BRUTALLY HONEST REVIEW OF THE 4.2 V8 SUPERCHARGED RANGE ROVER L322

Here's my brutally honest review of the 4.2 V8 Supercharged Range Rover, this one from 2006! Does the supercharged Jaguar engine suit the L322 platform, or is it wasted?

#itsjoel #brutallyhonest #rangerover

[itsjoel]

What are your thoughts on the 4.2 Supercharged L322 Range Rover?

[CraigK]

Good to see you back behind the wheel of a Range Rover. Great content. Thanks Joel 🙏👏

[keithvers]

It’s not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea but I bought my TDV8 L322 because of your reviews. I absolutely love it. It has sufficient boot space for what I need and the driving position is as you rightly said, unexplainable in words. Biblically good.

[gwilko]

I bring my 2004 4.4 v8 petrol l322 out on a weekend. Such a fantastic all round vehicle. Just completed a 400 mile round trip to Norfolk and back. Bought in 2021 4k. Spent 2 k on it and it works like a dream.

[markkerry]

Wow, I have watched you for a couple of years and your content has always impressed me but you seem to gained real confidence as a presenter recently, good for you Joel !!

[ogearhead]

I believe it’s one of the most reliable engines on this generation. Not brilliant on acceleration, but far from being a slow flat.
Love this generation! So classy.

[WesD]

I bought a 2007 one 2 months ago. Fuel economy is poor, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to own such a lovely car. I had to get petrol for ULEZ compliance. I'm also led to believe the Superchargers are more reliable than the turbos. The driving position is excellent and you can see everything outside. It's a wonderful car that does everything I need. I can have dogs in the back, do tip runs in it, but can also use it for nice drives and when you want to go out in the evening. Really is everything you need. Despite it's age it's still a head turner and I get lots of compliments about it all the time.
I really don't see myself getting rid of it.

[philipgrice]

I paid $7, 000 for my $92, 000 4.2 RR SC about five years ago. The RR 'dealer' had installed an undersized battery, so the BMW electronics mostly failed to work until I rightsized the battery after a couple of days. I had the sealed for life (i.e. short life) ZF box drained and refilled at around 90, 000 miles which was late, but it has survived so far. Just don't stand on it in 2nd, and always use manual for the first few miles on very cold days, but after another 25, 000 miles it's almost perfect, so I think I'll just treat it to another lubricant and filter swap in about another month. The air suspension compressor was noisy and soon failed, but a replacement from China that is visually identical to the OEM one was only a couple of hundred bucks and easy to swap in under an hour. The hardest part was getting the bloody heavy 20" spare out of its well.

Both folding drinks holder were gummed up with spilled Coca-Cola or something similar. (The PO obviously had children of all ages, including adult). They are quite easy to remove, wash and replace in perfect working order. The FO audio was dead but easy to repair by bypassing the dead Bluetooth telephone module, which serves no useful purpose these days. I removed and repaired the CD player, which was gummed up with dust and needed some lubricant, swapped out the DVD player with one from eBay and, with the car working well, made my one big mistake. I replaced the well-worn Pirelli Scorpion tires with some slightly bigger, sticky Kumho tires. My highway gas mileage dropped from 20 MPG (US Gallons) to around 16 MPG! I use the power of the supercharged engine and attest that the Kumho's stick like sh*t to a blanket, but 4 MPG! Woah. I won't make that mistake next time.

It rains a lot here in Oregon, and the RR leaked a lot. Water coming from under the dash. Water coming down through the front seat belt retractors. Water pouring through the electronics installed on both sides of the rear load area. All the online advice was wrong! The windshield was not leaking. The roof rack mountings were not leaking. The rear door seals were not leaking. The rear sunroof drains were clogged so once the sunroof pan was full the accumulated water would slosh over the edge and flow forwards, backwards and sideways on top of the headliner depending on the motion of the car, or how it was parked, and flow down into the car from wherever it gathered on top of the headliner. Since the rear drains are impossible to reach and clear without removing the roof it seems, I just used RV roof sealant tape to seal the sunroof (which never gets opened in Oregon anyway) and once the car dried out no water leaks have ever returned during the wettest winter on record!

