L322 RR interior quality
L322 RR interior quality
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Discussion

Bill

Original Poster:

57,493 posts

279 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
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Just had a look at an 03 4.4 RR and I have to say I was shocked at how shoddy it felt. It had only done 69k but the cupholder wobbled, the plastics moved and the doors were all stiff and hard to open and close.

Is this normal or did I just see a bad one?

grand cherokee

2,432 posts

223 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
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its impossible to say without seeing the car - but i would say its unusual?

and cup holders - are you for real?

Bill

Original Poster:

57,493 posts

279 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
biggrin It had to be seen to be believed. I prodded what looked like a loose bit of plastic and this hulking great cupholder popped out.

grand cherokee

2,432 posts

223 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Bill said:
biggrin It had to be seen to be believed. I prodded what looked like a loose bit of plastic and this hulking great cupholder popped out.
you mean the 'dildo' holder in the centre console!!!

what a waste of space

it won't even hold a bottle of champagne - pmsl

i've lost count of the cup/bottle holders on my RR - they are for the new 'generation' owners who insist on walking around with a bottle of designer water!

ffs nobody eats/drinks in my car! - well, my Labrador is the exception



Edited by grand cherokee on Tuesday 24th May 14:56

Bill

Original Poster:

57,493 posts

279 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
That's the one hehe

grand cherokee

2,432 posts

223 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Bill - i think you and i are 'old generation' car buyers?

the new 'generation' want cup holders/ipod (whats that?) etc etc

and my RR has a tv - about as much use as tits on a bull?

run it for more than 20 minutes with the car not running and the battery goes flat - i've got a 50" plasma at home if i want to watch tv!

and the audio - think its 15 speakers? - why?

i'm a bit of an audio 'buff' and if asked to design the worst environment for quality audio i'd say a car - simply the speakers cannot move the 'volume' of air to create decent audio - not forgetting the natural 'booming' of a car

its all like 'willy' waving - mines bigger than yours!

Bill

Original Poster:

57,493 posts

279 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
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It sounds like it. I value character over most things, pace over economy and (although having kids has changed this a tad) handling over comfort.

AR101

75 posts

179 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
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I think you are being a bit unfair about the 'new' Range Rover drivers. The cup holders were changed when the ignition moved to the dashboard for the MY07 facelift and the interior was redesigned. These are now in the console area and are more sturdy.

Ref: TV, agreed it is more of a novelty but when combined with RSE it keeps rear passengers entertained. Dual view screen also enables it to be watched on the move. To have a TV in a car was always going to be a bit of a gimmick but it's a nice thing to have. Here's people on here moaning about having a TV when a lot of people don't even and may not ever be able to afford to run and/or purchase a Range Rover.

grand cherokee

2,432 posts

223 months

Wednesday 25th May 2011
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AR101 said:
I think you are being a bit unfair about the 'new' Range Rover drivers. The cup holders were changed when the ignition moved to the dashboard for the MY07 facelift and the interior was redesigned. These are now in the console area and are more sturdy.

Ref: TV, agreed it is more of a novelty but when combined with RSE it keeps rear passengers entertained. Dual view screen also enables it to be watched on the move. To have a TV in a car was always going to be a bit of a gimmick but it's a nice thing to have. Here's people on here moaning about having a TV when a lot of people don't even and may not ever be able to afford to run and/or purchase a Range Rover.
you are right that many cannot afford the luxury of owning a range rover - though for £10-15K you can get a very good car about 5/6 years old

its more the running/service costs - though there again my friends Subaru gets only about 10mpg!

parts are certainly cheaper than my grand cherokee as so many independents sell OEM equivalents - which even main dealers use

regarding the tv - unless you have a late model car you are buggered with the digital switchover as the tuners are analogue - will cost you £400- 500 to upgrade - why in say 2005 did bmw not use digital tuners?

also a lot of RR owners change the settings of the tv (custom wiring/re-programming) - so that they can have 'tv on the move' - allegedly for the front seat passenger!


Edited by grand cherokee on Wednesday 25th May 11:24

bozmandb9

673 posts

204 months

Thursday 26th May 2011
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Bill,

To answer your original question, I would say with the exception of the cupholders, the interior quality of the L322 is superb.

Before having Range Rovers i had a number of E38 BMW 7 series, and many of the parts were identical. I would say both cars are built to a standard, not to a price. Funnily enough they both have crappy cupholders which fall to pieces as well, however I think we're all agreed that cupholders are a waste of space anyway. The best design is a round hole as on the new interiors.

The leather does not appear to wear. My 2006 Supercharged with 114k on the clock could easily be mistaken for a one or two year old car with 30k on it. So if you've found one showing signs of wear, it's probably had a very hard life.

