Hi All,
I was reading a few posts about this and was surprised. I can't imagine much more comfort in a vehicle.
Anyone got experience of both and can enlighten me?
Tom
Last time I was in Oz, I bought some parts for the Classic from a bloke in Ballarat who has been into supplying parts for Rangies (and Land rovers) for a long time, and has owned them all
He bought an L322 for his wife so his (Gorgeous!) Classic would be around for him to use......after just
a short while, there it sat.
He said it had the most inexplicably uncomfortable seats of anything he had ever driven!
They look nice, but there is just something wrong with them.
I have put a lot of miles on my 85 Classic, and thought the seats do not look anything special, they
are very comfy on a long drive.
My mate Russell, also in Oz, bought an 03 and I have driven this as well. VERY stiff seats, ride? Not as nice as an P-38. I would say that on the 1-10 scale, 10 being a cloud, The P-38 is an 9, the Classic, an 7 and the L322 an 3
So........Nope! Between the seats and suspension, the P-38 wins out on comfort by a mile! (or even an Km)
I think the p38 is more comfortable. I’ve had a 2010 L322 Autobiography and used to get butt ache after a long journey (700 miles tho lol)
Ride quality depends greatly on the condition of the bushes and shocks.
A well sorted L322 should ride quite well, however as said the seats are quite stiff I had a 2002 M62 L322 and found the ride to be quite good however the seats left a lot to be desired.
My P38's ride was simply hideous with TF shocks, however since fitting Black body Britpart units the ride is transformed it now goes over bumps with the refinement i'd expect of a RR and the seats being much softer makes it a very nice cruising companion, I imagine on 16" wheels the ride would be even better, ride wise on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being bad and 10 being excellent
L322 Gets a 6
P38 Gets a 8
RRC gets a 2
I drove an L322 for a few weeks and was happy to get back into my P38.
The independent suspension does allow for a a better ride on road. The L322 feels more car-like, be it a heavy and cumbersome car, with a more detached ride experience. A lot of people seem to like that... Seats and ergonomics are in my opinion no match for a P38.
The L322: Body styling by BMW.........Suspension and seating by the Marquis de Sade......
I checked in with my mate in Oz, and he says that when he needs to look respectable it's the shiny L322,
but if he has to go more than a few hours, or for towing, it's his 1986 Classic all the way!....Go figure??
If you want to know what real pain is then drive a Series 1/2/3 land rover ----- not only bust ya kidneys out and so painfully slow it's laughable ----- yet for some reason cost a small fortune ---- I'd rather keep my cash and drive a disco/ P38/L322 to be honest P38 is more comfortable than L322 BUT it's all down to personal choice
We’ve got a 2007 Supercharged L322 and a 2012 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography.
If I were walking out onto the driveway a choosing a car to do a long distance trip in, I’d walk past my P38’s every day of the week. The refinement of the L322 is way ahead of that of the P38. The pre 06 facelift cars weren’t as well refined as the later ones from a comfort point of view.
I had to collect the caravan from servicing today in the 4.4 TDV8 (it ticked over 23k today) and towing with that thing is incredible, you don’t feel the 8 speed box changing gear, it’s got so much torque that you don’t know there’s a 30ft caravan behind it, and in the wind the rack and pinion steering on it is so tight that you don’t feel the movement from the caravan.
I love my P38’s and have spent a lot of time replacing all of the bushes on ours with genuine LR bushes and they drive better then most P38’s I’ve ever driven, we spent over 4 grand putting a brand new “fettled with” 4.6 engine in one of ours last year too. Credit where it’s due to the P38 as I do love them, they’re great for doing what they do, however, I personally find that the L322’s are better cars in every way.
I reckon there can be a difference between what's more comfortable on a short drive and what's more comfortable on a long drive. What's more comfortable for the driver and what's more comfortable for the front passenger. A good part of driver comfort isn't just the seat but is also the driving position and how the car performs/handles?
I've never owned a P38 or L322 but on many occasion have jumped straight out of one into the other. I've always found getting into a P38 more of a sense of occasion than getting into an L322 and the seats at first more comfortable in a P38 but on a longer run I've thought L322's the more comfortable despite harder seats.
At one time manufacturers could focus almost entirely on comfort (and practicality of getting in and out of seats), later they started considering aspects such as anti-submarine for seats. I've had a few different year examples of old vehicles where the older version before antisubmarine seats seemed more comfortable even on a long drive than the slightly later model with antisubmarine seats.