[acedriver_9000]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

I would strongly suggest you make a booking of Range Rover Sport. With it coming in CKD format now - the prices would drop down to about 1.7 on road. Can't get a better car at that price point.

I too was pondering over that. Do you think the additional 30L and 2.5-month wait are worth it over the X5?
On one hand, I like the design and overall feel of the Range Rover Sport, but on the other hand, I want a car that I can enjoy driving. I'm specific and value things like steering feel, engine & gearbox tuning etc, which actually I'm not sure if the Range Rover Sport can offer.

I’ve never driven a Range Rover before, hence the confusion. Planning to get a test drive soon.

Please share your thoughts with regard to the above. By the way I enjoyed reading your 6GT thread.

[samyakmodi]

Originally Posted by acedriver_9000

Do you think the additional 30L and 2.5-month wait are worth it over the X5?
On one hand, I like the design and overall feel of the Range Rover Sport, but on the other hand, I want a car that I can enjoy driving.

I think you should try both the cars back to back to get the feel properly ☺️
With my experience with BMW so far - I'm on the fence for the first time to recommend it to anyone.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by acedriver_9000

I too was pondering over that. Do you think the additional 30L and 2.5-month wait are worth it over the X5?
On one hand, I like the design and overall feel of the Range Rover Sport, but on the other hand, I want a car that I can enjoy driving. I'm specific and value things like steering feel, engine & gearbox tuning etc, which actually I'm not sure if the Range Rover Sport can offer.

I’ve never driven a Range Rover before, hence the confusion. Planning to get a test drive soon.

Please share your thoughts with regard to the above. By the way I enjoyed reading your 6GT thread.

Range Rover is primarily about prestige and signature design. BMW and Porsche SUVs would be noticeably better to drive. I feel BMW offers the best long term ownership among the luxury brands - should be a big factor to those buying with frugal personal funds and wishing to keep the car for long vs business-expense/HNI cars that are typically replaced after 4 years.

The most common complaint with BMW is tire/wheel damage. This is because BMW uses RFTs, often low profile tires with cast alloys - a terrible combination for our horrible roads. Going tubeless, downsizing the wheels (avoiding low profile tires) and/or using forged alloys (if sticking to low profile tires) would totally avoid this problem.

[Abi5hek]

Originally Posted by acedriver_9000

I too was pondering over that. Do you think the additional 30L and 2.5-month wait are worth it over the X5?
On one hand, I like the design and overall feel of the Range Rover Sport, but on the other hand, I want a car that I can enjoy driving. I'm specific and value things like steering feel, engine & gearbox tuning etc, which actually I'm not sure if the Range Rover Sport can offer.

I’ve never driven a Range Rover before, hence the confusion. Planning to get a test drive soon.

Sorry to digress from the topic of this thread. I have driven the 6cyl diesel versions of both these cars. Going by what you said, in terms of driveability ,the X5 should be the car for you. The engine and gearbox are in perfect sync with each other and sport mode feels almost telepathic! It's an absolute delight to drive and it's so engaging that you sometimes forget that it's a >2 ton SUV.

The Sport is a relatively more opulent and relaxed experience. It's got a lovely engine. The ride is wafty in comfort mode and glides through roads like it's no one's business. I could also notice quite a bit of vertical + sideways movement over uneven roads. It does stiffen up in dynamic mode despite which there's plenty of roll to contend with. Safe to say it doesn't like to be hustled around. The gearbox does wake up in sports mode but it's still not as quick as that of the BMW. The car has massive presence though and will definitely catch a lot of eyeballs.

I would've been blow over by the Sport had I not driven the X5 which feels like a precision tool.

[acedriver_9000]

Originally Posted by Abi5hek

Sorry to digress from the topic of this thread. I have driven the 6cyl diesel versions of both these cars. Going by what you said, in terms of driveability ,the X5 should be the car for you. The engine and gearbox are in perfect sync with each other and sport mode feels almost telepathic! It's an absolute delight to drive and it's so engaging that you sometimes forget that it's a >2 ton SUV.

Thanks for the reponse Abhi. Do you feel that drive experience of RRS is too poor for a car enthusiast? If there is good feel and feedback from the steering and nice driving position I think I aswell may like the relaxed, wafty driving experience.

Recently when I got to test drive the X5, one peculiar issue I found out was suspension makes a large thud noise when going over a bump/pothole in sport mode. If switched to comfort mode, thudding didn't appear that bothersome, but there is significant floatiness over bumps and expansion joints on flyovers. All may possibly be due to run-flats.