Bill

Original Poster:

57,493 posts

279 months

Thursday 26th May 2011
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Cheers for then input all, now focussed my mind and am looking for a Classic. thumbup

grand cherokee

2,432 posts

223 months

Thursday 26th May 2011
quotequote all
bozmandb9 said:
Bill,

To answer your original question, I would say with the exception of the cupholders, the interior quality of the L322 is superb.

Before having Range Rovers i had a number of E38 BMW 7 series, and many of the parts were identical. I would say both cars are built to a standard, not to a price. Funnily enough they both have crappy cupholders which fall to pieces as well, however I think we're all agreed that cupholders are a waste of space anyway. The best design is a round hole as on the new interiors.

The leather does not appear to wear. My 2006 Supercharged with 114k on the clock could easily be mistaken for a one or two year old car with 30k on it. So if you've found one showing signs of wear, it's probably had a very hard life.
i'd agree the leather on that 'generation' of cars is superb - have heard reports that later cars do not have such quality leather?

grand cherokee

2,432 posts

223 months

Thursday 26th May 2011
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BAHN-STORMA said:
Supercharged and Vogue SE's have 'different' leather, that may make a difference as well.
links to confirm please?

so what about - Vogue/HSE/Autobiography/Signature etc etc? - all different leather?



Edited by grand cherokee on Thursday 26th May 11:51

grand cherokee

2,432 posts

223 months

Thursday 26th May 2011
quotequote all
bozmandb9 said:
Bill,


Before having Range Rovers i had a number of E38 BMW 7 series, and many of the parts were identical. I would say both cars are built to a standard, not to a price...
my god! you have to be a true devotee to make that statement

i'd say built down to a price!!!!!!

AR101

75 posts

179 months

Thursday 26th May 2011
quotequote all
UK from MY2010

Leather on the Vogue is Oxford leather with piping. Optional cooled seats perforates the front seats.

Leather on the Vogue SE is semi analine with contrast stitching. Perforated throughout with cooling as standard on front seats. Optional on rear with recline seat pack 3.

Autobiography - Same as Vogue SE. Leather door cards, console area and roof lining with rear vanity mirrors also all in leather.

R60EST

2,364 posts

206 months

Thursday 26th May 2011
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Having owned an 03 RR , I agree . The interior 'looks' very plush and luxurious. The feel , fit and finish though don't always live up to expectations.

Mine had quite a few creaks and annoying rattles . The plastic around the hi/lo selector was very cheap looking. It had at least 2 very big pozi screw heads on show on the top of the dash ( they all do I think )


grand cherokee

2,432 posts

223 months

Friday 27th May 2011
quotequote all
R60EST said:
Having owned an 03 RR , I agree . The interior 'looks' very plush and luxurious. The feel , fit and finish though don't always live up to expectations.

Mine had quite a few creaks and annoying rattles . The plastic around the hi/lo selector was very cheap looking. It had at least 2 very big pozi screw heads on show on the top of the dash ( they all do I think )
as i said the leather on the 'earlier' cars seems better - some say the seats are better? - mines a 2005 with ivory (aspen piping) - its 'as new' - still very firm with no wear/scuffing (apart from a very small piece obviously caused by getting in/out - though before i got it the car had a very 'pampered life'!

bozmandb9

673 posts

204 months

Saturday 28th May 2011
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grand cherokee said:
my god! you have to be a true devotee to make that statement

i'd say built down to a price!!!!!!
Get real GC, have you been in a cheap car? I think you've been pampered for too long! It may not be perfect, i.e. Rolls Royce of Maybach levels of sumptuousness, but they it's not £250.000 plus. You've got to admit it's all pretty high standard, saying it's built down to a price is just silly in my view!

grand cherokee

2,432 posts

223 months

Sunday 29th May 2011
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bozmandb9 said:
Get real GC, have you been in a cheap car? I think you've been pampered for too long! It may not be perfect, i.e. Rolls Royce of Maybach levels of sumptuousness, but they it's not £250.000 plus. You've got to admit it's all pretty high standard, saying it's built down to a price is just silly in my view!
of course i've owned 'cheap cars' - don't think many of us start off owning RR's?

its pretty decent standard but too much plastic in my opinion - particularly the rather nasty 'grey foundry' finish which chips easily - for an £80K car i would expect better?

i assume you have seen the burr walnut trim pieces supplied by Powerful (not the bling items)? - such as door cappings/console/ashtrays etc etc - surely these could have been supplied on the cars without a huge price increase?


apart from things like the Veyron all cars are 'built down to a price' - the manufacturer decides on a 'price level' and the car has to be built to that level - mind you this applies to everything even a humble pencil!


Edited by grand cherokee on Sunday 29th May 11:29

AR101

75 posts

179 months

Sunday 29th May 2011
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The new models no longer have the finish you describe, even on the Vogue.