I'll do my best to ' accept it, deal with it and move on' though if it's OK with you I'd still like to get others' opinions from time to time.

Vehicle design changes, sometimes good, sometimes bad. All I was saying is I have spent a year with the new switch gear and found it no different to using the old Fl2 system. If it came across as being abrupt then I apologise, that wasn't my intention. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

No worries J77. No offence intended from my side either.

You're right about function of course. I just find it a bit odd that with all the up-spec changes, here was one thing where perceived quality was sacrificed for a bit of standardisation.

We will all get used to this system, and will change again. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

From what I have read above, it seems the new models select Park and handbrake automatically if you stop and switch off? Now that's fine and a good safety feature, UNTIL you get into an older car, or maybe a hire car, and forget to engage park when you stop...

When you get into an older car you have to think a little more, this is perhaps part of the problem, the up and coming generation have everything done for them, they expect things to be automatic and more and more systems are becoming such, lights, wipers, parking brake, even the seat, mirror positions can be set automatically depending on which driver gets in on some cars. Cars are being designed for them to attract them, unfortunately it leaves us older ones with a predicament of constant changes seen as changes for changes sake.

Over the years I have been fortunate enough to drive hundreds of different types of vehicles through family ties within the car industry, I find it very easy to adapt quickly to the cars controls , Astons with the handbrake by your right leg,
Mercs with the foot operated parking brake, my old SL with its back to front auto box, Ferrari with a dog leg first and the list goes on, during the era of these cars, no one moaned about the differences it was just a character of the car.

This is a great thread though so let's keep it going, maybe LR might be reading and we can get a penny to drop

I don't think we can blame the younger generation for the proliferation of automation and reduced operator input. These trends have been around for as long as cars, and they're limited only by what is technically possible at the time (i was reading recently some old auto industry reviews about auto transmission in the 30's when GM's Hydra-matic was released - nobody really thought it would catch on)

I think the worries people have about too much automation are slightly separate from the concerns we have about perceived quality. Sometimes you know it's just a matter of cost, and I would bet my boots that for the FL2 Terrain Response the pair of switches is substantially cheaper than the old rotary dial. But then again with the money being spent elsewhere in the cabin, we can hardly complain. It's always a trade off, and the OEMs will never please all of us.

If the new RRS is any indication of the way things are going in the future, the rotary knob may well be back for the FL3.  gone MY2010 GS TD4 Manual Stornoway
arrived MY2013 GS TD4 Manual Aintree Green

There has always been a fascination with automation and driverless cars. The technology has already started to creep in, take the Evoque, it has park assist, it does it well but it seems to take more effort to get the car to work out the size of the space than it would for the driver to reverse in.

Is automation better than human interaction? 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

...also I see on the new range rover sport announced today they've replaced the rotary dial for gear changes back to a more traditional style stick...who knew this thread could be so influential so fast...

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/land-rover/ra...ntent-area FL2 2011 SD4 XS in Galway Green

Thats a joy stick !
Robin