[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Congratulations 14000rpm for the Range Rover Sport and loved the detailed write-up! I had seen the thread a while back but could not respond as we were travelling in Europe with our Black Brit Bloke Good to see the Land Rover tribe growing! Wish you many many happy miles with the RRS.

All the best from the elder brother

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Woohoo. the OG's are here. the Man and the Machine.

Thanks Bud. I'm sure you've got your eyes on all things Range Rover.

Black Brit Bloke aka B3. Sounds like a nice name.
Hope it did well on your trip to what seems like the alps. I like it that you keep stretching it's legs whenever possible as it should. It's a great Grand Tourer.

I missed my chance to stretch Brit Bloke's legs this summer of '23. Rented a car for a my Czechia, Austria, Swiss and Germany road trip. still regret not having driven all the way.

[14000rpm]

Winter is here a bit earlier than last year. Time to Switch to Winter tires.



Also, managed to buy this quilted fully fitted boot liner from a company in UK that custom manufactures such Mats for all cars. I hate cleaning pet hair from nooks and crannies. I hadn't taken Bongo along with us till this was installed and he is a happy Dog now.



While at it, time for reflections.

It has been about 8 months since owning the Brit Bloke and I must say - I am thoroughly enjoying it.
I still look back at passing by Range Rover Sports forgetting that I am driving one too. lol.

Whenever I travel abroad and get back home, I look forward to driving it.
The overall fuel efficiency is great too. At last fill, I got 29 Kmpl. Truth be told, I mostly drove within city and on EV for the most part.

The great Stuff -

• The ride quality- sublime
• the NVH tuning - optimal
• The sound system- mind-bogglingly good,
• The heated/Cooled/Ventilated and massage seats - simply outstanding and a joy to sit in.
• The Camera's all around- Very effective.
• Remote Climate control - a True blessing.
• Matrix LED headlights - Highly adaptive and effective.

All in all - an awesome grand tourer.

The Not so Great stuff-

• The EV part of the Brit Bloke- The pure EV range is never predictable. eg: I lose 3 kms of EV range when I have driven only 1 km. It is mostly to do with the battery heating system which doesn't seem very effective. In comparison, my neighbors Volvo XC90 PHEV is very predictable even in winter.
  
• Practicality - Now that I have gone past the Euphoria of having bought it, I now see compromises when I have my Dog in the boot, have 5 passengers and have some shopping bags. then it is a tight fit.
• This very use case was no-problem in the KIA Sorento.
  
• Ergonomics- I find using the arm rest, a very Land Rover/Range Rover feature, really improve the comfort. Love the seating position with it in place. However, that takes care of my right arm. what about the left arm? It has no arm rest for itself. I need to rest on the door edge. This position leaves me a bit twisted. When I am on the highway and simply cruising with not much steering movement, using the arm rest is awesome and improves comfort significantly. City driving - I now keep the arm rest folded out.
  
• Retractable Tow hook - the battery position in the PHEV makes fitment of the OEM Retractable Tow hook impossible. There is just no place. Therefore it just sticks out in it's permanent position. Its an aesthetics' thing and nothing else.

The misses-
Clearly I chose Luxury over features. When I was closing the deal, there was another non-autobiography model also for sale for similar price. I chose the Autobiography for the luxurious appointments. I don't regret the decision one bit but, in Hindsight, the other car had features that I now miss - Cold Weather Package which would have added Heated Steering, heated Windshield and heated Washer Jets.

[14000rpm]

I had my Daniel Mac moment last weekend.

For those who don't know, Daniel Mac is a youtube/Insta/TikTok-er who is famous for spotting supercars and shoving his mic into the drivers face and annoyingly ask -''what do you do for a living??''

My car is not a super car but it turns out, some aspire to own one. I did.

Last weekend I was out and about and I parked the Brit Bloke street-side and just got out and out of nowhere a young chap popped up in front of me and -
he: 'Hieno Auto !'
The first reaction I always have when I hear Finnish is 'Puhutko Englantia?' which is 'Do you speak English?'
he: 'it is a beautiful car. What do you do for a living?'
I was puzzled and started looking around if he's got a mic and a camera somewhere around and if he was the Finnish Daniel Mac. He didn't have any and I soon engaged in a brief conversation.
Me: I am in Sales.
he: what do you sell?
me: I'm in IT sales which means everything IT any company needs
he: any tips or guidance you have for me?
me: What do you study?
he: I don't study. I dropped out.
me: then how do you plan on buying any car?
he: Bill Gates dropped out and yet became successful.
me (puzzled whether or not I should continue anymore): Why do you want to drive a like mine?
he: To drive around with my friends.

at this moment, I noticed he had a very expensive Canada Goose Jacket and a iPhone pro Max. Deduced he probably idolizes Roadman Culture and hence the desire to have expensive goods. Broke conversation and moved on.

[14000rpm]

The 3 Stages of a Land Rover.

Mall Crawler - my RR Sport
Hauler - The L322 RR Sport.
Mad Rover - One upon a time it was a LR Discovery 2




With a V8.





It was coming up back from an off road event which I could go to - Arctic Truck Trials. Video from 2022 event.

https://youtu.be/wgl37-m4idE?si=hpKsfDCh42XqxSM-