Bling for a New D4

[rocket rod]

Guys

I'm looking at a new D4 probably early next year but I wanted to find out opinions on certain accessories and their worth. The items I would like your comments on are;

Xenon lights vs std
Rear locker is it necessary (given a good traction system std)
Std Stereo vs the Meridian
Do both of the above have DAB+
Satnav. I currently use a 7" tablet with Oziexplorer and Sygic street nav
Tow pack (is this needed if buying a mitch hitch)
Potentially I'll upgrade to GOE 18" rims, what to do with the std 19s
I'm thinking of a TDV6 and apart from engine specs why would I go for a SDV6?

Thanks in advance

[Canaussie]

Mmmm option option options, xenon lights are a yes in my books, sat nav not such a big issue and an expensive option and lots of others that are better especially if your doing a lot off touring off road. Diff lock would be awesome and at $1000 option well worth it, I don't have one and went up the cape awesome and did all the hard tracks Maytown have it the best workout and no slipping at all. I use a tdv6 would have loved the 3l but wasn't in the budget. The power from the 3l is amazing.

You'll love this vehicle they are awesome and will take you anywhere you want to go in style.

As far as wheels the 3l will limit you to GOE wheels, but beware and check all legalities and approvals from LR as there are some users on hear currently going through the courts on using non approved items and non standard wheels and tyres. I believe these to be an awesome product but heads up. I personally use stock 18" wheels with 285 60 18 cooper zeons.

All Aussie vehicles come with towing as std, unless this has changed.

[Plane Fixer]

Welcome rocket rod,
I too did a lot of research before buying my D4 and as a result i got off the showroom floor exactly the spec I wanted. I was lucky.
The xenon lights are a no brainer as I would not have a car without them now.
I also got the reversing camera and that came with the upgraded sound system, again the reversing camera is a must, especially in supermarket car parks with kids running everywhere. The HK sound system is great,
I also got the e-diff as it cannot be retrofitted.
As all D4's now come with the 3.0 it is now how much you wish to spend which will determine the model.
You will get some very good advice from the members on this forum and we are a friendly lot who will endeavor to assist with all your questions.
If you are like me you will have driven and looked up the other contenders in this price and class of vehicle and have found the Disco is streets ahead in most ways, especially power and comfort.
There are the horror stories out there, as there are with other brands and all my mates told me I was mad buying a D4, but so far I have done 76000km and no problems. That being said they MUST be correctly maintained to keep the reliability and is generally the same as any TOYMITNISS of recent times.
If you finally get a D4 you will join the permagrin club.

[LandyAndy]

I just bought a "poverty pack" D4 with the headlight upgrade,leather,reverse cameras and stereo upgrade.AWESOME.No DAB in my stereo,but its VERY GOOD.Was in Perth tuesday,they are still advertising these at from $79950 drive away for remaining stocks.The cheap finance and extra 2 years warranty has finished.
Talk to Scott Grayson at Southern Land Rover great bloke,feel free to mention AULRO as I told him there are lots of us upgrading.
The TDV6 is brilliant,the SDV6 must be awesome.
They have an SE with gear at Southerns for $79990,has 5000km(I think),has the SDV6 and E-Diff plus the extra cameras.It was the vehicle I rang about.I couldnt get the extra warranty and had to pay stamp duty as it was a demo(service managers car) so went brand new.
Andrew

[Basil135]

Everyone is going to have different opinions on what you NEED, but here is my contribution:

Xenon lights vs std - Can't see the point in the Xenon, apart from the LED signature. Around town on low beam, there are plenty of street lights to see where you are going, and if you are using high beam, then a good set of Fyrlyt's on the front is going to be better anyway. (That should wake them up :twisted: )
Rear locker - Out of the box, the LR D4 is simply the best 4wd you could want. Unless you are doing a LOT of hard, heavy tracks, and doing them often, then I would say, save the money for other bits.
Std Stereo vs the Meridian - upgrade the stereo. You will be in the car a lot, so a brilliant sounding stereo is a must have.
Do both of the above have DAB+ - Not that I am aware of.
Satnav. - Get the Tech pack, and it includes satnav, rear camera, and the upgraded stereo. In my MY13, the satnav has never let me down, and I have never needed to use my back-up, either on road or off.
Tow pack (is this needed if buying a mitch hitch) - All the bits are there, but you will need to specify the tow pack to get the tongue. I would, even if you are putting a Mitch Hitch on.
Potentially I'll upgrade to GOE 18" rims, what to do with the std 19s - For me, the jury is out on whether to call changing to 18" rims, an "upgrade". There are more & more 19" tyres becoming available, with good treads for off road use. I doubt the dealer would change them to 18" for you anyway, so worry about it after you get it. For the GOE rims + tyres, you are up around the $3-4k mark.
I'm thinking of a TDV6 and apart from engine specs why would I go for a SDV6? - Having driven a 2.7, TDV6 and the SDV6, and considering the 2.7 is no longer available, the TDV6 has more than enough power IMO.

