issues/questions after 6000 miles on 2012

[wayne]

So, we now have about 6,000 miles on the clock on our new LR4 HSE and there are some issues troubling me.

(1) Oil and Oil changes. I just cannot see waiting 15,000 miles to change oil! I did a change at 3,000 using Mobil 1 5/20 extended milage; according to mobil this meets/exceeds the recommended Castrol, which I could not find for sale anywhere, including the dealer. Now the questions:is a 5/20 oil really good travelling Death Valley in the summer with 120 deg outside temperature? Somehow I doubt it. I use Mobile 1 15/50 on my 1999 Range Rover under those conditions. Also, what is the oil usage I should expect on the LR4 5 liter motor? At the moment, it seems to use about 1/2 quart in 3,000 miles. This seems high to me; driving is mixed town/freeway. What do you think?

(2) Sport mode in the transmission. I generally travel in drive mode on the freeways, but occasionally I would like to use the sport mode which keeps the engine rpm a bit higher for a given speed and generally improves the driveability of the vehicle on curvy country roads. Now the issue. If I am traveling about 40-50 mph in drive, and then slide into sport mode, the engine revs to about 3,000 rpm and just sits there. Really, 3k rpm at 40 mph is a bit much. This does not happen if I start in sport mode from a stop.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Quijote]

I don't yet have an LR4 so my comment is a general one. I will skip your first concern because I don't have to deal with desert temperatures in the northeast. But I will say that I would never let more than 7500 miles go by. I had/have free service with my BMW's every 15k, but I always did one on my own at 7500 miles. 15k is crazy.

As far as the transmission, generally I have never liked any automatic transmission - sport mode or not. I had a V70R with a 6-speed auto and the sport mode was infuriating. I am not alone. Check any road test by reputable people and almost unanimously they will all say you are better off leaving it in drive. The transmissions are seldom smart to know what you want to do. That said, I am glad the option is there purely so that I can prevent the transmission from up-shifting in very specific situations when I don't want it to.

That said, 3krpm is not "high." I have 3 modern manual transmission cars and I am basically never below 2500rpm. If I am in a sporty mood or expect action (fluctuating traffic and speeds in the highway) I will want to keep then engine on boil and hang out at 3000-3500rpm. This is still just regular driving. During fun drives, my cars see red line (or near) often. I see nothing wrong with "Sport" mode hanging out at 3krpm.

But really, this is a nearly 6000lb SUV that doesn't handle well. I would honestly just leave in drive and cruise. That's my personal opinion. I have other cars for sporty driving. And if I had to pick one car, it would not be the LR4 because I like performance cars too much.

 

[wayne]

Quijote:

If you drive a LR4 with the 375 hp/375ft/lb, 5.0 liter motor, you may change your mind about its performance level. This thing is very quick and nimble, surprisingly so. The direct injection, 4valve/cyl, variable valve timing is pretty cutting edge, and really moves that 6000 lbs around easily. There are two modes to the 6 speed auto: (1) sport, (2) command. In command, you can lock it in a specific gear. For sport, the one I was asking about, it just reprograms the shift points and moves you up the torque curve a little so you can really use the full torque of that sweet motor.

 

[Quijote]

Quijote:

If you drive a LR4 with the 375 hp/375ft/lb, 5.0 liter motor, you may change your mind about its performance level. This thing is very quick and nimble, surprisingly so. The direct injection, 4valve/cyl, variable valve timing is pretty cutting edge, and really moves that 6000 lbs around easily. There are two modes to the 6 speed auto: (1) sport, (2) command. In command, you can lock it in a specific gear. For sport, the one I was asking about, it just reprograms the shift points and moves you up the torque curve a little so you can really use the full torque of that sweet motor.

I've driven it multiple times. My 230hp BMW 328 M-Sport wagon with a puny 200lb-ft will absolutely demolish it in any performance metric imaginable that is worth a damn as far as driving fun is concerned. My wife's 168hp Mini Cooper S (sports suspension, limited slip) is arguably even more fun. Then there is my Porsche 911 Turbo, which, ironically, as spectacular a supercar as it is, I don't think is more fun than my previous Boxster S was. But it is a LOT faster. I am not even bothering listing my previous V70R (300hp/300lb-ft on a very-low-to-the-ground 4000lb car car with Ohlin shocks and Brembo brakes) because it was significantly more un-fun compared to my other cars. And all these cars rode on sticky, low-profile summer tires.

The LR4 has punch from a sweet, powerful V8. It's a great engine and it makes that heavy beast move with authority. I love it. But none of that is "fun." I just sold a 142k-mile beater Jeep Grand Cherokee with the high output V8. At 1200lbs lighter than the LR4, the 325lb-ft of grunt was great when I needed to merge. And at the expense of probably 5mpg, if I wanted to accelerate it moved pretty quickly. I would categorize the LR4 as having handling and drivetrain performance barely above the Jeep. This is no small feat given the massive weight penalty and much taller center of mass.

