Thread: I need advice. Defender or dico?

Hi Alex, welcome to the forum.

I assume you are mechanically inclined...if you're not your choice of vehicles will make you that way or turn away now..

At the bottom lh corner of the page is a search box for Aulro only....use it....type in any subject on Land Rovers that you care eg defender aircon and you will receive so much advice from members experiences.

There are both defender freaks and disco freaks ( I was one ) on this forum and there are dedicated step by step guides to doing every maintenance task ever thought of on Land Rovers.

Good luck . this is the worlds best forum.

I have kids. Went from a defender to a disco because they are safer. No head rests or airbags in a defender. And they don't do well in roll overs from my experience. Discos also have three child anchors. You can get a crab bar in a defender to attach the kids seats to, but they are about $400 plus.

Also discos are 1/4 to half the price for a vehicle that doesn't leak water or dust, has working Aircon but it's just as good off road as a defender.

Yeah I'd like my disco to be a square, cool looking defer. But I'm built for comfort, not for speed

Each to their own.

Originally Posted by AlexL

So my dream car has always been a Land Rover Defender.
I want to kit her out for mud, climbs, beaches, touring Australia (eventually) and most importantly family camping.
My issue is I have a two year old boy, a girl due in July and a missus that wants the car to have working AC (you'd think she was the pom and I'm the Aussie)
So here lies my problem, I've heard defenders don't have child anchor points, AC is below par (although can be improved) but does tick all the other boxes. Including looming 100x better.
My question, can a disco do what I want from it plus fit my actual needs? Whilst also being cheaper to buy?
The defender means a lot of saving, whilst a Disco I could buy next week.
I'm looking at the TD5 models on both.
Or would a Freelander be a good choice?
Obviously there is a reason the British and ANSAC forces used defenders for so long.
Can I get advice please.
Alex

Hi Alex. The deefer crew will possibly kill me for this. I have Disco3 SE, drove a mates Deefer and it was great for what we did with it.

My kids and two baby seat and later booster seats were fine in the Disco. same seats in the Lexus rx350 was a major PITA for 3 in the back seat!! Not sure how the deefenders fair in that myself

In long distance touring the seat and suspension in the Disco is the best by a long shot. Deefenders and many other 4wds are almost agricultural equipment in comfort comparison to Discos and RRs. We have traveled over 500,000 km in my first and replacment Disco road and also some great fun 4wd only locations.

As pointed out hands on makes mechanically capable consider Deefers or Pre Disco 3s perhaps? I did look very closely before I opted for the D3. My Deefer tin foil hat is on..
4wd capability is not in my view compromised in any way with a Disco with the right shoes on! Freelanders are/were a little ride height and space compromised for my three kids

One of my staff grabbed a ex army version several years ago. She lasted less than a year with it. It was cool but not great as a daily drive for her.

Tin hat on but they know I love them as well


good luck with your hunts mate

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

Hi Alex, welcome to the forum.

I assume you are mechanically inclined...if you're not your choice of vehicles will make you that way or turn away now..

At the bottom lh corner of the page is a search box for Aulro only....use it....type in any subject on Land Rovers that you care eg defender aircon and you will receive so much advice from members experiences.

There are both defender freaks and disco freaks ( I was one ) on this forum and there are dedicated step by step guides to doing every maintenance task ever thought of on Land Rovers.

Good luck . this is the worlds best forum.

Thank you, yeah I can get around an engine. Especially an old model with less electrical work going on. Although I'm no master mechanic and will learn as I go.

Originally Posted by AlexL

Thank you, yeah I can get around an engine. Especially an old model with less electrical work going on. Although I'm no master mechanic and will learn as I go.

Originally Posted by NavyDiver

Hi Alex. The deefer crew will possibly kill me for this. I have Disco3 SE, drove a mates Deefer and it was great for what we did with it.

My kids and two baby seat and later booster seats were fine in the Disco. same seats in the Lexus rx350 was a major PITA for 3 in the back seat!! Not sure how the deefenders fair in that myself

In long distance touring the seat and suspension in the Disco is the best by a long shot. Deefenders and many other 4wds are almost agricultural equipment in comfort comparison to Discos and RRs. We have traveled over 500,000 km in my first and replacment Disco road and also some great fun 4wd only locations.

As pointed out hands on makes mechanically capable consider Deefers or Pre Disco 3s perhaps? I did look very closely before I opted for the D3. My Deefer tin foil hat is on..
4wd capability is not in my view compromised in any way with a Disco with the right shoes on! Freelanders are/were a little ride height and space compromised for my three kids

One of my staff grabbed a ex army version several years ago. She lasted less than a year with it. It was cool but not great as a daily drive for her.

Tin hat on but they know I love them as well


good luck with your hunts mate

Thank you for your honest opinion.
I'm leaning towards a Disco and then maybe get my Def later in life. I've seen the price is a lot lower for a Disco. I am okay with mechanical work, but no harm in learning more.
Also think it'll be better for the kids.

Thank you again mate.

I will throw in my 10 cents worth. I have owned discovery's 300 tdi Manual and auto. Have carried kids with nil issues and the AC worked well. I have owned a td5 Auto and a manual as well. At first i was a bit daunted by the electronics but i purchased a Nanocom and was able to sort out the electronic gremlins with the help of it and the forums on this site. I currently own a defender 130 which i converted to an Isuzu 4bd1. (Nil electronics) . Every vehicle has its good points and bad. My advise is to seek out help and maybe even a test drive before you bite the bullet. Now why have I had so many vehicles? My wife asks the same question. I love Landy's they each have there own idiosyncrasies . Remember there are no stupid questions ask away.

If you want resale value go for a Defender because the resale on Disco's plumet as they get older.
On todays prices for a decent Defender you can also get a decent 200 series and have the best of both worlds

Originally Posted by trout1105

If you want resale value go for a Defender because the resale on Disco's plumet as they get older.
On todays prices for a decent Defender you can also get a decent 200 series and have the best of both worlds

Never use decent and 200 in the same sentence