[LandyAndy]

RE the locking Diff.
GG Haggis says the axles and bearings are stronger.His point was for a normal use 4x4 the standard spec non E-diff was more than up to anything we can deal at it.For heavy towing the E-diff if the answer.
I wanted an E diff but not available in the price range I could afford.
Andrew

[discotwinturbo]

These are my thoughts:

Xenon lights: the bixenons are brilliant and significantly better than halogens....it was only about an $800 option when I purchased mine.

Rear locker is it necessary: much stronger gear, and if you go a bit harder, at $1060 it was a no brainer for me.

Std Stereo vs the Meridian Do both of the above have DAB+ Satnav: I am not into sound so standard was fine for me. Factory NAV I chose not to go with as I prefer my iPhone tomtom and hema maps. Unlike factory NAV which is also slow, they have no update costs.

Potentially I'll upgrade to GOE 18" rims, what to do with the std 19s: definitely for me. So much more rubber gives much longer tyre length for serious sand, bigger choice of rubber that is much stronger than 18's. I use 19's for everyday, and put the 18's on when I tour or go bush. I would do the same again.

Tow pack: Mitch hitch is the way to go for towing offroad and heavy ball weight....just makes me feel better having a stronger setup.

I'm thinking of a TDV6 and apart from engine specs why would I go for a SDV6: you will only notice a slight difference in the performance between the two. I went for the SD when I purchased mine as 2.7 was the option then. Having driven two 2.7's since then, the 2.7's felt almost as good as my 3.0. But I do tow very heavy weight so the extra grunt of the 3.0 is used.....

Brett....

[tiddy]

Hi Rocket, welcome to the forum.

My wife & I got our MY14 TDV6 late May this year and as they will tell you here , it is a fantastic car. Regarding your questions:

We ordered the Bi Xenons after reading on here that a lot of folk aren't happy with there standard halogens and it was money well spend, they are brilliant on both low & hi beam. And they are times when you just can't use light bars or spots.

We got the locker, if you can get one with it, why not, we ordered our car & still optioned it, plus I do think it will help with resale.

Also ticked the Meridian upgrade, which also can be had with DAB+. The upgrade is good, but Im getting my Alpine sub & matching amp installed as it just lacks the low end that I like...some call me pedantic though.

I didn't get the SatNav, personally I thought it was way overpriced & its money I used elsewhere, plus I believe the upgrades are expensive & bit of a pain to do.

Cant answer the 18" wheels question, it may happen down the track, who knows. Depends if the selection of 19's doesn't improve in time I think.

TD v SD, if the budget can allow for an SD, go for it, we drove both versions and yes the SD does go better, but at the time, we couldn't get a deal good enough to warrant spending a significantly more money. Having said that, Iam really happy with the way out TD goes, our previous car was a 4.7L V8 Grand Cherokee which had plenty of giddy up, the TD does not disappoint in anyway.

All Discoveries come standard with a LR tow hitch, for us, it is more than sufficient, I purchased a Hayman Reese tongue & ball for $100.00, good to go.

[letherm]

I've got an HSE so I'm not sure what would be standard but it has the HK sound and it is good.

DAB - mine came with it for free and you can definitely tell the difference in sound but I find it patchy reception wise even around Sydney where I live and it dies in car parks, tunnels etc. Don't know if I'd pay for it personally.

SATNAV I find all right and generally works fine but as said it is very expensive to update and the updates aren't frequent.

Tow pack. Once again mine came with the tow bar and electrics and the dealer threw in the tongue for free which I'm reasonably sure you could get as a freebie with a little arm twisting.

I like the bixenon lights but the high beam is a bit weak for me and I've fitted a pair of Fyrlights onto the bullbar I fitted.

As for the E-Diff rear locker. I went without it as for me it was a nice to have rather than a must have. If it had been available I would have gladly paid for it but I took an in stock car rather than order so it's a matter of whether you want to order one or not as its is good value for money. From what I've read, recent model standard transmission is far better than previous years and an E-Diff makes an incredible vehicle fantastic. As mentioned above you would probably only need for serious off road stuff.


