2010 Range Rover Supercharged

[Jake]

My grand plans to move into the District require downsizing to just one street car. Obviously, the convertible needs to go. I thought about keeping the F150, but it's just tall and long enough to be annoying in city driving - especially for underground parking, which will be the parking situation wherever I end up living. 

So, back to a bigish SUV. I wanted something "nice," that would tow well but also be good for road trips and errands and such. My shopping list and thoughts:

• Porsche Cayenne GTS (first gen) - cramped inside, felt kind of slow, people paid how much for this when it was new?
  
• Audi Q7 - the plumbing aisle at Home Depot is more interesting to look at than this, interior feels ooold
  
• VW Touareg (first gen) - tough to find one with a V8, similar cramped interior as the Cayenne
  
• Jeep Grand Cherokee (2013+) - hard, uncomfortable seats and trim already falling off the one I drove with just 15k miles
  
• BMW X5 (E70, 2011-2013) - the V8s all go kaboom and the diesels eat every piece of emissions equipment repeatedly, requires aftermarket hitch to tow as much as the others
  
• Dodge Durango (the newish one) - it's a stretched JGC, didn't even drive one as the looks kind of put me off
  

The X5 was at the top of my list, because if you get one that's running right, they are sublime to drive. But you also see a lot of dealership for-sale ads with the CEL lit and I heard a ton of horror stories that basically amounted to "unless you're married to the idea of one, don't do it." Most of the diesels also came very sparsely equipped, which made it impossible to find one with the nicer sport seats and more stylish wheels.

I briefly considered an Expedition, but figured at that point I might as well just keep the F150 as it's close in size.

Several friends own or have owned Land Rovers, so I started doing some research there. The LR4 and full-size Range Rover share the same 114" wheelbase, which is long enough to tow with. Although the L322 Range Rover was released in 2003 under BMW's ownership of the company, it got revamped in 2006 when BMW got out and Ford took ownership. Ford then spun off their luxury brands around 2008, and Tata Motors took over both Jaguar and Land Rover.

2010 saw the introduction of the Jaguar 5.0L V8 in the LR4 and RR, and it's proven to be pretty reliable. The Range Rovers in general became more reliable starting in the Ford era, according to some friends who either sell them or work on them for a living. I took a few test drives and each one further cemented the idea that a Range Rover was somehow the best idea.

I must have driven about eight naturally-aspirated 2010-2012s, all at small-time dealerships that specialize in auction cars. None of them were worth buying. Oh, and I only wanted gray or blue paint because I'm picky, dammit. I knew Maserati of Arlington had a blue one on their lot, but the miles were a bit higher than I was initially shopping. 

On Friday, I figured "what the hell, it's on the way home" and stopped in. It was wearing a fresh set of Michelins and had been traded in by a local owner on a Levante. The Carfax listed a lot of the maintenance that had been performed and it has been kept up pretty well. And the price was right.

They cleaned it up and I brought it home Saturday afternoon. It's a 2010 with 94k miles (lots of FS ads had them far into the 150k range, so I feel good about longevity). Buckingham Blue paint with tan seats, blue piping, blue carpets and cherry wood trim. It is a Lux package, which adds air-conditioned seats, a wood steering wheel, a 720 watt Logic7 sound system, and who-knows-what other options. It has the same shifter and sunroof controls as an E38 BMW and the radiator hoses and oil filter cap are stamped with "FoMoCo."

And it's supercharged. Sweet Jesus it is fast. Land Rover rated it at 510 hp but allegedly they dyno a bit high. Regardless, it is plenty punchy.

I've ordered a trailer brake controller and the associated wiring - it's all plug-and-play - and should have it all wired up to tow in the next few days.

Looking forward to seeing how it treats me. So far I have made it about 50 miles with no issues.

[ViPER1313]

I am legitimately interested in how this plays out. I love the look of these, and they are super cheap to buy initially, but the stories of crazy repair bills scare the hell out of me. Hope it treats you well.

[davej]

 So far I have made it about 50 miles with no issues.

:lol: Here's to hoping for another 50! :beer:
Great buy, Jake. I bet it's comfortable as hell and you'll be ready for soccer practice in dc a moment's notice. I'm guessing it has north of 400tq? you probably won't even know there's a car/trailer behind you.

[Jake]

 So far I have made it about 50 miles with no issues.

:lol: Here's to hoping for another 50! :beer:
Great buy, Jake. I bet it's comfortable as hell and you'll be ready for soccer practice in dc a moment's notice. I'm guessing it has north of 400tq? you probably won't even know there's a car/trailer behind you.

