I'm intrigued by your comments with HW performance because I've actually talked to my dealer and they say the opposite. Where you may see a difference is when you are needing to throttle to quickly pass on the HW and the extra horses and the V8 engine does it effortlessly while the SCV6 is not as competant, in comparison. I have no personal experience so real-life feedback like yours is helpful. I don't mind the design tweeks with the exterior so I would like to consider the LR4 in the future. The shift knob is something I would have to get use to as it was weird with the Evoque loaners I drove in the past.
I could understand the horsepower discussion as clearly the V8 has more and the HW is where this would come in handy. I think where the SCV6 really shines is with how constant the torque band seems to be. This gives it the feeling that in HW maneuvers there is plenty there to move the beast. Where the HP never fully comes in to me as I am not trying to get to 140MPH, just trying to get to +5 or +10 mph faster.
I will say that I was on the highway and did floor it from about 60-65 and was let down. I expected it to really kick me in the pants and scoot and it really didn't seem to do it any better than my SCV6, maybe a smidgen but nothing substantial. Certainly nothing like BMW's of my past or current.