Well I picked up my 6 month old SD4 XS from Barretts of Asford yesterday, professional handover and they swopped my towbar and electrics. Only done 120miles but so far I find the new one seems to have a far better ride. Not sure if ithis is due to the tyres, current one has 18" Pirrelli Scorpions with a 103 load index, last ones were 17" Continentals with a 108 index, so not sure if the reinforced side walls made the ride harder.
The SD4 engine seems smoother and it's seems more economical by about 5mpg. The brochure says I have lost the Puddle lights on the XS but mine has them, I also notice the rear enterainment has gone together with the aero wiper on the drivers side.
One thing I have noticed is that there is a whistle, I think form the turbo as ypu accelerate, I believe others have mentioned this, can anyone comment on this?

Keep you updated

1stfreelander (although I should really change this name now)

I have an SD4, yes it whistles, however, the only time I can hear it is on underground car parks, never heard it on the road with windows up or down.
I use V Power diesel, get better consumption figures and it's much quieter and more smooth.

The wiring harness must be a training exercise, I have footwell lamps but not puddle, GS spec should not have either

Well I have had the beast for just over two weeks now and must say there is not much difference to the old one.
The fuel consumption is better, but not the 10% I was hoping for. The gearbox is not as smooth and sometimes thumps going from 4th to 3rd on overrun. There is a rattle from the passenger side dashboard and sometimes when going over a sharp bump there is a loud crack from the Passenger side of the dashboard.
I will be booking it in at the dealers for all three to be addressed.

Check the bolt holding the air pipe behind the passenger indicator, few have found the bolt to be loose and causing a rattle  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Hi 1STFREELANDER.

I also own a MY11 SD4.

I too have noticed a harshness with the 4th down to 3rd gearchange when on a very light throttle, and to a lesser extent on the 3rd down to 2nd change. All other gear changes are smooth.
Also, I find when towing and pulling away from traffic lights the lower gears are held for very much longer than on my previous TD4 auto. However, I can now use the 6th gear when towing as it engages from about 55mph, rather than the 60 plus on the TD4.

Please update the forum on how you get on when you take the FL2 to the dealers regarding the 4th/3rd gearchange.

I am hoping a software update/re-programme will sort the gearbox out, I will post the result as soon as it,s done.

Hello again 1SRFREELANDER.

Any update for the forum yet?

Took it into Stratstones, woodford yesterday. They refitted and tightened the fixings on the neaside airvent, seemd ok on the way home so I will wait until I have given it a good test. They road tested it and said they couldn't find any fault with the gearbox, so again I will wait and see. They gave me a 59 plate Discovery as a courtesey car, have to say the gearbox was seemless, but I believe that was a ZF box. If I am still not happy with the gearbox I may push for a re-programme and see if that sorts things out.

Thanks for the update on the gearbox.

I suspect that their road test is a more robust driving than ours might be.

I am thoroughly delighted with my SD4; just the occasional jerky/harsh down change on a very light throttle.
I have found another owner who reports a similar situation.

Most of the time the auto change is fine, but, as you say not quite as seemless as the TD4.

Thats exactly the same as mine, only does it on a light throttle on over run. Unfortunately after driving it today the noise from the dashboard is worse than before. hopefully that will give them a big clue where the problem is. mending it may be another matter. Spookily after getting it back the fuel consumption seems worse, with the average MPG figure diving down as you drive along, at a steady 40 it seems to struggle to show 33.

tried to book it back into Stratstone woodford but cannot get a loan car until 13th January, so I have booked it into Lookers, Bishops Stortford, this friday. Hopefully they will be able to sort it out. Having stuck my arm up behind the dashboard the noise seems to be coming from the airvent pipes moving.

Took the car to Lookers, Bishops Stortford and a very nice technician came out for a drive, heard the noise and asked me what my expectations were, when I said it would be mended and I would pick it up this afternoon he explained that they would need it for up to three days. he explained tracing the noise may require the dashboard to come out, 1 day, another day to obtain any parts needed, and a third day to put it back together.
They should have explained this to me as I couldn't keep the courtesy car until Tuesday, so I will have to re-book it. However because of the inconvenience they will halve the price of the courtesy car. I hope o book it in shortlly and will keep you posted.

Thought you courtesy should be free not half price,

re fuel consuption re set the trip meter and you will find consumption better i have noticed on mine if its been in and had a software update if you dont reset the trip/computer via the stalk. or button on clocks it will continue to show 33ish mpg if you re set should be ok then  rainy-city
xs

Definitely DO NOT pay for a courtesy car?
I have never heard this before, seems like an additional fee they are trying on, it would make me think twice about leaving my car, if the customer service falls down even before you get there.

My SD4 has the same trait with the gearbox. My previous car, Merc C, did the same but far worse, the techs there tried telling me it was a problem with boxes at low temps, it did get better once warmed up. The boxes change must faster than old boxes that slurred leisurely between gears, coupled with far higher torque figures causes problems. Think it was Tutonic waffle myself but it also sounds plausible.

No rattles so far, very impressed and chuffed with it, trip up to Inverness next week and looking forward to the 1000 mile round trip