I have one remaining challenge. I'm convinced the bloody Germans have never forgiven we Brits for beating them in WWII., especially BMW. The manky electronics are overengineered but under designed. Three bus systems, excessively voltage sensitive circuitry and many connectors positioned where they are bound to get wet in a Land Rover. Like many other Range Rover (and BMW owners) I am trying to identify the source of a parasitic voltage drain. I have found several so far, but am confident there is at least one more to locate and eliminate. I'm a retired computer engineer. If any computer company built computers the way BMW designed electronics, they would have been driven out of business decades ago!

All the above said, I still love my SC RR. It rides superbly, goes like hell when asked, and goes pretty much anywhere I want to go without any fuss. We especially like the tall 'greenhouse' which provides fantastic vision around us for both viewing the countryside and safety in dense traffic.

If it was good enough for Queen Elizabeth II to drive around Windsor, it's good enough for me. It was, and she did. The Range Rover L322 is without a doubt the best 4x4 by far. Still.

[rjbfreelander]

Love this video. One day I will own an L322, most likely the 4.4 TDV8. Had a look at a few Westminster spec examples recently but yet to test drive them due to life throwing curve balls.

[jameshunterford]

I was just thinking earlier today … I hope Joel posts something new soon and BOOM… The universe was listening!

[JAYPCARS]

I bought an L322 last year for £650, ended up selling to my grandad, now I’m buying it back. Once you try one, you yearn for the lazy wafting boxiness the L322 offers.

[davealbon]

Up until recently I had a 4.4 tdv8 Westminster...loved that car! Did a realistic 26mpg.
But after selling the caravan I just couldn't justify the expense as was only using it every couple of weeks and also run 3 motorbikes and 2 other dream car that was.
Love your channel 👍

[DoctorJezz]

I first experienced this engine in a girlfriend’s RR autobiography … so I went off and bought a Jag S type R and did 100, 000 miles trouble free motoring in that all over the country and was in love with it until it hit 170, 000 miles. Then I bought a TDV8 L322 with 70, 000 miles on it which I’m also in love with. My other half uses it for towing horses and piling in bailes of hay … and I waft around in it with its perfect cream seats and take 2 big dogs everywhere for walks. I’m now looking at a newer SVO or autobiography SC V8 again … but I’m thinking about keeping this for her and the dogs … and being a 2 RR family. I also still have my S1 Lotus Elise, so obviously I love lightweight also … I’m just now addicted to the absolute all round ability of the full fat RR. Great channel - getting better all the time 👍👍

[palm.rdseth]

Got one - love it! Just make sure, as Joel rightly says, to buy a well maintained one. And don´t buy one if are scared of petrol stations.

[stamp]

15:36, that isn’t a torch, that is a venture cam which connects via Bluetooth to the front screen and you can place it externally when off-roading etc

[elliot]

Was gonna go to bed, but I had to see what you thought of the 4.2! I have an 07 supercharged that looks just like clarksons. I've had plenty of issues however, put the money into it and it will return the favour. Great vehicle and I highly recommend one! The TVs help when the kiddos start arguing 😅

[jimross]

Another excellent video diary Joel👏
You make it look very easy, doing pieces to camera.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍

[leemansell]

Just had to get rid of my L322, left such a sad place in my heart! Gutted to get rid of it ☹️will be back in an L322 one day! 4.4 or the 4.2 would be my dream version!

[TheAlexingram]

Got a 2010 5.0SC just before Christmas. Had wanted L322 for years, within 30mins of drive home was thinking - should have done it years ago :) Gets better mpg than you saw in that 4.2!!

[dylanwakley]

My dad has had a 2008 3.6 TDV8 for the last 7 years or so. Now on 175k miles, and I absolutely love it. It’s sitting in facelift 20 inch wheels, black with chrome over cream interior with piano trim and black piping, such a classy spec and classy car. So good off road, incredible for towing, and just sublime on a long journey. Honestly one of the best all round cars ever made in my opinion, so easy to place on the road despite its size, and you’re bang on about wanting to make you drive slower