[LRDSnTexas]

Traded in the "old" 2015 LRDS for a new 2017 Aintree Green LRDS yesterday. Off on a 325 miles drive today. We'll she how she does. Got lots of new toys to play with in the new one. Will post some new pics when I can. I had the 2015 LRDS for 22 months and 54,255 miles, seems like yesterday but also seems like I've been driving it forever.

:nerd:

 

[Phil]

Why did you trade it in after less than two years? Was it a short-term lease, problems with the car, I'm a guy that likes a brand new car every couple years, etc.?

 

[LRDSnTexas]

Phil:

Mileage. At 54k miles it was out of warranty. That's more miles than lots of folks drive in five years and I hit that mark in 22 months. It was my understanding that an extended warranty didn't cover all the same things. When I bought the car I was five miles from a dealership, now I live 325 miles from the nearest dealership. Although I never had to use it, under the original warranty if the car broke down in Timbuktu they would come and get it. Extended warranty - you are on your own to get it to them. Better to have that new car warranty where I live now...

Problems? Yes I had several little problems, two annoying recurring ones and one big one - new rear differential at about 20k miles. Read my other posts here. British eccentricities? I really like the car so I think it has been worth it. Not that much different really than the Jeeps I drove for 30 years.

Trip got postponed. May hit the road today. Will post an update when I can.

 

[4sallypat]

Congrats and great to hear LRDSnTexas!
I am in the same position - would not want to drive her past the warranty expiration myself...

My favorite color is the Aintree Green and beige interior and had an opportunity when I first started looking - it was a color combo that is traditional British.

Seems like a rare color to see - I haven't seen one on Los Angeles for the past 2 years myself....

Did you get the SE, HSE or HSE Lux ?
Which options did you get ?

 

[petcha]

I like that green a lot too. I never thought I would, but I saw a range rover at the dealership the other day in green. It's really a sharp and a nice dark shade. Esp with black trim. Might be a polarizing resell, but I'm a fan for sure!

 

[LRDSnTexas]

If you go with the Aintree Green and get the beige interior be sure to get the black headliner, it really made the interior pop. Car looks great, enjoying it so far. Made my trip yesterday. Three days old and has 350 miles already. Seems to drive better than the 2015 - always had driving/acceleration issues with the transmission in the 2015, the 2017 just seems smoother. Mileage on the highway was about 2 mpg better than anything I ever saw in the 2015. Will update more later.

 

[LRDSnTexas]

Thought I'd jump in with an update. 25 days into the vehicle now, just under 2k miles.

Drives WAY better than the 2015 - acceleration and handling both (wonder what they changed?). Continental tires on this one versus Perelli on the 2015 (which I replaced at 35k miles). Difficult to say exactly but seems a bit noisier with the Continentals. This one has the "Dynamic" driving mode in addition to the usual off-road stuff. Only tried Dynamic for a little while - way too sporty for me but will give it another go under different circumstances. Way better information on 4x4 screen as to what the car is actually doing with the all-wheel drive.

Gas mileage is noticeably better (I only drive in S Mode). Fuel tank reserve is noticeably smaller, less than one gallon, maybe barely more than one-half gallon. On the 2015, even after the fuel gauge software/calibration update I still would have 1.5 gals left at 0 miles - not on this car, going to have to be much more careful. Fuel also goes into the tank much easier - I can actually use the automatic feature on the nozzle. By the time I traded in the 2015 I was having to manually hold the nozzle on its minimum flow setting to get gas into the tank - took forever and still kept tripping the automatic cut off in the handle frequently no matter how empty or full the tank. Nice to have this convenience back...

Noticeably better speakers (Meridian). Haven't got all the kinks worked out of the new electronics (voice recognition not working) but really do like the blind spot monitoring. Haven't been able to try the parking assist stuff yet - that should be an adventure. Haven't had a single SD Card Read Error yet - but that didn't start on the last car until about 10k miles either.

Hate to jinx it but also no "Engine Check Light" errors yet either.

Loving the Aintree Green - pretty car.

More later!

 

[Mostraiarq]

also seems like I've been driving it forever.

 

[LRDSnTexas]

13.5k Mile Update

Yep, that's right, just passed 13.5k miles. Scheduled 20k service for 30-Oct, mileage racking up even faster in the 2017 than the 2015 model.

No check engine light, no SD card read errors, so far anyway.

Voice recognition started working after a system update at 10k mile service.

Still think it drives WAY better than the 2015 and the mileage has continued to get better. Best ever mileage was a recent trip that averaged 70mph, I'll have to check but I think it was almost 29mpg, probably real gas without that ethanol crapola...

I'll try and get some new photos posted and be back more often for updates but no news is good news!

:nerd:

 

[Maverick]

Thought I'd jump in with an update. 25 days into the vehicle now, just under 2k miles.

Drives WAY better than the 2015 - acceleration and handling both (wonder what they changed?). Continental tires on this one versus Perelli on the 2015 (which I replaced at 35k miles). Difficult to say exactly but seems a bit noisier with the Continentals. This one has the "Dynamic" driving mode in addition to the usual off-road stuff. Only tried Dynamic for a little while - way too sporty for me but will give it another go under different circumstances. Way better information on 4x4 screen as to what the car is actually doing with the all-wheel drive.

