Land Rover Discovery 3 Vs Range Rover

[M@tt 77]

I'm fancying a bit of a new car i think. I've always quite fancied a Discovery or a Range Rover so i've been having a sniff on Autotrader

 

Budget wise I think i could stretch to ~12k max which puts me in the territory of 05 plate Discovery 3 TDv6 (2.7) or similar sort of age Range Rover.

 

Basically it would be used as a daily driver and with my work i could potentially be doing about 100 miles/day in it if i got a contract in Leeds say so fuel economy i guess would need to be a slight consideration although granted its never going to be great in a car that sized.

 

Basically any advice as to which is better/ which specs to go for/avoid/ diesel vs petrol manual vs automatic (think i've driven an automatic car once about 10 years ago!)

 

Cheers

 

heres a few for an idea

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/featuredlistingad/advert/201127401548220/usedcars/price-to/15000/price-from/10000/maximum-age/up_to_7_years_old/model/discovery/make/land_rover/postcode/s214fs/sort/priceasc/page/2/radius/60/advert-type/featured-listing/dealer/19469?logcode=flp

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201127401363031/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/15000/maximum-age/up_to_7_years_old/price-from/10000/model/range_rover/make/land_rover/page/1/postcode/s214fs/radius/60?logcode=p

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

For the kind of mileage you do I really would think twice about something like that. Even the diesels are going to struggle to do much more than 25 to the gallon, just due to the pure size of the thing.

[blue_haddock 2]

jim01uk from over on psooc has has a new disco, i know he's had a fair bit go wrong with it at quite an expense.

 

Possibly worth having a word with him for some first hand infomation.

[tartanbloke 35 1 Cars]

Good afternoon,

 

I would look out for a 2004/2005 Model Year Range Rover that was purchased with a VIP package, which meant that you had free servicing for 5 years or 75,000 miles, whichever occurred first. This means it woudl have been reasonably well looked after and all Service Actions etc undertaken. In addition, it was around this time that the BMW systems were being phased our (which were old units left when they did a runner in 2000).

 

My advice would be the 4.4V8 petrol as the 3.0TD6 was woefully underpowered and as a result, you only gained 3-4mpg more. However, repair costs, servicing, tyres, disc brakes, pads etc are not cheap. This means that cost of ownership can be on the high side. Just remember that it is around £6k for a gearbox.

 

The Discovery 3 is an amazing piece of kit when it is working but the 2005MY vehicles had issue with air suspension, coolant sensors, EPB's and when serviced incorrectly, would cause major issues. Also, it is not a Range Rover but repairs costs are a little steep also.

 

If you can afford to fuel it, fix it and look after it properly, then go for it but if not definaltey think twice.

 

Regards

 

Chris

[welshpug 1,627]

volvo v70 d or t 5, just as much space and towing cap without the mpg and speed fail of a big 4x4

 

i certainly wouldnt want the fuel tyre and service bill for a 100 mile a day chelsea tractor...

[maxi 36 1 Cars]

Can volvo estates legally tow 3500Kg? I dont know what this fashion with volvos is at the moment?

 

I would personally go for a disco 3 (range rover sport with a different body) but if its a 2.7 TDV6 have it chipped. A good improvement on power and torque whilst also improving economy.

 

The same as all cars, you get good ones and bad ones, just make sure it has all the usual service history etc.

 

Maxi

[welshpug 1,627]

no mention of towing cap was made in the op..

 

most large estates will do 1800-2200kilos nowadays

 

the "fashion" is people slowly realising that a gas guzzling 4x4 is not a clever choice any more (not that it ever has been..)

 

doesnt have to be am ovlov, fords mondeo, mazda's 6, tom's favourite audi avant and a few more

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

I sold landrovers for 5 years. I know a bit about them. But the simple fact is that they are by far the best of all the 4x4's but they will give you bother and they will drink fuel! V6's eat EGR valves for example and they will not give more than 30mpg.

[omega 82]

just a thought

i pressume you only tow now and again so why not buy 2 cars?

say 3k on a daily runner and the rest on a lpg 4x4 the money you save on the daily will cover the extra tax and insurance.