461 ft-lb at 2500 rpm. It's quick.

[.RJ]

[ispoonwithmugen]

Nice pickup! I've always love them... I need acceleration videos ASAP to live vicariously through you. The last two LR I had barely made it to 70mph.

[Apoc]

Shoulda got a CX-5

[CaptainHenreh]

I mean ok then!

Party on, Jake.

[Goodspeed]

I can only respond in pictures to this one

[Jake]

Accurate.

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[Beej]

Ballin'! This could be a very interesting thread, though for your sake I hope it's not.  These have always had a certain appeal, I dig'em.

You must be the automotive sales tax champion.

[ScottyB]

what's up, 2010-blue-high-mileage-new-used-car-buddy?

Land Rover rated it at 510 hp

good freakin grief i had no idea what kind of numbers these actually made.  sounds like the perfect DC beltway assault vehicle!

[Jake]

what's up, 2010-blue-high-mileage-new-used-car-buddy?

Land Rover rated it at 510 hp

good freakin grief i had no idea what kind of numbers these actually made.  sounds like the perfect DC beltway assault vehicle!

Hey buddy! Hopefully mine is as cheap to maintain as yours 

So far, I'm learning that you can shoot whatever gap you find in traffic, although you will probably look like a dick for doing so. It's also weird to drive something so quick that handles so truck-like.

I spent Saturday evening and part of Sunday driving around DC proper and gas mileage reflects that. It's thirsty although no more than my F150.

The Logic7 sound system is by Harman Kardon. 14 speakers and 720 watts, all the better for blasting 90s pop in traffic.


All of my trailer wiring stuff should be here in another day or so, and the E36 needs a trip to Uncle Deren, so I'll be seeing how she tows soon.

[Jake]

Oh, and the key for this thing is comically large. Apparently you can make the newer L405 keys work on the L322 but I haven't figured out how yet. They're smaller and I suspect the privilege would come at a multi-hundred-dollar cost.



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[WRXtranceformed]

Yes!!!

Same engine that was in my XFR, such a beast. You will enjoy, even if it bursts into flames. I honestly think you'll be fine powertrain wise, just be super anal about maintenance and do it at a good dealer IMO. Too much can go wrong and it can get real expensive real quick if you try to go the shadetree route.

[Jake]

Yes!!!

Same engine that was in my XFR, such a beast.  You will enjoy, even if it bursts into flames.  I honestly think you'll be fine powertrain wise, just be super anal about maintenance and do it at a good dealer IMO.  Too much can go wrong and it can get real expensive real quick if you try to go the shadetree route.

People say to listen for odd noises at cold start and mine sounds very normal. A little tapatapatap-y if you listen closely, but that's a DI motor for ya. My Focus ST sounded identical in that regard. 

There is a shop near my apartment called Overland 4x4 that exclusively works on Land Rovers and has a lot of knowledge of this platform. I suspect I will end up using them for most work.

RangeRovers.net has been a good source of info so far, as has the Facebook group I found.

[Deceus]

Between you and Taylor I'm seriously considering selling off the family 4 door and tow rig and just combining the two into one vehicle.

[WRXtranceformed]

Yes!!!

Same engine that was in my XFR, such a beast.  You will enjoy, even if it bursts into flames.  I honestly think you'll be fine powertrain wise, just be super anal about maintenance and do it at a good dealer IMO.  Too much can go wrong and it can get real expensive real quick if you try to go the shadetree route.

People say to listen for odd noises at cold start and mine sounds very normal. A little tapatapatap-y if you listen closely, but that's a DI motor for ya. My Focus ST sounded identical in that regard. 

There is a shop near my apartment called Overland 4x4 that exclusively works on Land Rovers and has a lot of knowledge of this platform. I suspect I will end up using them for most work.

RangeRovers.net has been a good source of info so far, as has the Facebook group I found.

Nice!  As long as you trust them, feel them out you should be good then.   That noise is totally normal, my Jag had the same DI ticking.  The one thing that may be a little rough to source is the oil.   Jag used a special blend / weight of Castrol iirc that was cheap at the dealer but really expensive to find elsewhere.  Just an fyi!  

For aftermarket if you do any mods, look at VelocityAP and Mina Gallery.  I had the MG exhaust if you remember

[CaptainHenreh]

So how do you take your tea?

[Jake]

So how do you take your tea?

With liquor, ideally.