This summer, I'm getting a Range Rover for my birthday. I have a few questions before I'm completely committed to this decision, because I have to tell my dad my final decision soon.

First off, the leather trimming kind of concerns me. How comfortable are the Oxford and Blenheim leathers? Are they more comfortable than GM's new leather in their NBS Escalades?
How big of a difference is the comfort if I go with the Supercharged? I understand it has Oxford leather, as opposed to the Blenheim leather in the HSE.

Secondly, I know the Land Rover name is famous for their vehicles' off-road capabilities. Though I won't be doing that much in my Rover when I get it, I would like to know how much it can handle and how easy it is to switch between the "modes" it has and everything. Mom's ESV is a NIGHTMARE sometimes to get it between 2WD and AWD. We had a lot of trouble with it when we really needed it, so I know that in comparison Range Rovers should be a lot easier to handle.

Also, how good is the sound system compared to 14-speaker Bose system? Does the Range Rover have an AUX input, or better yet, iPod compatibility? Satellite radio?
What all can you control with the navigation system? I like the dual glove box control, that sounds really neat.


I'm positive I'll have more questions later but this is it for now. Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance!

 

Disregard the AUX and satellite radio questions, found my answer on the Landrover.com site.

 

Land Rover is the premier off-road manufacturer. A stock RR will outperform any other stock vehicle. 4wd is always active on Rovers and switching between the modes just requires a turn of the **** and a few seconds for it to kick in. And the low range, which most car manufacturers leave out (including Caddy), is an absolute life saver. Rovers can handle more then most people feel comfortable even trying.

As to leather... I found the Oxford is a bit more comfortable when I bought my autobiography and, as the salespeople claim, holds up a bit better. It' really not that big a difference though. Rovers have always, well at least since the P38s, been extremely comfortable.

 

Okay great. In my mom's Caddy, you have to be in park or driving 2-8MPH, something like that, in order to shift between modes. Is it like that with the Range Rover? Or can you just be driving at any speed and switch between modes as you please?

I like the Autobiography edition, how much different is it compared to the Supercharged/Turbocharged Range Rover? The Oxford leather sounds like a good choice, is there an option for the black seats with that tan piping if I get a Supercharged?

Being that it is always in 4WD, how good is the mileage? It isn't a concern really, but I want to know how much time I'll spending at the gas pump. My father knows of a business that has some sort of hydrogen system they can install into vehicles, guaranteed to at least double the MPG, so we're even gonna check into that once I get my Rover. Hopefully the mileage isn't as bad as an ESV or I might consider something like an LR3 if it makes a difference [I also like the vista roof and extra seating].

Does the Range Rover have a power or manual liftgate, or is it like the LR3's?

 

For gear switching you should be in neutral but for mode switches you can do it on the fly. It wont let you put it into say rock crawl mode if you're going over 30mph (might be 25 but it's something like that) because the suspension could potentially be damaged. Well I think it actually lets you select rock crawl mode and adjusts the differential settings but it is supposed to be in low gear for rock crawl mode and mud/ruts.

I can't completely really comment on the North American version of the Autobiography. I imported mine when I was overseas on business so I could customize the interior to the color and wood combo I wanted. I'm a bit picky. But I have seen one at the dealership and I can say that the only noticeable difference was the seats. The NAS autobiography has updated seats that are actually quite a bit nicer then other RR's. I don't think it really justifies the insane price increase though. The engine is the same as the S/C and there's more leather, more wood choices, blah blah blah. I'm not in the market for a new one soon so I was ust looking and there may be more to it. Not sure if you can get tan piping on the S/C. Should be on the website.

Mileage is around 14mpg. It's bad but comparable to other similar SUVs at least.

Unfortunately, the RR has a manual tailgate but it is a split gate which makes it easier then most SUVs tailgates. I actually prefer LR keeping the manual split gate versus a one-piece power.

Regards