[jeremy 68]

Now I have only owned a series I and series II discoveries, both diesel and auto. Certainly the later one is better for overall grunt and getting out of very muddy fields and feels that little more refind to drive. However here is the thing I would rather have my old series I than the current series II I own and this is mainly due to fuel economy Series I 25/6 mpg where as the series II does about 22mpg, all on short town runs, ok it will do 33mpg on cruise control at 63mph but I rarely drive anything more than 5 miles in any one direction.

 

Now I know you are not considering either of the above, but just think wisely when it comes down to running costs, as fuel will only ever rise and everytime you need to fill up you get a lovely reminder of oh there goes another £100 plus pounds. As for lpg only buy one that is already converted as otherwise you need to drive half way to the moon before you start to save money. Also what ever you dedcide to buy do not get carried away by looks, make sure every switch, door lock etc works, as otherwise you could soon be looking to pay hundreds more I found this out the hard way!

 

HTH

 

Jeremy

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

Next door neighbour is a LR nut. Had a 2.7 TDV6 HSE for several years and it was nothing but trouble. I'm sure he said to me once in the pub that he counted the numbers of times it went into the dealer to have something sorted and the number was in the 20's - which for 3 years of ownership is bananas. Such a shame because, when it was working, it was a lovely car to be in and I liked it in principle. The engine was a bit noisy/clattery (even for a diesel - compared to our Jeep Grand Cherokee it sounded positively agriculutral) and didn't have much go. Economy was reasonable though - he got 30mpg out of it which is more than could be said for the Jeep.

 

I would steer clear, to be honest.

 

He's now got a Range Rover Sport; sucker for punishment. It broke down 2 weeks into ownership when the power steering pump fell off the block I had much fun ribbing him about it as I picked his stranded family up in our Jeep ....

[maxi 36 1 Cars]

volvo v70 d or t 5, just as much space and towing cap without the mpg and speed fail of a big 4x4

 

i certainly wouldnt want the fuel tyre and service bill for a 100 mile a day chelsea tractor...

 

 

Unless I read this wrongly you have posted the volvo has just as much towing capability...... I not sure how much towing you have done but until you have had a big heavy trailer behind something like a 4x4 and then compared it to towing with a car then you will see their is no comparison. So, no, they dont have anywhere near the towing capability.

 

Secondly, I have an L200 warrior which does 34MPG and will sit at 80mph (legal speed limit in france on a motorway when its not raining) without any effort at all. That IS a good comparison to an estate car. I dare say the warrior would use a lot less fuel when towing than a car working its nuts off too.

 

Service bills are nowhere near what you would expect on my warrior.

 

Your argument is flawed, im guessing through reposting what you have read and havent had experience of?

 

Disco 3's would again be my preferred choice if I had your budget matt.

 

Maxi

Edited July 23, 2011 by maxi

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

It does beg the question, why a big 4x4 for a 100 mile commute Matt? Is towing in the frame?

 

The only reason we have the Jeep is for towing the rally car; monstrous towing capacity. If it wasn't for that simple, single requirement, I would ditch it like a hot potato because 24mpg and £100 fillups is something I could quite happily do without

[16v205 9]

We've got a discovery 2 td5, 2002 model with a manual gearbox. We bought it in March and its done 8k miles since and went straight through the MOT the other week, its not as bad as the scare storys you hear. My wife has claimed the disco as hers, and dumped her scooby on me as driving the disco has halfed her fuel bill.

 

Its great for towing, not as good as my old ford explorer but as expected better than any car ive ever used. Towing a big double horse box it gets around 24mpg doing 50mph everywhere. I've used it for work a few times with kit in the boot and on my last 400mile round trip it returned 35 mpg. This measured by filling the tank and then refilling it again for the next weeks work, not something I like doing at £120 a time from empty. Around the streets it might be a bit heavy compared to some super mini but its no worse than a petrol 406/mondeo or any of the 205's us lot are driving.

 

Rich

[dcc 855]

We have a 5.7 v8 chevvy suburban, it does 25-28mpg on a run without a trailor. it does 25-28mpg on a run with a big fecking trailor. (It does 8-10 around town )

 

dad reckons the discovery we used to have, a 53 or 54 plate, 4.2 v8, was the worst 4x4 he ever owned.

 

we also used to have a 4.8? (i think) v8 L reg HSE Vogue, 100% best car to drive

 

 

 

but just to put a comparison here, my uncle has a 2.7 TDI A6, which, when he gives it stick (albeit under and around 70) he can see as little as 20mpg from it! AND it weighs almost the same as our Chevvy!