READERS’ LETTERS

ON JULY 4 this year I took delivery of my new Range Rover Autobiography at a cost of £111,911.49p from Farnell Land Rover in Nelson, Lancashire. I spent a further £3500 for the Balmoral Blue paint option.

But there are three specific areas which I am unhappy with.

Traffic system: Having spent £112,000 on my new car, I had to go out and buy a data SIM card, for a further £41.45p, to enable the live traffic system to work. What a complete and utter insult.

I simply cannot believe that a vehicle at this level of cost does not come fully functioning on delivery. What are JLR thinking?

Engine auto stop/start facility: This feature has to be the most unwelcome item I have ever had on a car since my motoring journey began in the late 1970s with an Austin Maxi.

The system is truly woeful, on an epic scale. When the engine switches itself off, the car rocks and reminds me of a dumper truck on a building site. Likewise, when the engine fires up again, the car rocks once more.

Pulling out at a junction recently, in the split second I was going to move out, the engine died, so I had to abort my manoeuvre. This raises the question as to if this system is actually safe on the road. No doubt JLR will say they have tested the system extensively, but even so it hardly inspires confidence.

I accept that the auto stop/ start facility can be switched off. However, the way the system is set up, each time you switch the car on for a new journey, the auto stop/start facility defaults back to dump truck mode. The system should be set up the other way round so if you want to use it, you have to activate it by pressing a button.

I would imagine that people would only use this system once to see what it is like and, having found out how truly dismal it is, never use it again.

The system totally devalues the car and reduces the driving experience from what is supposed to be a luxury car to a dumper truck. Truly, truly awful. Whoever thought that this system was adding value to should be taken out and shot at dawn!

Tracker system: I was pleased to learn that the new car comes with a Tracker system built into the vehicle. However, I was furious to find out that the factory-fitted system is a Cat 6 system and my insurance company would only accept a Cat 5 tracking system! Therefore, I have paid for a system which, in the insurance company’s eyes, is not fit for purpose. Consequently, I have had a Cat 5 tracker system fitted for another £659, plus the annual subscription fee. At no point was the possibility that a Cat 5 system may be required flagged up to me by anyone at the dealership.

Taking delivery of one of JLR’S flagship vehicles should put a spring in anyone’s step. However, the points raised above have left me feeling totally disappointed, let down and short changed.

JLR do not seem to grasp the fact that people who buy these types of vehicles are generally very busy indeed. Having to spend more time sorting out these issues is incredibly frustrating.

I was delighted with my previous Range Rover, purchased in 2014, and while the new 2017 model does have some better features in some areas, these are completely overshadowed by the negative aspects of the car. Craig Wellum Chorley, Lancashire