ve always fancied an SVR model, it sounds epic and I just like RRs in general. Just for fun I was interested in how Motors perceives RRS ownership. Boy done good, or ‘got any gear, mate?’
For me, I went as far away from RR as I could and went to Jeep. a lot more for your money and I never thought I'd say this, a Crysler product is more reliable. I think for the cost of an RR, the problems and upkeep is just out of this world, they're really appallingly built. My mechanic of 10 years thinks they're appalling, and RAC and an AA guy I know think they're absolutely appalling as well.

Its's weird though as to look at them and to drive they're amazing SUV's... really are... but the cost of ownership now, is for the rich not the normal person imho because everyone you see second hand has cheap tyres, or cut corners or not serviced well etc...

Personally one of the most overated cars ever built, they've always been money pits and unreliable and for that alone... it's a no from me. Plus that SVR, I was surprised, I kept up with one from the lights from a standstill, I thought they were faster than my SRT8 but don't seem to be!
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Jul 2004
Posts
4,455
Location
Melbourne , Oz.
Yep. I think $1050 was the quote from the JLR main dealer. He said its not holding a full charge. If I was to keep it I'd get it replaced although not at the main dealer.
European car prices here are nuts. That's why most drive Toyotas or Fords, however I'd rather walk. :)
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
26 Jul 2004
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3,268
Location
Thunderdome
Interesting to read all the responses. Many expected, some new insights. The reliability is certainly a concern, but it also seems a bit hit and miss. Many owners appear to have no issues at all, but for some it’s terminal. The potential issues that concern me most are the water ingress issues (pano sunroof, windscreen and tailgate). Appears it’s just your luck with these. Or perhaps the with the pano roof seals shrinking/becoming brittle, it’s just a matter of time.

It was also interesting to read all the perceived image concerns. Honestly, I really don’t care about how other people drive their cars, certainly wouldn’t put me off a car or brand if I really wanted it. Good to know what you’re getting into though :D

I've had a 2016 TDV6 Sport for almost 4 years. I love it. Its big, it's fast (relatively speaking), it handles sharply, it fits all my camping gear and bikes in it, it gets 1,000km from a full tank on the motorway, it gives you right of way by default in tight back streets, had it off road several times (mostly dry rock, some sand), have hurtled up mountain roads squealing the tyres and it lacks nothing.
Mechanically I've had no problems. The particulate filter doesn't like the way I drive it, 99% city driving but other than the airbag light being on all the time - dealer cant keep it turned off. Wants to take out the front seat and rehouse it. $1,000 plus. Lease is up end of this year so wont be paying for that. He also says it needs a new battery, again 4 figures that I wont be paying. I'd definitely consider another but our office is moving within walking distance of home so cant justify the expense for it to sit on my drive more than 5 days per week.

Always useful to hear from actual owners. Sounds like you’ve been blessed with good reliability, apart from the battery. If you find yourself in this position, they appear to be epic cars and great from a utility aspect.

The other nugget I’ve gleaned from the RR forums is that they type of LR warranty you gave seems to make a difference to the amount of success you get with dealers. I need to reassess this as I was looking at one with an extended LR warranty. I now think I’d need to up my budget and get one still within the original manufacturer’s warranty. Better go look at my sums again.
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Jul 2004
Posts
4,455
Location
Melbourne , Oz.
Interesting to read all the responses. Many expected, some new insights. The reliability is certainly a concern, but it also seems a bit hit and miss. Many owners appear to have no issues at all, but for some it’s terminal. The potential issues that concern me most are the water ingress issues (pano sunroof, windscreen and tailgate). Appears it’s just your luck with these. Or perhaps the with the pano roof seals shrinking/becoming brittle, it’s just a matter of time.

It was also interesting to read all the perceived image concerns. Honestly, I really don’t care about how other people drive their cars, certainly wouldn’t put me off a car or brand if I really wanted it. Good to know what you’re getting into though :D



Always useful to hear from actual owners. Sounds like you’ve been blessed with good reliability, apart from the battery. If you find yourself in this position, they appear to be epic cars and great from a utility aspect.

