Advice.. Want to own a Range Rover

Morning all,

I have just signed up to the forum as I am thinking of making the move to a Range Rover.

Never owned one before, been in performance, classics, racing, etc… But never anything of this type..

I want to buy a plush, comfortable cruiser that oozes class and the Range Rover seemed to fit the bill..

Due to limited budget and concern on running costs (plan to use as daily driver) I seem to be in the market for a 97/98 DSE.
However, having not driven one as yet, I have been getting some comments like “2.5 TD underpowered for that mate”, etc, etc..

I was wondering if anybody could shed some light on details / ownership of this variant of Range Rover.

Thanks in advance,

Ev

On the fuel option: I've neven driven a 2.5 diesel so I can't comment on its performance. But I do know that the performance of the 4.6 is stunning for a car of its weight and type. So why not consider having the best of both worlds and take a 4.0 or 4.6 with an LPG conversion. The performance isn't noticeably affected and you can have the benefit of the petrol equivalent of 35+mpg. Bargain!

or......get a 2.5td like me and get it chipped and get the intercooler upgraded. gives you an extra 50bhp or so on top of the standrd 136bhp. driving a big lump of a car is never gunna be fast but like u said it oozes comfort and class. i will never go back to saloons.

Lol.. Know where you're coming from Bigstoo..

Greenslade, The whole LPG thing is a mystery to me.. Never had any real exposure to it...

I have to say, I am a big fan of Turbo Diesels as they give so much driveability (torque, etc.)

I think, from a comfort, toys, etc. point of view I should be looking at a DSE or a DHSE if I can afford one (from what I have read so far).

I keep looking at alternatives in the form of luxury saloon / estate cars and just keep coming back to the Range Rover. They seem to have such presence on the road, look aggressive yet classy (especially with privacy glass, side steps, etc..)

My missus will not be happy if I spend so much money on a Range Rover and then need to spend more money upgrading stereo, etc.. so am I right in thinking that the DHSE would be the way to go? or look for a DSE with extra upgrades purchased by first owner. etc..

Thanks in advance for your comments guys.. much appreciated.

Ev

I don't get this whole DSE (or DT) is underpowered.

My own 2.5 DSE is quite happy in standard tune, and I don't find it slow at all, maybe if I drove the 4.6 I would notice the difference. I really can't see why people think they are so slow, unless all they are used to is driving the 4.6. But get from a "normal" car into even a 4.6 and you will probably find even that slow, so it is a matter of relativity I guess.

I've done 4000 miles in the last month and can honestly say I don't see the need for it to be chipped (something I thought I would get done straight away before I bought it given all the comments) It is happy at 90 odd on the motorway, though I usually stick cruise control on at 80 (in France where the limit is 130 KPH!) and cruise quite nicely.

Regards fuel economy, if I am careful I can get 26.5 MPG and with my normal driving I get 23.5 MPG - it doesn't seem to matter if I am pottering around town or doing 80 on the motorway it always does the same! As comparison I had a 3.9 V8 disco and used to get 11-15MPG (15 if I was lucky!) to give an idea of my driving style. If you're thinking you will get 30mpg the you can forget it I'm afriad, even the diesel is an expensive beastie to run - I can get somewhere around 450 miles out of a tank and I've had an £80 fill up bill before now! Although diesel is somewhat cheaper over here in France at the moment so I'm not spending quite so much.

Personally I wouldn't go LPG, you'll never get your money back and the tanks are just a pain with very little mileage. I looked at an LPG Disco a while back, and you could only do max 110 miles on the LPG, and it didn't have particularly small tanks installed either. You also have to make sure it is installed properly and certificated for insurance purposes etc etc. Too much hassle for me.

Matt.

I get around 300 miles between LPG fill ups with a 135 L (110L useable) tanks. I got to keep the petrol tank with this RPi conversion, but lost the spare wheel well. It is true that it is harder to find LPG; the price differential between the cheapest LPG suppliers (like Asda and Morrisons at 34.9p) and the most expensive (like Shell etc at 43-44p) is large enough to encourage you to go a few miles out of your way. So that needs a little prior planning.

I should add that my Rangie has a manual box. I believe the 2.5DSE Auto is pretty slow and not very driveable due to the characteristics of the diesel engine - in my opinion, go for the manual, although I have to admit I haven't driven a P38 auto in diesel form. Also, 12% better MPG on this particular vehicle with manual box. The recent "Buyers Guide" in LR World (I think) said the manual was best option on the diesel.

Matt.

We used to have an auto 2.5 dse and i was always astonished at how fast it was, it wasnt obviously as quick as our previous 4.6 but we had 115 out of her with a bit more to go and found it quite frugal round town also and it made a nice tractory noise

Mine is for sale mate....see here

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/for-sale-v-reg-range-rover-dse-25056.html

Hi the 2.5TD is underpowered for a Range Rover. LPG is good as long as it's fitted correctly and it's half the price of Petrol. Diesels can run on old chip pan fat (Available from local chippy) it's called bio diesel. Personally don't see the point of a diesel they're slow less you chip them and smelly. Petrol ones are best if lpg'd they're cheaper

Charlotte

I don't recall smelling anything different sitting driving in my V8 Disco than in my DSE Rangie

Also, let's not get confused between the 2.5TD (Classic) LR diesel and the P38 DSE / DT BMW diesel's - very different engines! Having driven a 3.5 V8 Classic RR, I can imagine that the 2.5TD diesel is dreadfully slow!

The point of the diesel is clear - better MPG! Plus you can drive it underwater more safely because there isn't the complex and vulnerable ignition circuits to get wet.

Don't get me wrong, I love the V8's, but I don't think I would ever go back to one now. IMHO I have found diesel cars far more relaible and capable of greater mileage with less problems.

LPG might be cheap now - but who knows in the future, and how long does it take to recover the cost of a [proper] LPG installation? You will always sacrifice something on the vehicle with an LPG conversion. Whether LPG is actually cheaper is a moot point, because you get less MPG with LPG. I think if you work if out properly (as many magazine tests have shown) the running cost difference is negligable compared to diesel, in fact I have seen a some where it works out more expensive - and you still have to fork out for the conversion. Of course, here in France diesel (though not as much as it used to be) is significantly cheaper than petrol, so buying a diesel here is a no brainer. As always it totally depends on your circumstances, if you are going 100 miles a week then your fuel costs are pretty low anyway, but if you are doing 1000 miles a week that's a different matter!

If you want to go for LPG then I'd probably recommend a vehicle which has already been properly converted by a reputable (and certified) installer as at least the upfront costs have already been met, and you are unlikely to be paying much more for the vehicle than a standard non-LPG varient.