Another issue I observed was not being able to disable start-stop. Its literally quite annoying in the diesel version.

Coming to the positive aspects,

1. I liked the split folding tail gate where its possible to sit-out enjoying the countryside while on road trips.
2. Merino leather is nice. Better than or may be equal to windsor leather on RRsport. But the integration of idrive screen is too bad. Also I'm dissapointed with the vertical dials. But compared to the range rover there are still some physical buttons left for seat controls, ride height adjustment, idrive controller etc.
3. Seating position in X5 is quite nice and you sit high up. I sat in RRsport too and it felt similar to x5. But I didn't quite get why people talk of commanding view of RR sport. I felt X5 too has similar commanding position. (Disclaimer: I didn't yet get to drive RRsport, just checked it out at the showroom)
4. Back seat of X5 also I felt quite okay. I like the upright angle.
5. But the real deal maker is the drive quality. From the get go car felt surprisingly easy to drive and familiar. The driving position, seats, view of bonnet from the driver's seat are quite good.

Coming to RRsport

1. Looks quite gorgeous. In white paint it looks drop dead gorgeous.
2. Interior feels nicer. Leather on dashboard and round dials bring the old world charm, that bmw & merc cars used to have in olden days. Now I feel their interior doesn't feel quite premium. CKD assembly led to lot of cost.cutting I think. Even at this price point there is no double pane windows in the x5. such is the level of cost cutting. Here I feel RRsport makes sense with all the premiumness.
3. Piano black centre console is the only eye sore in RRSport interior. Removal of all physical buttons like mode selector, air suspension control etc is actually a deal breaker for me. This and lack of split tail gate are main sore points for me.
4. Also the I think RRsport will hold its value in used car market because of desirability.

These are my observations as of now. I don't know which vehicle I would be picking up. I can add further points about RRsport after a testdrive. You may comment your thoughts on above points if you wish to.

[Abi5hek]

Originally Posted by acedriver_9000

Do you feel that drive experience of RRS is too poor for a car enthusiast? .

No, I definitely wouldn't call it poor by any means. You can stiffen up the steering but it doesn't have much to offer in terms of feedback.
I would recommend you go for a drive in the RR sport ASAP. There are some feature additions as well with the locally assembled model which makes the deal a whole lot sweeter. Although the desirability is there, their reliability concerns are widely know and hence the Sport would definitely have much higher depreciation compared to the X5. And for what it's worth, I found the X5 to me much more efficient compared to the Sport. With the X5 giving close to 9.5 km/l in mixed conditions and RR giving 8km/l over similar conditions

[Tutenkhamen]

Between x5 and RRS, I would pick RRS 10/10 times just for the shear road presence and that green oval logo!
The engine options are cherry on the cake too. No more downsized 4 pots.

Between x7 and RRS, thats bit different and I think I’d go with the latter 8/10 times still.

To be fair, x5 can be much more commonly seen and for good reason, but thats bit of a negative point too (its suffering from success? )

< silly analogy ahead />
RRS is like JLC (or IWC), built well with a balance of luxury, opulence and caters to a niche while x5 is more like an Omega.
It does quite well for what it’s built but doesn’t stand out as much and typically goes under the radar (relatively speaking!).

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by acedriver_9000

Recently when I got to test drive the X5, one peculiar issue I found out was suspension makes a large thud noise when going over a bump/pothole in sport mode.

This is apparent in X5 and even X7. Maybe this is attributed to RFT or just the way the suspension is set up - to support rigid/ sportier handling.

Another issue I observed was not being able to disable start-stop. Its literally quite annoying in the diesel version.

Yes, the engine will stop at a slight delay on the throttle, like yielding to oncoming traffic. The only way to keep it running is to use sports mode all the time.

I don't know which vehicle I would be picking up. I can add further points about RRsport after a testdrive.

You should go for a test drive on RRS. I am sure, it should give you more clarity. I haven't driven the RRS for a while, it's not going to drive like an X5 but in the context of our roads, it does look that RRS will be a better/ practical option.

Originally Posted by Tutenkhamen

Between x5 and RRS, I would pick RRS 9/10 times just for the shear road presence

At the current difference between RRS and X5, I tend to agree considering our road conditions and the ratio of X5 vs RRS on the road. X1, X3, and X5 look all the same and RRS does look macho. The quality of leather, switchgear and everything on RR will be more premium. LR does not have lower budget variants like an X5 so most things will be of higher quality.

The only thing that I will be worried about is the service/ parts which LR needs to improve drastically. But if usage is less and one has multiple cars already, it should be ok to take a small risk.

