Veggie and Activa tales but now rental reviews blog!

[KP]

Well time for an update i suppose

The FFRR was reversed into in early november and took till the end of the month to get sorted.

Long and short, i was behind an arctic at a set of lights that just went red and i knew it would be a long wait so put her into Park and Handbrake up.
about 5 seconds later the arctic's reverse lights go on!!!
Then it starts to move!! BACKWARDS!

At this point i was a good 1.5-2m away as i could still easily see the bottom of his wheels and so on. The gap gets smaller very quickly and when he gets to 2' or so away i put my life into the horn but its just too late Pictures are Here

On the face of it the bumper had been pushed back in and perforated and the front grille had been bent/cracked out of shape and just missed the bonnet!

It was harder to see under the dirt as it was actually on its way home for a wash

He admitted fault and its all been sorted now. I had an SSRR(Semi Skimmed Range Rover, AKA Sport) TDV8 HSE for a few days. Until on the 3rd day the maxi fuse blew leaving me and the nipper stranded in the cold outside school after dropping the eldest off, then after about th 5th day i noticed she was a bit smokey. Checked the oil and it was nearly all gone! Called out LR Assist and they poured in what they had and then went off to a garage to get some more but he agreed either a turbo had died or the big end shells were on their way out(she was a little rattly for a newer diesel!) But the next day i was due to hand her back i left a smokescreen so thick you couldn't see from 1 side of a dual carriageway to the other. That earned me a police escort the rest of the trip back to the rental place as i dont think they believed i was on my way there
That got me swapped into a D4 XS (common theme of slowly working down the ranks...) which also got avery dirty as i do like how they handle the local mud with their std fit tyres 30minutes in the mud

Got the car back and got the rear upper tailgate and bonnet painted at the same time for a very cheap price as the upper tailgate was showing ususal rust signs and wouldn't be repaired under warranty

I have one glitch left to fix which is the lower tailgate release and then shes great Average so far for town driving from the OBC is anything from 22.4mpg(using the park heating all the time!) to 23.8mpg currently(not using park heating at all) and since ownership her average is still dot on 20mpg, she sometimes dips down to 19.9 or upto 21.1 but i dont think its too bad. She seems better on the Bio-D compared to sainsbury's own though i haven't dared to try the super diesels at nearly £1.43+/litre that would be nearly £140 as the most i have gotten in her was 96litres when in the red and flat on the bottom of the fuel gauge which is good as thats nearly another 40-60miles left in the tank and i can often get 450miles+ from a tank, though one day i hope to get over 600

I often help the odd stranded car i see thats broken down in a place i know i wouldn't want to be left as its so easy to just through the webbing out of the boot and the shackles onto the tow bar and move anything, 1 was a well laden big transit, think they are call jumbos as it was bigger than a high top, and low range certainly helped.

The D3's still tempts me as i know for what mine is a straight swap would likely be possible and it would be more economical but they do feel like such a large backward step or downgrade and the sounds system and noise inside the car there isn't much for its size and its not even got the acoustic glass! lol

[Citroenmad]

When I was at a Shell station a few weeks back there was a RR Sport parked by the pumps with a AA van behind it. The owner put the RRS into drive and it was just making awful screaming noises and not going anywhere. The guy we used for a autobox rebuild does work for LR and says he often gets them in, and Discos, at anything from 60K miles.

Very nice cars, though there could always be crippling repair costs around the corner. Wouldn't put me off having a Disc3/4 though

[KP]

It would put me off the D3's as compared to the D4's they are leagues apart, and not just gearbox and engine wise but the cabin itself is just so much fresher

All the gearbox's as usual with manufacturers these day's are sealed for life, BUT the actual gearbox makers usually specifiy/reccomend a service schedule.

Mine now has 131k on it and still going strong (TOUCHES WOOD!) and seems to have had an easy life. I think this is the most important thing. lots of short cycles will turn gearbox oil like engine oil, not good for it or anything for that matter to heat up and cool down lots of times

The RRS(really the SSRR), may not have had a gearbox failure but maybe the transfer box, that has been known but is rare but for that kind of screeching I;d say the gearbox or TC may have died....