The other nugget I’ve gleaned from the RR forums is that they type of LR warranty you gave seems to make a difference to the amount of success you get with dealers. I need to reassess this as I was looking at one with an extended LR warranty. I now think I’d need to up my budget and get one still within the original manufacturer’s warranty. Better go look at my sums again.
I just typed into google "how long does a car battery last" and results say 3 to 5 years. Mine is 6 years old so to be expected although in 25 years of motoring I can't remember ever replacing one. I've had zero water ingress.

Just get one, you'll love it. Mine is actually the SDV6, not the TD. Trim is HSE. White with black roof and wheels :cool:. I think getting minimum spec of HSE will serve you better for resale in the future, from what I've seen (and probably aside from the SVR) you can spec any trim to match any engine when buying new. Therefore the higher spec the wider your selling market. I hung around ages for one with the rock crawl function. Never used it :D

I'd swerve an out of warranty V8 petrol to be honest. I've had V8 cars in the past (4 of them!) and the servicing costs are astro and you get sick of putting petrol in them every week. The SVR will be an absolute beast, fuel is still under a quid a litre here but consumption would put me off. Plus there are much better V8 SUVs around for similar money if you aren't going off road imo.
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Jan 2005
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45,621
Location
Co Durham
Reliability is definitely an issue. My old boss had a brand new RR sport V8. 2nd day of ownership, the rear brake calliper locked on and his wheel caught fire.

Within 6 weeks he had big suspension problems at the rear end and it went into the main dealer for 4 weeks for a complete brand new rear axle (which involves lifting the body off the chassis.

Had a friend who bought a second hand one. big mistake without paying for a warranty. Cost him £5k the first year on various faults before he had had enough and got shot of it.
 
Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2014
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The Cronx
Don’t forget to budget for the crooklock.

re: batteries, there is a minimum annual mileage requirement (2k I think). If you don’t hit that they can die fully much quicker. Ask me how I know!
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
26 Jul 2004
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3,268
Location
Thunderdome
Don’t forget to budget for the crooklock.

re: batteries, there is a minimum annual mileage requirement (2k I think). If you don’t hit that they can die fully much quicker. Ask me how I know!

Go on then, tell us :D

Btw I’m certainly not advocating a no warranty purchase, only that with the LR extended warranty, you might be required to strong arm the dealers more than you should, when getting warranty work.
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Jan 2005
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Co Durham
Doesnt help (unless they have now fixed it) that if you leave a RR sport stood for 3 weeks then the battery goes flat (or used to). My boss came back from a 6 weeks holiday to find his car was a dead a dodo at heathrow airport.
 
Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2014
Posts
7,623
Location
The Cronx
Don’t forget to budget for the crooklock.

re: batteries, there is a minimum annual mileage requirement (2k I think). If you don’t hit that they can die fully much quicker. Ask me how I know!

Not an RR, but I replaced a battery just before lockdown and it "stopped working or charging" after about 3 months, so I asked for a replacement and they wouldn't do it based on the fact the car had done 0 miles. They also advised that you need to do a min of 2K miles a year to maintain the warranty. Happened twice :)
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Nov 2006
Posts
23,712
I agree with all the comments about reliability, image and theft etc. But dat engine... and in a package that does everything. The sound alone is worth it.
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Jan 2005
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45,621
Location
Co Durham
I agree with all the comments about reliability, image and theft etc. But dat engine... and in a package that does everything. The sound alone is worth it.

But its the same engine as the BMW X5M and the Jaguar F-Pace isn't it? So you could have the same sound in a car which won;t keep breaking down, doesnt have quite the same awful image and is cheaper to boot?
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Nov 2006
Posts
23,712
But its the same engine as the BMW X5M and the Jaguar F-Pace isn't it? So you could have the same sound in a car which won;t keep breaking down, doesnt have quite the same awful image and is cheaper to boot?

I think the F Pace looks odd and is it going to be much more reliable? X5M sounds a bit more refined, I guess you could change the exhaust to rectify that. I'd say the X5 has the same image problems as the RR, and as a result, theft too I guess?

Reliability is the main thing that would put me off. As well as fuel costs for all of them.
 
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