Discovery

kam04, Feb 3, 1:35pm
Anyone on here own a Landrover Discovery. If so, what's your opinion of them.
bwg11, Feb 3, 2:51pm
I spend a bit of time in a friends 2013 Disco 4 diesel. Great vehicle, goes superbly on and off-road, and nothing has broken yet in 60k.

It replaced a 1995 diesel Disco which was still going at 250k when written off. It was painfully slow towing, needed a better transmission oil cooler and had lots of minor electrical issues, ABS lights, instruments and random fuse blowing. Both Discos were very capable off road, and that judgement comes from a Land Cruiser owner.
cammey, Feb 3, 2:51pm
I get a new one every three years. Love them. Best truck of the type on the road. And off the road.
theo35, Feb 3, 2:54pm
We've got a 97. awesome wagon for towing etc. thirsty on the petrol but we don't care.
mr_payne, Feb 3, 3:06pm
I have a '96 Discovery (3.9 V8 auto) and I love it. Comfortable, loads of space, 7 seats, capable off road, tows anything. However, there are two problems:

1) It is very thirsty

2) It is 1.96m tall (2m with the sunroof open). A lot of parking buildings in the city have a maximum height of 1.8m.
gmphil, Feb 3, 3:14pm
cousin had one 96 diesel . had some charging problem or starter problem and if faltered it would bring up air bag light and need to go and have reset . guy told us that it was a common and thing keep battery charged . other than that he loved it
kam04, Feb 3, 3:40pm
Looking at something for towing a caravan. I've been looking at Prado's but having Discovery's in mind as well.
mojo49, Feb 3, 4:39pm
I have had two Discos, 95 and 97. Use 97 to tow very large dual axle UK caravan - 1800kgs. Had 97 since 2007 at 150000K. Now 190000K. In that time I have done water pump, distributor vacuum advance unit, radiator hoses, brake pads, drive belt tensioner and recently rear axle seal. Just spent a few $ repainting roof and bonnet and put it through workshop for a general once over. Best every towing vehicle. Full time 4 wheel drive. Park the caravan and go anywhere. Petrol 3.9L V8 - thirsty, but at 2 1/2 tonne what would you expect. Thirsty is cheap compared to buying at twice the price to save fuel. Incredible torque. Auto designed for towing with torque converter lock-up switch when it drops into 4th gear. Great tow - towed weight ratio. Stable as towing and almost as quiet as a car. Cost me under $7k when I bought it and just spent around $2.5K on it to refresh it rather than replace. Will happily look at a Disco II eventually but not for a couple more years at least. It has a $20 intelligent trickle charger on it when not in use and that keeps the battery and all electrics sweet. They do drain battery quite quickly if left standing and the electrics do not like that.
mephismeltdown, Feb 3, 6:56pm
I have a 200tdi discovery goes good. no problem other than sunfade.
I use mine for towing, the 300tdi is more suited to this.
elect70, Feb 4, 2:20pm
I had a 96 3.0 capable off road good for towing , but oh the fuel consumption not suprising since the motor dates back to 70s but with EFi
kam04, Feb 5, 10:38am
So from what I can see from what's been posted so far is that owners are quite happy but the Disco is a bit of a gas guzzler. From what I've seen in comparison with the Prado is, the Discovery 4ltr is an eight cylinder (averaging $4,680/yr) and the Prado 4ltr is a 6 cylinder (averaging $3,860/yr). These figures quoted on samples for sale on Trade Me.
kam04, Feb 5, 10:40am
The above being petrol of course.
msigg, Feb 5, 12:58pm
The Prado is in my opinion a much better machine, reliability ratings are higher, My preference is a diesel, one of the best machines around, just got to keep the cooling system up to date. The discos can be bought very cheap compared to the prado so no comparison really.
bwg11, Feb 5, 1:48pm
My comments at post #3 were in response to the OP's specific inquiry re Discos. But I see in a later post the OP has been considering a Prado, in my view there is no contest, Prado every time, particularly if not buying new. A new Disco is a great truck, but I wouldn't want to own a 10 yr old one with 150k on, whereas I would be quite comfortable with a 150k Prado, which is probably only a third of it way through its useful life.

As the quoted post says a mid-life Prado will be more expensive. Just personally, I would probably go petrol in preference to diesel unless doing huge kms. The Prado 4 litre has bags of power and is not excessively thirsty.
mojo49, Feb 5, 2:25pm
bwg11. See my post about my '97 Disco 1. It is all about regular maintenance not about age or kms. There are no reliability or expense issues with my '97 Disco, and there should not be with a Prado the same age or kms if looked after properly. 150km is nothing for a Disco. I have seen them running fine at twice that kms. It is mostly a mindset that vehicles of that age are unreliable. It is simply not true if you look after them properly. Buying a new Disco or Prado is solely for those with more money than sense or a desperate need to display their wealth, or satisfy their ego. New vehicles are holes in the air you pour money into and watch it vanish as you drive it out of the dealers yard. There is no more expensive vehicle to own that a new one. Depreciation and the opportunity interest cost on the money spent, (not invested) vastly exceed maintenance cost on a near new or slightly older vehicle, irrespective of make or model.
clark20, Feb 5, 8:57pm
Guy at work had one , did 25L/100km
offrd1, Feb 5, 8:58pm
in my opinion the 2.7 diesel jeep grand Cherokee would be the way to go,they are a fantastic 4x4 and you get a lot for your money,also a great towing vehicle. Please don't listen to the anti Jeep brigade. The Prado's are far to over priced for what you get
mojo49, Feb 6, 7:54am
My Disco 3.9 pertol V8 does around 12-13L/100 km normal mixed town/open road driving. Uses 95 Octane. That is the original spec for the vehicle per the manufacturer. At 18 years old and nearly 190000km it is still running at original spec. Goes up to 18L-20L/100Km towing nearly 2 tonne of caravan, depending on how heavy footed I am. I use cruise control at around 90kph where the road is suitable and get out of the way of following traffic asap. I only do around 5000-7000km per annum of towing. Hardly use it the rest of the time, and put regn on hold for 6 months of the year and insurance down to 3rd party, fire and theft, while it is not in use. Have a 2001 3L Maxima for work. That is a lot cheaper to run, a pleasure to drive on the open and keeps the kms down on the Disco, which in turn defers the need to spend more $ replacing it. I would agree that the Prado is very expensive for what it is, but that is a common issue with 2nd hand Toyotas in NZ. A factor of market perception about quality and reliability.
nzangel1, Feb 6, 12:26pm
Nope never owned one : )
elect70, Jul 5, 11:58pm
I recall jeep cherokee s were voted the worst built car in USA , this was few years ago .