NEW RANGE ROVER LUXURY VOGUE TLD V8 DIESEL

[Bushtracker]

Wow, what a lovely luxury car... Quiet, powerful, well appointed, typical of a full on top of the line luxury vehicle. The V-8 is a 3.6 ltr Twin Turbo Diesel, and is quiet and powerful luxury.

Look, I am not a Rangie Fan, but I can appreciate this top of the line Luxury Car and went for little jaunt in one. Handling, power, ability, luxury, it ranks well in feel and performance with only one Caveat: While it has a 3500kg towing capacity, it is nearly useless as it has only a 250 kg ball weight.

This is the reason I am writing this review, the Owner was not told, and is not happy about it.... The Dealer raved on about all the capability as a great tow vehicle but failed to mention the light ball weight.

I am spending my time here with this minor review, with your best interests at heart. If you are considering such a vehicle, do your research and see if there is a way out of this dilemma before you commit. I know only what I have been told, there may be some way out, as the Range Rover is rated higher in Europe. Anyway, check it out for yourself, this is just a word of warning from an Owner. I don't know but what you might be able to beat it somehow like importing a special tow bar or something that is ADR approved...

This Owner, has a beautiful Rangie; but is in the process of buying a Silverado because he has been unable to get over this barrier, so do your homework first, before you commit to one.

Kind Regards from the lone Ranger...

[safi1]

Just thought I would mention that the Range Rover Sport TDV6 also has a towing capacity of 3500kg, however it does have an approved maximum ball weight to 350kg.
It is a great tow vehicle, very economical and extremely comfortable.

Gordon
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Gordon & Narelle

[safi1]

I have been informed that a new Range Rover Sport and Discovery 4 are due for release late this year with a new 3 litre twin turbo 6 cylinder diesel that produces 620 nm.

As the Discovery has more internal room than the Landcruiser 200 series and includes more options as standard, it should prove to be a serious alternative to the Toyota.
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Gordon & Narelle

[Philip Wilson]

I have just been speaking to an insider at Land Rover and he has advised me that the next generation Range Rover will have a 3500 kg Tow Capacity with a 350 kg ball limit. They will be getting the first 20 vehicles in Sept this year. So good news for our Land Rover Fans

[OBdreamer]

Steve,
Is it true that Land Rover recommend that a WDH is not used (with Discoveries and Range Rovers) because of their self-adjusting suspension? And, that if a WDH is used that it will negate the LR warranty?
Regards, Phil.
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"…no Country (has) a more interesting aspect; if further trace into the interior is required, I respectfully beg leave to offer my Service. I see no end to travelling…" (From G.W. Evans’ report to Governor Macquarie, 2 June 1815.)

[Bushtracker]

Hello Phil,

Look, I do not like to make comments on something I have not owned. My R&D is in fact validated by the fact that I have owned and put through the trials the most common tow vehicles, doing maintenance and upgrades and testing. I have or owned these: Troopcarriers (3) 100 Series (2) 200 Series (1), Silverados (2, 2500 HD and 3500 HD) and Fords (5, 350 7.3 IDI, 250 Brazilian 7.3, 2- F-350 Super Duty 6.0, and the F-450 King Ranch Super Duty I now own. So my Range Rover information is only second hand from what I am told by Owners, and yes you are correct, and yes I think it makes it a poor choice, and yes it has automatic air suspension leveling at a certain speed automatically in the case of the Disco 3 in our Office Fleet, that you cannot shut off.

From what I understand some years of Range Rovers have a restricted ball weight as well. Anyway, this is opinion and not fact but: In my opinion it is NOT an ideal choice because of the varying suspension height which makes correct ball height setup difficult AND it is NOT as safe of a choice due to the inability to use the WDH (Weight Distribution Hitch).... Now having said that, I would do my own research with Land Rover, and see if model to model there are ways to get around this.

If you are a fan, ok, do the legwork to see if you can live with these perceived disadvantages. I am not a fan, and will not own one myself, but different strokes for different folks, and we hook one up every couple of months.

Kind regards from a Queensland Transport Havras Officer (HVRAS, Heavy Vehicle Registration Assessment Scheme) and Director of Bushtracker... Trying NOT to be biased, but relate an even keel assessment "In the Owners Best Interests".

[OBdreamer]

Thanks Steve, I appreciate the guidance. Phil.
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"…no Country (has) a more interesting aspect; if further trace into the interior is required, I respectfully beg leave to offer my Service. I see no end to travelling…" (From G.W. Evans’ report to Governor Macquarie, 2 June 1815.)

[Munners]

New Range Rover TDV8 now 4.4litres with 240kw (280kw chipped) and 700nm (800 chipped). Ball weight is 350kg; air suspension can be set to stay at off road height (or extended off road height) via addition of after market "LLAMS" system (few hundred dollars). In summary 2012 model is awesome tow vehicle but pricey on 2nd hand market at $120k with say 3o,000 on the clock; the new shape 2013 is a whole generation better - but $180k plus!!

[Bushtracker]

Munners,
Look, for the die hard Land Rover fan, possibly English Heritage, just loving the Land Rover, they are a very nice vehicle and that is without question...

The question I pose though, is it worth the total lack of support and service outside of the East Coast major cities?? I mean there are near nil Land Rover computer back up systems in the Outback, infact just over the coastal range and you are on your own... That is why Matthew in the Office, with his Family having Bushtracker as their holiday adventure Lifestyle, chose to go back to Landcruiser. It was a trauma having been stuck in limp mode for an extended period of time, that he is driving an VX 200 Series, even though he loved his Landy...

Now, my reservation said, possibly you could carry some most common sensors, have a full map of the engine for their locations, and an aftermarket computer diagnostics system on board that would clear Codes, to compensate for this. If you could do the basic troubleshooting all the way to the sensors in transmission and exhaust, EGR, DPF, map them, and carry them, and clear the DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes) and reset the Land Rover system, then OK. It is a viable way to handle this..

Kind regards, out with the horses and dogs doing "Dances With Wolves" best I can...

[Searenity]

Hi Munners,
I fully agree with Steve on this issue - last year in the Kimberleys we came across two Landrover Discovery problem situations at Halls Creek and Lake Argyle where the owners had to ship their respective vehicles to Darwin for repair - absolutely no local repair facilities for Landrover- a very costly exercise when all that happened was some form of suspension sensor failure. 10 days loss of vehicle and all the transport costs, accomodation costs etc. associated. Had the vehicles been a base Landcruiser the local mechanics could have addressed both situations.

cheers

Searenity
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Horizon Chasers

[Munners]

Fair comments Gents - I guess the real issue is, what happens when Toyota, Nissan etc follow suit (add more electronics and face the same issues). Inevitable?

[Bushtracker]

Well first of all, the most electronics I have seen were all the goodies in the 2012 Sahara we did R&D on... I mean the extremes of Mercedes Luxury like six way cameras on four sides, auto door closers, remote rear door opener, and fifty other things.. That is handled, and is advised, to get a Factory 5 year Warranty thrown in to finalize the deal after you have your best price..

Secondly, the real problem is not the complexities of the vehicles, but the availability of Service Outlets in the Outback. Landcruiser Service is everywhere all over Australia, where Land Rover is only on the coastal major cities for the most part.

They are all pretty reliable these days, it is only a question of the Manufacturers Computer Diagnostics availability with Service in the Outback. Even my Dodge Mega Cab 6.7 Cummins diesel as rare as it is probably has more backup.. It is backed by Shogun the Coversion people, their Service Agents, Chrysler Australia, and Cummins Australia.

Kind regards, Cowboy