P400 is great. I've had multiple other LR's w/ that 5.0 SC v8 and couldn't stomach another one and the bull**** 80k mile life of that motor. P400 is better suited and more modern for the L663 platform, in my opinion. Exhaust is great, otherwise... btdt. Paddle shifters are nice though.

V8 is like ... exactly like my 2014 RRS. And my 2010 RRS. And my 2017 SVR. And my 2013 RRS. And in non SC trim like my 2010 LR4. And my 2013 LR4.

 

^This. I did get one Ford-based LR4 V8 to 200K miles but it required replacing the stupid plastic coolant lines twice as they dry out, get brittle and crumble. Plus 2 leaking valve cover gasket repairs that dripped oil into the alternator and killed 2 alternators and batteries. Ever see how many nice LR4's are for sale for $10K that need a $12K engine?

P400 seems to be built far better and the 110 in sport mode feels far faster than the LR4 V8. I drive the Merritt Parkway a lot and have no problem with the 50 foot long on-ramps in sport mode.

 

The AJ133 V8 is actually a completely in-house Jaguar design. Many people think it is related to the 5.0 Coyote V8, but it isn't. It was developed under Ford's ownership of JLR and was manufactured in by Ford for JLR at their Bridgend plant in Wales until 2020, when production was moved to JLR's Wolverhampton engine factory after Ford closed down Bridgend.

I absolutely love the 5.0, and I'm seriously considering an F-Type R for my first sports car if I can't find the right 981 Boxster. I did not like the problems like you mentioned. I went through three sets of coolant lines in the ten years and 95k miles I had my LR4. I would happily own another one, but I'd replace all coolant lines with aftermarket metal ones, which are easily available. They also have recently updated the main plastic crossover pipe to be more durable, but only time will tell.

 

Couldn't resist to commiserate with you on the LR4 valve cover leak killing an alternator. Mine happened to die in the middle of a busy street in Charleston SC while we were on a family vacation 200+ miles from home On it's way out the alternator belt destroyed my AC condenser as well, good times

 

Just finished reading your post and was unsure about a few items you noted. What is the ‘pedestrian night vision’ you refer to? And ‘traffic jam assist’. That is a feature I never heard of. I’ll welcome anything that eliminates a traffic backup. How is that employed? And as far as your mention of the Defender lacking ‘Emergency stop assistance’, it does have Emergency Braking, if that is what you are referring to. If not, please explain, as I have not heard of that term.

 

Night vision is literally night vision. It has been a feature in many high-end German cars for the past 20 years or so. It uses a night vision camera in the bumper or grille and can detect animals, pedestrians and other obstacles further than the headlight beam. See the picture below from an Audi Q7. I don't have it on my Q7, as it was around a $3000 stand-alone option IIRC, and while cool, I didn't think it was worth it.




Traffic Jam Assist usually refers to the combination of full-speed adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist working together to keep the car centered in a traffic jam under 40 mph, which is the industry standard. It basically is a level 2 semi-autonomous driving assistant for low speeds. I have it in my Audi, and I could care less about it. I've maybe used it three times in the seven years I've had it. I can drive my car myself better than it can drive itself, thank you very much.

 

I've got a 20 year old Raytheon night vision setup on my daily, and I've used it maybe 5 times, all have been with people in the truck and being like "watch me drive my truck at night with the sunvisor blocking my entire view of the road".... aka never has it proven a value-added feature.

I can see the traffic jam assist being helpful if you drive in congested areas with lots of stop and go traffic but - being in software development myself, and being friends with self-driving car developers - I wouldn't trust any of these systems a single iota. Remember, it can work 99.9% of the time, but that 0.1% only has to happen once for it to really ruin your day (or your life).

 

Sorry to hear you had that happen on vacation. I was 40 minutes from the closest dealer when the giant battery symbol lit up on the LR4 dashboard and barely made it there on battery power. It's as if these vehicles know when to act evil. On a family vacation trip to the Jersey shore with the LR3 packed, the entire dashboard became the Christmas tree of death while on the George Washington bridge and it went into limp mode. I crawled down the breakdown lane to the next rest stop and thankfully had a spare brake pedal switch in the glove box. It was a known issue that this $39 FoMoCo part would fail and shut down the LR3.