HTH
Martin

[nat_89]

I guess i can't help to much with the options as i have a HSE SDV6 myself so i couldn't comment to much on the engine side of it as i have not driven the lowers spec 3L i know the SDV6 goes great and from what I've read here there isn't to much difference.

As for headlights as you can see the general consensus is that the Xenon are well worth the extra you pay to option them!!

I got a car off the showroom with the ediff mainly for resale i don't really do much towing or major off road although id love to have some fun just haven't really got around to it.

I have the Harmon Kardon stereo 11spk stereo and love it!! but from what I've heard the Meridian one just doesn't seem as good even though its the same spec just doesn't seem to be as good but definitely option the better stereo and if your really keen get the 17spk haha.

I haven't experienced the DAB+ so can't comment on that but living out west QLD don't think we have digital radio here anyway.

The HSE has the sat nav never used it myself mainly use iPhones but yeah good to get a distance idea just enter an address in see how far till your destination. But the reverse camera that comes with it is def worth is so so easy to hook up a trailer!!

As said about the tow pack they already come standard just have to buy your own tongue which ever one you choose to put in.

No matter which engine or options you choose you will love the D4 they are a bloody amazing car weather off road or just eating up kms on the highway they do it all with ease not to mention carrying a massive amount of load and or 7 people in pure luxury!! YOU will not be disappointed!!

[captcam68]

Bi-Xion Headlights - Absolutely, mate has std halogen and is regretting it
E-Diff - Absolutely, not only adds resale but noticeable increase in traction, had a 2009 without and now notice big difference.
GOE Wheels - if you plan on doing a fair bit of off road then money well spent. Much better AT tyre choice, and cheaper rubber as well as stronger rims, I sold my near new set with std tyres in no time on here.
Factory Nav - no use off road and a very expensive option for what you get. I use an iPad with hema maps, brilliant
Stereo upgrade to Hi-Ice - Only ever had this in both cars and very good, i like to crank up the tunes!
TDV6 v SDV6 - I went the TDV6 as couldn't justify the price difference even after i optioned my TDV6 with the 7 seats, leather, electric mirrors etc, All the bling i put on (bulbar, winch etc etc) still came under the std SDV6 price. Power is fine and now after market chips/remaps coming out for around 1000-1500 to bring up to sDV6 spec anyway.
Whatever you decide you will not be disappointed as they are brilliant vehicles!

[Redback]

I thought the tow pack came standard on the D4:confused:

These are a must

Bi Xenon

E-diff

Leather

TDV6

Upgraded Stereo, if only for the Ipod connectivity.

Baz.

[nat_89]

I thought the tow pack came standard on the D4:confused:

These are a must

Bi Xenon

E-diff

Leather

TDV6

Upgraded Stereo, if only for the Ipod connectivity.

Baz.

As far as i was aware it did to you just have to buy the tongue to put in there but i could be wrong.

[Plane Fixer]

Yes I have the tongue and I just put it in there.:D

[Redback]

As far as i was aware it did to you just have to buy the tongue to put in there but i could be wrong.

Yep I thought so, I did the same:D

[Geedublya]

Things I really like on mine.

Cool box
Heated seats
Heated windscreen and mirrors
Folding mirrors
Memory drivers seat and steering column
E-diff
6 stack DVD and rear seat entertainment
adaptive HID headlights
Keyless entry
Hi Line stereo

Sat Nav is handy.
High beam assist is a little hit and miss.
Surround cameras aren't terribly useful although reversing camera is great.
Heated steering wheel isn't that useful although it was nice at -3c the other day



The only thing I don't really use or like is the sunroof.

[rocket rod]

I've been away for a while and have only just got back to reading all your answers and thank you very much for all your input. It's great to have a bunch of like minded people to bounce a few ideas around. I should have stated I'm a current D2 owner (15 years and 350000Kms) looking to upgrade but thanks for the welcome comments anyway. As far as the bling requirements, you have all confirmed what I was going to get anyway. Given my 15 year absence from the car buying market, what strategies do you employ when approaching a dealer?

Thanks again

[RHS58]

Beware the Ming Mole aka Wynns Wench

[TerryO]

Things I really like on mine.

Cool box
Heated seats
Heated windscreen and mirrors
Folding mirrors
Memory drivers seat and steering column
E-diff
6 stack DVD and rear seat entertainment
adaptive HID headlights
Keyless entry
Hi Line stereo (Logic7)

Sat Nav is handy.
High beam assist is a little hit and miss.
Surround cameras aren't terribly useful although reversing camera is great.
Heated steering wheel isn't that useful although it was nice at -3c the other day



The only thing I don't really use or like is the sunroof.


Got to love all the stuff a V8 D4 comes with standard ..... ;)