L322 Good Bye P38 Rangie

Hi all.
Well, after 6 years of owning my 4.6 P38 I have let her go, not far mind, my Son is now it's new owner.
Despite the tails of woe that abound I found my P38 to be a reliable, dependable machine.
It has been well maintained and well looked after and has never let me down or left me stranded at the roadside. Had I have listened to all the negative reports, I would never have bought one. Perhaps I have just been lucky.
So, to my present predicament. Despite the negative reports I am looking to get a L322 but, which one? From my investigations......
TD6 Diesel pretty gutless
TDV8 Rapid but Turbos and actuators seem fragile and worst of all, engine out to replace them.
4.4 BMW unit Timing chain guides and Vanos issues
4.2 Supercharged rapid if a little thirsty but seem pretty bomb proof.
5.0 Supercharged Very rapid and not so thirsty but very expensive timing chain issues,
My preference would be the 4.4 TDV8 or the 5.0 Supercharged but, only if the issues have been resolved by JLR.

What is the real world experiences of members of these vehicles, positive input would be much appreciated.
Cheers.

As a not technically gifted but heavily experienced TD6 owner I would say go newer OR if buying the TD6 L322, buy off someone like myself, who can prove all the grisly bits have been done. I have had a nightmare but, as discussing with a friend recently, most of that was nightmare mechanics/garages rather than the work. I have spent approx £14k in 7.5yrs. With decent people around that would have been closer to £9k. However, she has 118k on the clock runs beautifully ,when odds and sods, that all vehs get, aren't going wrong. I got her back yesterday, from Gibsons who had all types of green oval and other marques in the yard. At almost 16yrs old she stood tall and proud amongst all of them. So a similarly looked after TD6 shouldn't be the nightmare that they get a reputation for.
I bought her when my 'commute' was West of Scotland to South of England twice a week most weeks and once every 3 months now and then and the V8 Disco wasn't cutting it travel expenses wise.. Which is why I went diesel Now I would buy the V8 or S/C, as I have to find places to go to get a decent drive, as I do approx 3k mpy. So I guess that is another thing for you to consider.
I'm sure the techie guys can give better answers but my tuppence worth is, don't write off the TD6 if you can find a well looked after one.


p.s Not sure what you mean by 'gutless' but I tow an IDxTB and an ID in an IFOR HB511 trailer and have no issues.

Thanks for your reply Gold rover.
When I say gutless, the general view seems to be that they accelerate quite slowly and are a bit short on torque.
I don't know personally because I have never driven one. I only drove a 4.4 TDV8 and that bugger flies.

I suppose it depends what you're used to or after. I swapped from a 4L V8 Disco and yes she pulls away slower. Do I still give people the fright of their lives when they see my grille at their window, when, only one jct away, they think they'll just get out across the roundabout before I am upon them. Hell yes! and I love the shock on their faces. Do I also confuse boy racers, when they come up on the outside lane at jcts and can't understand why the Golden Girl doesn't disappear into their rearview mirror, yes I do. None of the previous is done by thrashing the box, nor by dropping her into sport. Although, being honest I do like to p off BMW drivers sometimes, and drop into sport, when they just assume that they need to be in the outside lane approaching a roundabout, which at the other side, has a merge lane before it becomes single. It's not big, it's not clever but as they tuck in behind me, it is funny
However, she will never match a V8 or an S/C for wiping smugness off a face. Then again , I didn't buy her for that, I bought her for comfort for the dog, to tow the horses and for a bit of comfort for me, in that order and she does the first two fantastically. The third is not as great as I would like , leg room-wise but I suspect if I was 4 inches or so shorter, this would not be a problem. @Saint.V8 is taller than myself and he seems happy, so maybe I'm just a whinge

I had the 4.4 petrol, plenty nippy is how I would describe it, I fear I may just get into serious bother with a s/c.

It's the mass you see.

Saying that, a s/c with Brembos and dynamic adaptive suspension, hmmmm!

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myfirstl322 said:

I had the 4.4 petrol, plenty nippy is how I would describe it, I fear I may just get into serious bother with a s/c.

It's the mass you see.

Saying that, a s/c with Brembos and dynamic adaptive suspension, hmmmm!

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Get thee behind me Satan

I don't know if you can handle an extra 208 ponies GR

Think of the vets bill, never mind the hay!

You're not think of getting rid of old unfaithful are you? That's not the gist I get from your posts, (teehee)

myfirstl322 said:

I don't know if you can handle an extra 208 ponies GR

Think of the vets bill, never mind the hay!

You're not think of getting rid of old unfaithful are you? That's not the gist I get from your posts, (teehee)

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Hell no! The Golden Girl and I have been through a lot together and probably plenty more to come. If I was only now coming to buy a RR , I would probably go S/C because I no longer need to worry about a commute of almost a thousand miles round trip. I did 3k miles between MoTs this time and I had her nearly all year, rather than her being away for months at a time!
Apart from which I have horses not ponies

I am 6'3" and I found the Front of the L322 a nice place to be. I would have liked a wider footwell/central console area as my left knee would rest on the wooden pillar and after a long journey (of more than 3 hours) my knee would be rubbing to the point of annoying - but in the hour or so commute to work - no problems and loved driving it.

The M62TU44 is a mighty engine which seems more willing than the 286bhp is delivers - so a 5.0SC would be a right monster.

If I had the budget for another the 4.4 TDV8 or the 5.0SC would be on the list of around the 2012 era - which I think is one of the best looking later Range Rovers around.

gold rover said:

Hell no! The Golden Girl and I have been through a lot together and probably plenty more to come. If I was only now coming to buy a RR , I would probably go S/C because I no longer need to worry about a commute of almost a thousand miles round trip. I did 3k miles between MoTs this time and I had her nearly all year, rather than her being away for months at a time!
Apart from which I have horses not ponies

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I once rode a horse,
I couldn't get in time with it,
it was like driving a Jcb with a rigid seat.

My Sis has recently had a portrait done of her huge hairy beast.................
which makes me think the aforementioned Jcb isn't too far down the road!!

WHAT? You gonna use a shovel?

Thanks Saint V8 for your input.
Will start looking in fernet in the new year