I checked a random video, and this guy talks well- look at the video at the 8-second mark for driving impressions.

https://youtu.be/guz74n73xX4

[acedriver_9000]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

It's not going to drive like an X5 but in the context of our roads, it does look that RRS will be a better/ practical option.

Thanks a ton Turbanator for your detailed response. I have been a big fan of your posts, and gained a lot of knowledge about bmw cars reading your posts over the years. I also feel for our roads and current price difference RR sport is a better choice.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

The quality of leather...

I think BMW has better leather. BMW has merino leather on X5 while Rangerover sport has windsor leather, which I think is comparable to Nappa leather of bmw. Apologies if I'm wrong. I do remember your post where you were complaining about leather in your pre-Lci X5.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I checked a random video, and this guy talks well- look at the video at the 8-second mark for driving impressions.

X5 in this video has standard steel springs. So, I don't think it can be compared to air suspension. When I test drove X5 with air suspension, I felt suspension was extremely comfortable over potholed roads even with RFT tires. So do you think RR sport will be significantly better?

If a bmw fanboy like you is suggesting RR sport, then I think I should give it a serious thought.

[samyakmodi]

slight OT : Has anyone here tried the rear seat of RR Sport?
I tried it last week and getting out is literally painful. The rear wheel arches protrude a tad too much and getting out of the car is a pain! Maybe they could have made the doors open wider for easier egress but with the huge wheel arches plus the door opening angle - there is barely 12 inches of space left for anyone to get out the car without hitting their thigh on arch. Because of the car's height (even in access mode where it sits down completely) I found it worryingly uncomfortable.

[acedriver_9000]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

slight OT : Has anyone here tried the rear seat of RR Sport?
I tried it last week and getting out is literally painful. The rear wheel arches protrude a tad too much and getting out of the car is a pain! Maybe they could have made the doors open wider for easier egress but with the huge wheel arches plus the door opening angle - there is barely 12 inches of space left for anyone to get out the car without hitting their thigh on arch. Because of the car's height (even in access mode where it sits down completely) I found it worryingly uncomfortable.

With deployable side steps, I think that shouldn't be a problem. The car I checked out at showroom didn't have any side steps, but still I didn't feel anything peculiar/uncomfortable. Infact that's a bit of concern in the X5 because of no access mode, plus wide running boards.

[samyakmodi]

Originally Posted by acedriver_9000

With deployable side steps, I think that shouldn't be a problem. The car I checked out at showroom didn't have any side steps, but still I didn't feel anything peculiar/uncomfortable. Infact that's a bit of concern in the X5 because of no access mode, plus wide running boards.

I tried it with the deployable sidestep. It's quiet short towards the rear hence the problem (maybe?)
And it costs a whooping 5 lacs !!

[14000rpm]

2019 Range Rover Sport (L494) owner here.

My take - Get the RRS.
Looks great, feels great, drives great, rides great.

It does so well in many areas that it's niggles too become acceptable.
''Teda hein, par mera hein'' types.

In 2 years my L494 will come up for replacement and it's successor will be the L461. I have no doubt in it.

This after having driven many X5s, GLE's and XC90's.

[acedriver_9000]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Looks great, feels great, drives great, rides great.

It does so well in many areas that it's niggles too become acceptable.
''Teda hein, par mera hein'' types.

I have read your Brit Bloke's review. It was an interesting read.

Is range rover sport that much more special over the competition? I think design, high driving position make it special right?

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

This after having driven many X5s, GLE's and XC90's.

In your review you never made any comparison with other cars. so can you please elaborate?

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

In 2 years my L494 will come up for replacement and it's successor will be the L461. I have no doubt in it.

How would you rate L461 compared to L494? Design wise, In what ways its better & in what ways its worse. I would like to hear about that from a L494 owner.

[kashesh]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Looks great, feels great, drives great, rides great.

I will second this. I owned a X5 G05 M40i for over 2 years and I upgraded to a Defender L663 HSE. On paper everything felt like a downgrade (3 liter vs 2 liter) all while paying 1.5 times more! Both has air suspension but Defender feels more balanced and handles its weight better than the X5 does. We always felt pushed around on curves in the X5. The best upgrade from X5 would have been a RR sports.

The wait time on a Defender with 3 liter X variant was upwards of 8~10 months and we settled for a 2 liter. Back then the RRS was above our budget, but with the CKD now, its a very sweet offering. If only i waited couple of months but i have no regrets. I am regardless very happy with the Defender and the rugged feel.

It's not just about high position but the whole package. Everything is a upgrade.