Also towing doesn't seem to kill them as much as people think, IIRC there is a D3 that has some 100k's miles on the clock and tows a car loaded trailer behind it most of its life


The fuelling is scarey when you think, hmm i could get an old 1.9td and use veg oil, still about £1/litre and get about 700miles from a tank which is 2.5times more than i currently get out of the RR about town and double its mway milage when pootling at 55-65 and then costs in the region of £125-140 per fillup even on Bio-D

But then you drive it and all of that goes away specially when it goes 'BING' , Warning, Low Temp 2'c. And your cabin is already warmed and the seats and wheel heat is just coming through as you listen to ClassicFM or some nice bassy music from the 14speakers(simply the best in car audio i have ever experienced!)

And when some noober pulls infront of you without indicating, or you get really cut up, the horn does wake them up a bit

Also been watching some of the Euro NCAP videos for it, and some youtube video of a shogun vs a honda civic, having such a big high 4x4 makes me realise how safe the kids are should the worst happen and compare that to what i've seen of xantias I dont think i could ever drive with anyone but myself in a xant for a dialy commuter, though im very tempted with the new DS5 and the way citroen is going with its hybrid's, though i still want Hydro fitted to it (come on citroen, springs n dampers just dont cut it for UK roads these days!)

[DickieG]

I can see what you mean about feeling safe in a RR as they have a lofty driving position giving a greater viewpoint of the road ahead and in a collision they tend to run over normal cars causing all manner of destruction to the other vehicle.

However whenever I've driven them I'm made all too aware of how high they are and vulnerable you are should you need to take avoiding action as in swerve or brake and should you clip a kerb in the process rolling is all but inevitable. Royalty use them as back up cars because they can be used as battering rams but one role they cannot perform is standard anti-hijack avoidance tactics as it was tried several times and RR's and Disco's roll onto their side. I appreciate that it's not every day you carry out such tactics but it highlights how vulnerable they are in carrying out sharp extreme avoidance manoeuvres as may be necessary to avoid hitting a large object such as an HGV or tree.

The suspension is compromised by its very nature of having to do two very different jobs of off road and on and the modern trend of using powerful engines is only made possible due to ESP, each to their own but not for me, I've driven them on skid pans, at high speed and so on and felt far too uncomfortable with their handling to push them anywhere near as far as I would a traditional car, personally I think that large 4x4's are possibly the most dangerous vehicle you could own.

Enjoy your RR but my advice is be very careful and never push it performance wise.

[KP]

There in lies ones of its best attributes to safety Dickie, I never really push it. Most I the time I pootle about never getting past 2000rpm as the slushomatic stirs and does its thing and I just enjoy wafting along. Giving me great chance to do what 99% of other drivers dont do to remain safe. Read the road conditions as far ahead as possible. Not only does this have the side affect of driving very smoothly and requiring very little brake input and increased mpg, but has solar meant that when a kid jumps out from between parked cars I am much further back than I would have been as gives good breaking distance or when someone has pulled out from between parked cars without looking

You already do this I bet due to your training but with 2.5 tonne of hulk I feel it more important to do now

Yes she corners like a big flipping barge but I've not heard of them flipping from too much corner forces, they just seem to understeeer as a common complaint when pushed, though the ssrr may be different as it has much wider/lower tyres. I'd also guess that the armoured ones are the ones used for escort/transport work and their COG is much greater never mind their additional 1.5tonnes of reinforcement for level 5/6 attack resistance

[DickieG]

though the ssrr may be different as it has much wider/lower tyres. I'd also guess that the armoured ones are the ones used for escort/transport work and their COG is much greater never mind their additional 1.5tonnes of reinforcement for level 5/6 attack resistance

No the tests were done with bog standard ones, the Disco 3 rolled onto its side, a brand new one belonging to Land Rover then at a later date when the tests were attempted again with a RR the same shape as yours, they got no-where near being able to carry out the manoeuvre before they were up on two wheels and at teetering point so the exercise had to be abandoned as there wasn't any point in wrecking another expensive car and that was with the all singing and dancing expert at the wheel, it looked rather spectacular mind

I totally agree with your point on driving defensively but even then there have been times when I've had to take drastic avoiding action when random things happen, i.e car on an OT towards out of a loss of vision, a corker was on the M25 when a car somehow managed to be travelling at 80° to the carriageway from the N/S lane directly into my path in lane three of four, some things you just cannot anticipate and plan for and need to have a plan B option to deal with it, hence my concerns.

