nyc123

a little bored with my range rover supercharged thinking about swapping for a new gl550, has anybody made that switch if so any thoughts ?

NY_SG

No but family has a GL550. I drove a RR supercharged before.

Ermmm I like the range rover loook better overall but the drive I prefer GL550.

Brocktoon

reason for the move? anything other than room, you may be disapointed. I can't think of much that the GL does better than the RR. It's a matter of taste and pref.

In the lower lines, GL is a great value. At the top end? I think you are getting more for your ruble with a RR SC.

try and see....

MKW

Buy the GL if you need the seven seats vs the RR's five, certainly not for the driving experience or bling , as an Audi Q7/Cayenne/X5 is better than either for the former and the RR already has the GL covered on the latter .

Nevada Jack

Drive the 550 before you decide "not" to buy it. Believe me if you use it for a highway/in-town cruiser as opposed to doing a lot of off road stuff, I think you will find a few things to like. It is a luxury/sports sedan in a SUV body!

oknish

+1.

LETO

if you have no off road needs, get the GL550.

- The interior layout is much better than the range rover SC
- Acceleration/ handling is as good if not better
- 3rd row seat is the most usable of all seven seat SUV's (not considering the giant american barges that handle like ox carts)
- At close to a 100K, the RRSC's asking price should be looked at as a premium for the off road capability over the GL

StevethePilot

No off road at all? I've seen some video suggesting the platform's pretty good in mild to moderate off-roading conditions.

STP

LETO

The platform is great but the 550's, 21" rims wont go off road well. Also, the 550, does not have the off road pkg as an option (i.e. no low range or diff locks)

My personal experience was going from a G500 to a GL450 Premiere Edition. While the interior and on road manners were a huge improvement, the GL's 20" tires (came with the premiere edition) & lack of low range (off road pkg was omitted from premiere edition) was a slight drawback from the capabilities of the previous vehicle (slight off road/snow)

As I currently have no needs for 7 passenger seating or off road use, just need something that goes in snow while being luxurious, I switched from the GL to 4-matic S

Also, this is a comparo to the RRSC.

scottybdiving

"Off road" is a very subjective term. It can mean rock hopping for some to driving on a gravel road to others. Funny thing is, a very small percentage of 4WD / AWD vehicles ever see much more than the latter. Not many people take a 80-90K vehicle rock hopping or on other serious off-roading trails.

Snow is another story. I have witnessed the importance of LSD's last winter in Mt Shasta. Two 4WD Dodge trucks chained together, neither had LSD, couldn't budge a sled hauler that was stuck in the snow. Each of them would spin opposing front and rear tires. One Ford with LSD freed it without spinning a tire.

Since that was a fly/drive trip for me, I didn't have the GL to test it's worthiness but that's not what I bought it for. Some here say they have had good look with them in the snow.

lkchris

The Dodge trucks surely didn't have the electronics that Mercedes have.

Mercedes electronics can sense spinning wheels and brake them individually, obviating need for LSD.

Only Mercedes models where LSD is offered at all is super-racer AMGs.

mercgl

I had a '05 RR Vogue 3.0 TD, fully loaded, before I bought the GL320 CDI. Actually I can't think of anything the RR did better than the GL does. The GL drives and handles better, has equal comfort, drives to my experience just as well off-road as the RR. And so far the GL has proven to be of much better quality than the RR as well. No regrets here for switching.

dgt1031

The Gl550 does not compare to the GL Diesel or the Gl450. The Gl550 has the AMG appearance with a much tougher stance. I have owned both the RR and the GL550 and prefer the 550 as an everyday driver.
I might have considered the diesel if they had an AMG appearance package, but they dont.

Get the GL550!

ajn999

I just came out of an 06 RR into a GL450. The GL drives like a car where the RR is more truck like. If you need the room, the GL is tops. As far as looks go, I feel the GL is a little "mini-vanesque" in appearance while the RR is a classic looker in my opinion. Unfortunately, you really can not afford to own a RR once the warranty period is over. I have had 4 of them since 2001 and after 2 years, the air suspension becomes so unreliable, the truck spend half the time in the shop.

ymmv

I've not owned, but I've driven the 450 enough to know I like it and want the 320. I've owned Rangies for years. The '07 is a great year and you might want to update if you want more "spirited" driving, the Range Rover Supercharged comes alive with the new suspension. Otherwise look at the '08 Cayenne with their active suspension ("PDCC") which works as advertised. All these gas guzzlers have bleak resale value with dealers already closed up and set to wait out a year or more of miserable car sales (new and used.) When the DOW drops nearly 50% in a few weeks with nobody ready to say its over, don't expect people to be buying luxury except the ultra wealthy and those embracing their inner denial. And I'm no exception -- I'm replacing four SUVs with one (probably a GL320.) I'd normally keep one for each task (family non-mini-van, luxury transport, toy hauler and workhorse) but instead of four depreciation curves, four insurance policies and wanting the cash out to the tune of $100K doing nothing but sitting, rusting and depreciating 80% of the time, I'm keen to balance the budget and have a car that I think will handle all four tasks satisfactorily.

Back to Range Rovers. Given quality (not great, but OK) and resale value (abysmal) the only reason I'd steer you to the '07 Rangie is that it's much better than what you've got, it's a known quantity, so you already know its weaknesses and above all else, you can get there from where you are without too much damage to the checkbook. If you go to MB or Porsche, the resale value on your current car will become painfully apparent.

All that said, if you're going from a newer model Range Rover Supercharged to a GL550, you're a cashed-up high net worth type who is concerned about enjoying and using the vehicle and you let the accountant deal with the spare change from one car to the next. In which case, I'd say you've had a good taste of the Range Rover and I prefer to buy a new car and as a rule I never buy the same car twice. I expect the hop from the RRS to the 550 is only about $10K out of pocket, which, in after-tax dollars assuming mostly long term capital gain income, is less than you lost in the stock market this Monday and last Monday about every six or eight minutes. : )