Opinion Needed: Range Rover SC or Range Rover Sport SC?

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di_LR3_co

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Hi -

Starting to look at picking up either a Range Rover SC or a Range Rover Sport SC and would like to opinions / pros and cons. I realize this is a personal decision - but last LR I owned was an 2006 LR3.

Here is some context:
- This will be a daily driver
- It will be used to go up and down I70 a ton in the winter to go skiing
- AND.. I will be taking it off road mostly front range stuff in CO
- Look at MY 2015 - 2018

So my questions:
- Anyone on the forums take either of these off road? If so - what mods are you running? Just Johnson rods and tires?
- Anyone seen much reliability difference between either?
- Is the split tailgate on the Range Rover worth it :)

Thanks

- KZ
 

catman

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I have an 08 LR3, 08 RR and recently rode in a 15 RR LWB and 16 RRS back to back while my wife did the test drives. The Sports tend to feel more like a truck (like an LR3/LR4) than a sibling of the RR. The sports are more cramped width-wise. The one we drove had the driver seat rub on the center console to the point it squealed when moving the seat forward or rearward. Space-wise (LWB not withstanding), the RR will feel much more airy as a daily driver. The RRS will feel the road a bit more, if you like the feedback in the steering wheel when driving. Both are fast in the SC guise and both are capable off-road.

From a used perspective, overall the Sports seem to be driven harder and are more often a little beat up compared to RR's which tend to get a little more pampering from their owners. I see no value in the split tailgate in my world, it hinders getting my dogs in the back via an Otto Step, but many seem to like it for various potential uses.

On the road they both performed well but it would be hard to go against a FFRR, it is a notch above the Sports in overall quality. Of course, cost may be the deciding factor - you can get a newer Sport with fewer miles for the same price as any given RR.

Look for MY 2015.5 (Jan 2015 production onward) as they made a few small upgrades to the entertainment system and perhaps a few other small tweaks.
 

di_LR3_co

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Thanks For the feedback. Test driving both tomorrow.
 

Iancochran

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I recently purchased an 06 RR and the size is great. My coworker had a RRS and yes it is fairly smaller and you can tell in the back. The RR is a good full size and it shows, rides taller and such. the RRS's are awesome good cars and great looking, but depending on your size requirements, that may be an important trait.
 

BznLR4

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I'm driving a 2011 LR4 and bought a 2013 RRS for my mother, who lives 2 miles up a dirt driveway in the mountains near Bozeman MT (read extreme four-wheeling for much of November to May). Although the RRS and LR4 are different bodies on the same undercarriage and driveline, they handle remarkably differently (both have the 5.0 V8 naturally aspirated). The RRS feels a lot tighter and is quite a bit more fun to drive. However, the RRS has a silly plastic fairing blocking access to the front tow point. On the LR4 an aftermarket sump guard easily replaces the fairing and gives tow point access, no such skid plate is available for the RRS. To me, this is a killer flaw (but given the application, either pulling or being pulled out of a snow bank is a rather common occurrence). If you're rarely or never using the front tow point, this may not matter to you.

I don't remember what the RR tow point access looks like, but to my thinking that is a key point for any vehicle to be used off-highway. Furthermore, tow point accessibility says a lot about what engineers were imagining as the "use case scenario".
 

georgekale

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I had the same decision to make. The Range Rover SC won. Drop down tailgate, capaciously cabin, smooth ride.
Need I say more. If its good enough for Royalty. Its good enough for me.
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