Gas mileage is noticeably better (I only drive in S Mode). Fuel tank reserve is noticeably smaller, less than one gallon, maybe barely more than one-half gallon. On the 2015, even after the fuel gauge software/calibration update I still would have 1.5 gals left at 0 miles - not on this car, going to have to be much more careful. Fuel also goes into the tank much easier - I can actually use the automatic feature on the nozzle. By the time I traded in the 2015 I was having to manually hold the nozzle on its minimum flow setting to get gas into the tank - took forever and still kept tripping the automatic cut off in the handle frequently no matter how empty or full the tank. Nice to have this convenience back...

Noticeably better speakers (Meridian). Haven't got all the kinks worked out of the new electronics (voice recognition not working) but really do like the blind spot monitoring. Haven't been able to try the parking assist stuff yet - that should be an adventure. Haven't had a single SD Card Read Error yet - but that didn't start on the last car until about 10k miles either.

Hate to jinx it but also no "Engine Check Light" errors yet either.

Loving the Aintree Green - pretty car.

More later!

You mentioned you have the Dynamics package which include the magna shocks. The difference even in standard mode are most likely related to the better shocks. Those dampers are adjusted electronically and even in the standard mode I believe they are electronically controlled.

 

[LRDSnTexas]

30k mile update

My new 2017 LRDS is now 11 months old. Going in for 30k mile service tomorrow, car has 29.6k miles on it as of this evening. Knock on wood but no issues other than an annoying rattle in the cargo cover we can't seem to eliminate. No check engine lights, no rear diff issues and other than the cargo cover issue, car is still very tight. Ride much improved over 2015 and transmission performs WAY better. Still has the turbo lag and some issues accelerating out of slow turns but much better than previous 2015. I see that the 2018 has a slightly more powerful engine option that I would love to try.

I ALWAYS drive in SPORT mode (except in off-road modes), car performs better and gas mileage difference seem immaterial. I also NEVER leave the car in Auto Stop/Start mode, can't stand that in stop and go traffic.

Been driving this car over a lot of off-road Texas Hill Country rocks and tall grass, the mud ruts mode works best. Also a lot of gravel roads and the snow mode is amazing on this surface. Would be very cool if these cars had the adjustable height system on the Discovery and Range Rovers - I've banged a LOT of rocks but nothing seems worse for the wear other than my pride.

I am having to replace the front camera - I think a rock got it on a long interstate drive a while back. I have been informed that this will be about a $1k replacement cost! Oh my!


At this rate I'll be in a new car about the time the 2019's come out. Big decision - I've driven the Discovery diesels and really like them. I could sure use the cargo space in the new Discovery and do like the better off-road features available but I'll miss the maneuverability of the LRDS in tight spaces. Right now I do not like the color choices currently available in either model (exteriors and interiors with the cooled seats) so am holding off on ordering a new one until I see what becomes available for 2019.

:nerd:

 

[Paul]

Yep, that's right, just passed 13.5k miles. Scheduled 20k service for 30-Oct, mileage racking up even faster in the 2017 than the 2015 model.

No check engine light, no SD card read errors, so far anyway.

Voice recognition started working after a system update at 10k mile service.

Still think it drives WAY better than the 2015 and the mileage has continued to get better. Best ever mileage was a recent trip that averaged 70mph, I'll have to check but I think it was almost 29mpg, probably real gas without that ethanol crapola...

I'll try and get some new photos posted and be back more often for updates but no news is good news!

:nerd:

Congrats on the purchase...surely you are on the roll with those cars...LOL...next should be the Ingenium I4....and before you know, you will be trading that for Ingenium I6 (not out yet)
As for your reviews....hate to be questioning the "feelings" but.... the 2015 and 2017 as far as transmission and engine go are the same... so any differences (as far as speed / responsiveness / mpg) you are reporting are purely placebo or just the differences due to the fact that maybe the software should have been updated during your service visits on the 2015 to make it the same as your current 2017....but it never had been done...

Physics are unforgiving... the 2015 and 2017 can't be "significantly" different...assuming all software updates are applied and any issues/ engine errors are fixed....even then, we probably talking about minute differences...

Most important - your DS is worry free ....and if you think 2017 is improvement over 2015....you will be amazed at the Ingenium.

 

[LRDSnTexas]

Paul:

Agreed it is probably the transmission software. A service manager explained to me that they cannot "reset" the adaptive transmission after about 5-10k miles because it also learns from wear on mechanical components as well as driving style. It might shut down the transmission on such a high mileage reset since it could interpret wear as a fault.

I do think any updates to the software have had a significant impact and the adaptive transmission on the 2017 model may have been able to take it from there. For whatever reason the 2017 has never had the driving/performance issues that the 2015 had.

You are also correct in that I can't wait to try the Ingenium.

 

[LRDSnTexas]

P.S. Between the two 2015 and 2017 models I've now driven just under 85k miles in an LRDS over the past 33 months.