Having been involved with the 460 from the Gaydon launch I now have one but not yet the one I want.
I have had it for over a week so time for first impressions.
The hand over was excellent but there is no handbook and you have to go on your phone, go on the app, scroll through all the models each time, select the model year and then figure out what they call the dashboard.
JLR are employing too many 25 year old graduates who think because they would like to have it that way it will sell, wrong.

It looks great, it is wonderfully quiet and the seats are utterly sublime. I like the HUD and the big screen in the middle is largely straight forward.

I disliked the steering wheel from a form point of view when I saw it at Gaydon and I dislike it even more when using it from a function point of view. Firstly why would anyone want a groove all the way around just where the heal of your thumb sits, it is just utterly uncomfortable. The next thing is that great chunk of cold shiny alloy, bling for no good reason. The other thing is the buttons and switches are tacky and tricky to use.

The dials on the dash are ugly, difficult to read and whilst they may appeal to a 13 year old that is not the target market. The choice of display between them is equally uninspiring.

But my biggest gripe is the lights control. It was foggy, with the lights on auto it has NO lights illuminated on the back, just the same as half the muppets on the M5. You can twist the end of the left fork to select manual dipped lights, BUT it does not park the switch in Off, side lights, manual or auto, no it sits in a central position and there is no feel when rotating it as to which setting it has reached.
Driving home it was dark and fogy but occasionally clear, I had the lights on Auto and they are awesome, until we went in to a bank of fog when it did not identify it needed to dip. No problem just turn the stalk back a click, Oh so wrong that goes to side lights, new pants please. To select manual you have to rotate it clockwise 4.7629 degrees, no tactile feedback it is correct, just get it spot on or computer says no.

Off to Austria for Christmas so 800 miles each way, will be a good test and perhaps I will come back in love.
It is not helped by the fact that I also got the long awaited 911 just before it and I adore that.

Stan I deliberately put this in 460 not owners cars as I never go there and suspect other 460 prospects may be the same. letters not necessarily in the right order

good point dixy..


as for the headlights , i would have them on all the time when in austria..  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

The lights stalk works just like the one in a Defender or Discovery, doesn’t it? Never not just left them on Auto.

totally agree about the shocking steering wheel Gopping! does anyone know of a replacement available? I would like one like on my L322.

@dixy, where you off to in Austria? May see you down there. Obergurgl looking best for snow with 135mm already!

Off to Zurs.
Whilst I love Obergurgle, particularly the Naderhut on live music nights, the ski area is a bit limiting. letters not necessarily in the right order

Sounds like the disco 5 light controls they sure do look the same. I recall mrs RDR getting in a pickle with the lights when we moved from a D4. MY23 PHEV HSE
MY19 Disco 5 HSE - gone
My16 Disco 4 HSE LUXURY - gone
My12 Disco 4 HSE - gone
MY05 Disco 3 S - gone but not forgotten

Interesting points.
We agree on the handbook, for that money it should still be printed and with gold leaf lettering.

As you said the lights are awesome. Are they pixel????

I do battle with the lights, I’m sure I will understand your 13 year olds engineers intention, eventually. My struggle is between full beam , head, and auto dip. Occasionally I fall out of autodip, & struggle to get it back.

What blows me away is the selective auto dip, I know the dip function works as I haven’t been flashed in three months. Last week I could see it in action. Trundling up the A12 dual carriageway . Late not busy. The cats eyes were lit up ten miles away(slight exaggeration)
As a car came towards me , I could see the cats eyes directly between me and the oncoming car fade as the head lights auto dip just the oncoming car not the entire view. This may be on the later 405, but is all new for me. The auto dip , not pixel, on the 405 was slow and still annoyed other drivers.
I haven’t spotted the groove on the steering wheel. When I finally mastered the cruise button , it’s fine. The lane control and cruise distance take my eye off the road, but again I expect to get used to it. They are flush & so hard to feel.
The only button I gripe about is to release the door handle. A soon as the car moves the handles pulls in flush, to let the passenger get in , the release button is just a long way away, I do like the idea of the spare button you programme , 2 options, regrettably the button won’t cook a bacon sandwich.
HUD is very handy, in sport mode shows revs as well.
But…. Just very minor niggles in really a splendid car, that you seem to agree is ,very quiet and comfortable. You are driving a diesel as well!!!!

Enjoy the skiing & the getting there.

Bill

CORRECTION. They are LED scanning headlights.

Digital LED headlights with signature DRL and Image Projection

Offering greater visibility, safety and resolution means you see more at night. The Digital LED headlights with signature DRL, Image Projection and Adaptive Front Lighting use navigation data to pre-emptively follow the road ahead. Filters are in fact so good that in certain circumstances, when the ambient air is already polluted, a diesel car will tend to extract more particles from the air than it emits. Emissions Analytics worked with........etc etc

He who dies with the most toys wins...

Last edited by Bill on 5th Dec 2022 11:50pm. Edited 1 time in total

Are you still going on about the handbook, Bill? I have to agree about the lights. On dark, country roads, you can clearly see sections switching off automatically. The other night, I managed to knock it out of auto and, more in hope than expectation, pushed the stalk forward and, hey presto, it went back to auto.

Yes, that’s the way to do it, push the stalk forward to change between auto and manual. Proud owner of a P440e SE, Belgravia Green

Been back to stealer today for cherished plates to be put on.
Sales exec spent 20 minutes explaining a few things, like when you go in to Dynamic the mood lighting changes to red, Lucifer would approve but I don't.
The seats are so damn comfortable. letters not necessarily in the right order

100% agree re the steering wheel, it also sounds really tinny if one taps the bottom of it (as I tend to do when irritated by being stuck in traffic, a regular occurrence). Does anyone else find the door handles impractically far forward? Is it too cynical to suspect this is to sell more assisted closure extras?

I'd also dislike the change to mood lighting, can that "feature" be removed? Frankly I could do without mood lighting altogether, they are lovely, quiet and comfortable cars to drive, but getting a bit "fancy" and not in a good way. Only Range Rovers since 1988

You can turn off the ambient lighting, will be in the “Vehicle” menu.

A couple of pictures to compare and contrast

 letters not necessarily in the right order

There are times that I feal a little too lucky.
When we went to Gaydon to preview the new Full Fat I spent the entire journey up thinking "please don't have it up"
They did not, it is an excellent bit of kit.
That is part of the problem, it is so good the few weaknesses stand out. First world problems.
Having had to go back to the stealer I had a look at their showroom car and tweaked the spec of the new one, I had downgraded the rear seats from Exec to standard because I like the ski hatch, but the rear seats are so much better in Exec that I reverted and the other was the exterior trim I have gone back to the shiny.
The HUD is so good that the fact I dislike the dash or whatever they call it is irrelevant.

I do wish that there was a way to feedback to JLR. letters not necessarily in the right order

Dixy wrote:

A couple of pictures to compare and contrast