Post
by Edweird » Tue Feb 24, 2015 6:20 pm
I won't often defend Land Rovers, but as a more comfortable alternative to an SJ the Discovery is the only option that springs to mind besides a Grand Vitara, without spending a metric fuck-ton of money.
For the love of god, don't get a V8, they're bloody hopeless. We've had two V8s and a 300TDi. The V8s are great to drive when they run, but they are SO unreliable it goes beyond a joke. The first one started refusing to start and then the rot got to the point it wasn't worth fixing. Second one has excellent bodywork but has also started not-starting. It's been sat in a barn for over a month now and I ran out of ideas after about a week. It's got spark, it's got fuel, it's got compression, the timing is good, etc. etc.
The TDi on the other hand was very reliable and tough as old boots. Sluggish on the uptake, in part because it was an automatic. I know a guy who claims to get 35mpg out of his TDi manual; Mum used to get 28 from the automatic.
The steering in the Discos felt a bit vague to me but I'm used to the old skool SJ, which was light and didn't have PAS; you definitely notice the extra weight. It'd pull a trailer all day and not give a toss. Brakes worked great, ABS did its job and even the windows worked. Big boot, seven seats if you need it, pretty decent stereo etc. Trim options are a bit swings and roundabouts. I personally would go for a low spec to get rid of as many unnecessary electrics as possible but high spec has all sorts of fancy gadgets, provided they still work.
There's three ways of doing things:
The right way,
The wrong way
And my way, which is like the wrong way but faster.