Range Rover 2014 - Kia Proceed 2013 - Citroen C4 Picasso (Part 1)

Is it heavy on brakes and tyres, and how much for a service? Read on…

2014 Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography Black Front Three Quarters

After eight months and 19,000 miles, the Range Rover has not lost a scintilla of its specialness, and as its accumulated mileage gets closer to equalling one lap of the world, we are reaching the conclusion that it never will.

Its latest adventure (apart from a few more effortless trips to the extremities of our island) has been its first service at Wimbledon Land Rover, not far from the Auto car HQ in outer London. We chose them because they repeatedly performed well when looking after chief photographer Stan Papior’s departed Range Rover Evoque.

We had to wait a couple of weeks, during which time Mr Holder needed the Range Rover for a swift trip to Wales, but the dealership collected the car punctually on the appointed day and sent it back the following day, gleaming as it had not cleaned for weeks.

2014 Range Rover Autobiography Black Edition Side View

The service cost $ 598.18, a very reasonable cost given that the official interval is 16,000 miles. The cost breaks down as $ 252.65 for the actual work (there’s a price menu) and $ 332.44-odd for bits and pieces. Intriguingly, the second most expensive item on the bill was an odour-particle filter element costing $ 96.41, which points up both the advantage and disadvantage of owning and running a car like this.

Wimbledon Land Rover’s performance seemed ideal in all but one respect: I’d hoped for some forecast of remaining tyre and brake pad life but received only a single A4 sheet with costs. However, I’ve since checked the discs themselves by the old-time get-out-and-get-under method, and they’re surprisingly good. The tyres are still healthy, too, and only worn a little more front than rear. My estimation by eye gives the fronts a comfortable 7,000 to 9,000 miles and the rears 4,000 to 6,000 — which will mean that this two-tonne vehicle can get well over 20,000 miles from tyres — a good performance. It’ll be interesting to see how right I am.

2014 Range Rover Autobiography Interior

Kia Proceed

Kia Procee'd 1.6 GDi 2013

Like most new cars, the Kia Procee’d requires no first service and oil change at 1,000 miles, this once near-universal new car ritual now being almost extinct. High-precision engine internals and better-quality oils mean that manufacturers are content to allow cars to clock a good 10,000 miles and often more before they return to the dealer for service attention following a sale. Which I have to confess to being dubious about, despite widespread proof that this strategy works fine, and when a test car’s first 1,000 miles pass, I can’t help feeling that an oil change would be a good idea. But the Kia didn’t get one because we’re following its maker’s service schedule, and that calls for attention at a distant 20,000 miles.

Our car is nowhere near that, having travelled 8,890 miles so far. During that time, I did check its oil at about 1,000 miles - all was fine - and I’ve just done it again. The Kia has been sat dormant for a week because I had another test car, so I figured that most of its engine oil would by now be in the sump. And you can see the evidence on the dipstick, which shows a level fractionally over full and a lubricant only just beginning to darken with age and use. This car is clearly happy to have its bonnet left firmly shut for long intervals.