gazzaman92
New Member
- Posts
- 4
- Location
- United Kingdom
Looking at purchasing an L494 Sport or L405 SDV6 Autobiography 2015 kind of age and around 60k miles and, just looking for some purchase advice really.
I previously posted this on a Range Rover group on Facebook but, to be honest, the replies were pretty useless, including from Americans "get the 5L petrol" "the 3L is the epitome of unreliable". The fact is, this is the UK, petrol and diesel are expensive and, taxes will only continue to be pushed up on big engines. As a consequence, most Range Rover Sports and Vogues sold in the UK are the SDV6.
And, because the 3L is the most common engine, the incidence of problems will of course be higher. The 5L petrol is a great engine - I previously test drove an XFR but, it's too juicy and the power is unusable. The 4.4L V8 is based on an old Ford block from the 90s - I can't see how this is going to be one bit reliable and, it's so underpowered for its size. The 3L TDV6 diesel was a new engine developed by JLR and first introduced on the XF in 2009 (I think), updated in 2015 to the SDV6. My dad has a 2010 XF S with the TDV6 engine (100k miles) and, my brother has a 2016 F Pace with the SDV6 engine (60k miles). My sister has a 2012 Evoque 4 cylinder.
Now, applying some science to it, I would get a 3 year RAC Platinum warranty to it. This is 25% more expensive with the 4.4L diesel than the 3L diesel, which clearly says to me that the 4.4L is less reliable and more expensive to fix.
My experience with JLR cars is that the 3L diesel is actually a peach of an engine and, it's actually the electricals that tend to get a few gremlins after 8+ years.
What are people's experiences? I've heard the SDV6 can be prone to camshaft failure but, how many really? I imagine it's less than 0.1% and not 'most'. Any particular models, years or ranges of engine numbers prone? Any way to spot it? Was an improved camshaft developed? How to keep the problem at bay?
Any other buying advice?
Things I'd probably do:
- replace the infotainment system with the Android aftermarket one
- stage 1 remap
Did the Vogue also have the Dynamic driving mode? Did the Sport Autobiography have the laminated windows?
Any problems with electric towbars failing?
I previously posted this on a Range Rover group on Facebook but, to be honest, the replies were pretty useless, including from Americans "get the 5L petrol" "the 3L is the epitome of unreliable". The fact is, this is the UK, petrol and diesel are expensive and, taxes will only continue to be pushed up on big engines. As a consequence, most Range Rover Sports and Vogues sold in the UK are the SDV6.
And, because the 3L is the most common engine, the incidence of problems will of course be higher. The 5L petrol is a great engine - I previously test drove an XFR but, it's too juicy and the power is unusable. The 4.4L V8 is based on an old Ford block from the 90s - I can't see how this is going to be one bit reliable and, it's so underpowered for its size. The 3L TDV6 diesel was a new engine developed by JLR and first introduced on the XF in 2009 (I think), updated in 2015 to the SDV6. My dad has a 2010 XF S with the TDV6 engine (100k miles) and, my brother has a 2016 F Pace with the SDV6 engine (60k miles). My sister has a 2012 Evoque 4 cylinder.
Now, applying some science to it, I would get a 3 year RAC Platinum warranty to it. This is 25% more expensive with the 4.4L diesel than the 3L diesel, which clearly says to me that the 4.4L is less reliable and more expensive to fix.
My experience with JLR cars is that the 3L diesel is actually a peach of an engine and, it's actually the electricals that tend to get a few gremlins after 8+ years.
What are people's experiences? I've heard the SDV6 can be prone to camshaft failure but, how many really? I imagine it's less than 0.1% and not 'most'. Any particular models, years or ranges of engine numbers prone? Any way to spot it? Was an improved camshaft developed? How to keep the problem at bay?
Any other buying advice?
Things I'd probably do:
- replace the infotainment system with the Android aftermarket one
- stage 1 remap
Did the Vogue also have the Dynamic driving mode? Did the Sport Autobiography have the laminated windows?
Any problems with electric towbars failing?
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