[Dommo]

This discussion reminds me of this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vfs5-TO5ro



As an aside, the Semi Skimmed Range Rover as you call it, the Sport, has hydraulic anti roll bars akin to an Activa, so you'd hope that wouldn't roll over in the evasive tests?

[DickieG]

As an aside, the Semi Skimmed Range Rover as you call it, the Sport, has hydraulic anti roll bars akin to an Activa, so you'd hope that wouldn't roll over in the evasive tests?

I drove one of the V8 supercharged TDi (or something similar) development Sport's before they were released to the public when I did Land Rovers off road Instructors course at Eastnor Castle and they still roll as they have a high centre of gravity, that trick suspension only controls the roll to normal car standards it doesn't correct roll as in an Activa. Unfortunately a high centre of gravity means one thing when it comes to corners, physic's dictate that element. ESP merely causes the car to let go earlier than it could if the car had super sticky tyres and didn't have ESP fitted, this keeps the car/handling manageable, hence why they understeer so much.

Don't take what I'm saying the wrong way as if I'm suggesting that RR's are a pile of poo as they aren't, but when it comes to safety I believe there are a whole load of elements that need to be taken into consideration if a vehicle is declared as being very safe and having the ability to steer away violently is something I consider to be an essential element in vehicle design safety wise.

[KP]

Very true you cant plan for everything

That being said, when something is coming to hit you or pulls out in front of you have this size of vehicle helps the physics side of it...

This is what happens in an older style one, even cars of this age are the same...
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And this is the main type of accident that worries me the most...
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But having a newer vehicle will help both parties due to the crumple zones being that much more giving as shown below with the average vehicle hieght hitting an FFRR side one...

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Scarily the first side on is the same color as mine

[KP]

This is just something i've come acros that shows the biggest reason i can think of for having my RR now

http://www.disco4.com/forum/topic73486.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[DickieG]

All of the test results are horrendous but the one between the Shogun and the Civic is the only one that just touches on the result of a car rolling, windows smash limbs and heads fall outside the passenger compartment then get crushed by the car roof and the mess that's left is not a pretty sight, I've been there and dealt with those fatal collisions several times, hence my concerns

[KP]

Would you rather risk some limb damage or be a passanger in the civic....

With curatin airbags and so on blocking the route of bits coming out of the car its not something im too worried about looking at the euroncap tests and the youtube of the guy who rolled his in a field and then left the engine running to kill it just that bit more, he walked away without even a scratch. Fair enough it was possibly at about 20mph on grass but even so, once one wheel digs in and the wieght is pushing on it its only going to get deeper and force a violent flip much more than compared to the same speed on tarmac

Bit safer than a drop top i guess :p

[DickieG]

I can see your argument but the point I'll raise is that airbags go off just the once and in a roll the car invariably has multiple impacts as for limb damage I'm more concerned about head damage as I've seen those damaged far more often and to rather devestating effect.

My concerns are not just about RR's but any vehicle that has a high centre of gravity where physics dictate that the said vehicle has a significantly lower ability to swerve to avoid a collision and a far greater tendency for the vehicle to roll, each to their own but I believe that suggesting you're safer in such a vehicle is a myth I'll leave to others.

[KP]

Well I've caught lukes disease!!



Got it today with MOT till august next year and tax till March!

It needs,
New interior
New/Repair to audio stalk
New Front and rear wipers and possibly arms/Springs
Front wheel balance and tracking
Front droplink or such is a bit noisy
Boost leak investigating
Cubby box fix
New steering wheel
AirCon looking at
Door hinges greasing
Rear heater elements replaced as only ONE works.....

bodywork.... well its done only 270,000miles so its not rusting yet! More than can be said for my 2005 Range Rover....

It feels so alien being so close to the floor that its scares me!! However it aint half nippy!

[CitroJim]

Great to see you back in PSA's finest again Will

So, nearly a minter then It looks in lovely nick...

What engine has it? Must be a diesel with a mileage like that!