Don't confuse LR giving the LR4 a great, silky-smooth, powerful, luxury V8 and making it very refined with anything resembling fun driving on asphalt.

The LR4 is awesome because of what it can do off-road. All my other cars (except the Jeep) would get stuck on stuff the LR4 would laugh at or not even notice. That is its core competency and sadly wasted on most of its owners as it will admittedly be wasted be on me (not for lack of wanting to).

I love the jag V8 in the LR4, and I can't wait to get one even if it means turning in my awesome little sportswagon, but I just don't see the point in even trying to "have fun" on asphalt on one. Frankly, much like with the JGC, or my dad's old F-150 and my mom's XC70, I drive it like a grandma coming off any of my other cars. It feels that dynamically inferior to the other cars.

 

[wayne]

I don't recall mentioning having fun on asphalt with the LR4; that was never the plan. I don't much enjoy asphalt as much as rocks and sand anymore, so my porsche and BMW get not much use except for commuting. For off road fun (my main kind) I drive the Range Rover; I bought the LR4 for my wife. I also have a Jeep Cherokee (highly modified with a stroked 4.7 liter Hesco motor, locked Dana 44s,Recaro seats, 5 inch National lift, etc), so I like the jeeps. However, we drove a 5.7 Hemi cherokee Overland while shopping, and it was no competition for the LR4 in my (and my wifes) opinion (uncomfortable seats, smaller carrying space, no more performance). Anyway, my issue with the LR4 will be the lack of ground clearance, not the motor or drive train; when I get the itch for fun on Mulholland drive, I will take the Porsche, which is really terrible off road by the way.

 

[Quijote]

I don't recall mentioning having fun on asphalt with the LR4; that was never the plan. I don't much enjoy asphalt as much as rocks and sand anymore, so my porsche and BMW get not much use except for commuting. For off road fun (my main kind) I drive the Range Rover; I bought the LR4 for my wife. I also have a Jeep Cherokee (highly modified with a stroked 4.7 liter Hesco motor, locked Dana 44s,Recaro seats, 5 inch National lift, etc), so I like the jeeps. However, we drove a 5.7 Hemi cherokee Overland while shopping, and it was no competition for the LR4 in my (and my wifes) opinion (uncomfortable seats, smaller carrying space, no more performance). Anyway, my issue with the LR4 will be the lack of ground clearance, not the motor or drive train; when I get the itch for fun on Mulholland drive, I will take the Porsche, which is really terrible off road by the way.

Then I am confused. Your words, not mine:

"...but occasionally I would like to use the sport mode which keeps the engine rpm a bit higher for a given speed and generally improves the driveability of the vehicle on curvy country roads."

If that is what you want, then the engine sticking around in the 3krpm range is exactly what you would want. But again, I would not choose the LR4 for revving it through windy country roads, especially if you have a BMW and Porsche - unless you find the car rocking back and forth to be entertaining, which certainly can be, in a different sort of way.

Either way, enjoy!

 

[wayne]

Driving to the off-road places, one needs to face the pavement. I find it annoying that the transmission programming is for max fuel economy, so it runs in the highest gear possible. So you slow down for a corner (yes I know, it would be nice not to slow down, but that is the reality), and then coming out a bit of throttle causes a down shift. You end up with constant shifting up and down. In sport you can prevent a lot of this. That was the point. The sport mode is a fully automatic mode and does not allow you to lock in a gear. So at 40 miles per hour, 3K rpm is not what you expect; when you engage the mode at 0 mph and then accelerate to 40, you are not going 3K; this behaviour is only occasionally when sport is engaged from a higher speed. There is a bug somewhere and I was wondering if an actual owner has experienced this.

 

[Quijote]

Driving to the off-road places, one needs to face the pavement. I find it annoying that the transmission programming is for max fuel economy, so it runs in the highest gear possible. So you slow down for a corner (yes I know, it would be nice not to slow down, but that is the reality), and then coming out a bit of throttle causes a down shift. You end up with constant shifting up and down. In sport you can prevent a lot of this. That was the point. The sport mode is a fully automatic mode and does not allow you to lock in a gear. So at 40 miles per hour, 3K rpm is not what you expect; when you engage the mode at 0 mph and then accelerate to 40, you are not going 3K; this behaviour is only occasionally when sport is engaged from a higher speed. There is a bug somewhere and I was wondering if an actual owner has experienced this.

Why not slide it into manumatic mode and hold the gear?

Anyway, the programming will be different from a stop than during a drive. I still don't understand what is so objectionable about 3krpm for sport mode. It's possible that sport is too "sport" for what you want. That's the problem with automatics: everyone wants the transmission to behave differently.

 

[AceRider]

Just use the select shift, or whatever it's called on this vehicle; to the left of D.