sport mode == don't-care-about-gas-saving mode

Sport mode=does not make a difference in downshifting. I've tried every possible combination to try to get the 2-1 downshift sooner and nothing works except time. You can shift manually but that's a PIA for daily driving

At speeds higher than 10-15 mph or so, the sport mode behaves how one would expect. It holds RPMs higher when shifting, and it proactively downshifts when slowing to again keep those RPMs higher. That lower speed is where it falls on its face.

Exactly....which is where you need it most on rolling stops. The 1 to 2 second hesitation is going to get someone T-boned because there's no power pulling into traffic. Yield signs merges are especially bad.

I have had 2 very dangerous and scary situations already. I have come to expect it now, so I try not to put myself in those situations. It still does catch me, and it usually results in my foot going much further on the gas and the car lurching forward when it eventually catches up. Hopefully they realize this issue soon.

This could be a relatively easy change if it weren't for the possible fuel economy hit. Fleet mandates in the states and the vw/Audi trickery probably have engineers watching such things closely.

What's the pull away from stationary like? I haven't felt the 2 to 1 lurch in mine. But we do notice when pulling away that there can be a second or more hesitation when we put foot down before it moves. Once moving it's responsive but that initial pull away needs us to push quite far on the pedal. And if we push too hard then it tends to jump forward...
Having it looked at next week. Wondering if others have felt this in case we are told it's normal

I just got the 2018 SE and noticed this awful shift delay after a few days of driving. I wish I had caught this during the test drive as it would be a definitive showstopper for me.

Having driven plenty of cars, including LR4, this is not normal by any means. It requires conscious effort to anticipate this delay every time when accelerating from a slow speed, such as turning left yielding to traffic.

After I complained, the dealership claimed to install the updated transmission firmware, which resulted in a very small improvement. I also tried to reset the adaptive transmission learned behavior (there are procedures I found online), but I haven't noticed any improvement whatsoever.

I believe this is a bug (or a fuel-saving feature) that has to be addressed by Land Rover if enough people will complain. Hopefully nobody will be seriously hurt because of this.

When coming to a stop (or less than 5mph or so) it stays in 2nd. If you come to a complete stop and wait about 2 seconds you can feel it downshift to 1st and then taking off is fine. The problem is when you just slow to a crawl and try to accelerate (like a merge at a circle) it is in 2nd and hesitates for a good second or 2 before you start moving. No combination of settings makes it go away.

Can you post the rest procedures you did, please?