Thread: Advice on Disco 2a purchase

Yeah, got to agree with comments made about D2a HSEs.

hi guys,
some better educated people may correct me, but I think the difference between a D2a and D2 is not a huge amount? Front lights, interior colour changes, slightly different instrumentation. Running gear is all the same more or less?

If that's a consideration and not getting too old, another option is the D2 ES (top of the range, like the HSE of its day), go from late 1999 to 2002? The only thing I think is missing is the sunroofs that seem common on the HSE's, but is has A.C.E, rear aircon, leather, 12 speaker stereo 6CD, FULL electric adj seats, heated seats/mirrors etc.

Towing wise, I only have experience with towing 1800-2000 ton of boat and considering how poor the V8 stats are on paper, it really punches WELL above its weight. The Hume HWY from Melbourne to the Murray river has some pretty decent hills (for a FWY) and I found sticking to 110kph keeps it on the boil at 2500rpm and its MUCH happier holding revs and keeping it in fourth. A 120kph run up on the BIG ones never goes astray! It takes corners quite well too as the mongrel road to Yarrawonga with massive bumps mid corner will atest!

I've got a 2007 XR8 ute with 260kw to compare it with and it does damn well considering it has half the power and two gears less!

There will be more ES's to chose from - I know from personal experience back when I was looking.

mmmm, I know of a nice green one for sale too.......

regards
Darian

Got to be some sort of record, towing a 2000 ton boat with a D2!!!

Cheers

Pete

One big change between model years is the inclusion or exclusion of a centre differential lock (CDL).
The D2a's had it definitely but the earlier models either didnt have the full set up or had nothing at all.

Do a search for the exact info as its been covered in detail heaps before.
It makes a big difference to the 4wd ability of the Disco.

My local Landie specialist reckons the v8 is more reliable due to being more simple. I've got a td5 D2a and 1990 RRC with the 3.9. The 3.9 has some pretty big differences to the 4.0 but it is still the same basic motor and both are very straight forward compared to the td5. Having said that, the td5 is a very nice motor.

I like the td5 as it has much greater range but doesn't sound as good.

Air suspension (self Levelling suspension - SLS) is on the rear only. I'm impressed with how effective it is - same ride height with varying load. It was fitted to seven seater or as an option on the five seaters.

HSE's are rare, probably because they were expensive. I heard-read somewhere that there are only 100 brought into Australia of both engine types.

My only experience with towing is a large car trailer with my brothers D2 (v8) on it; about 2500kg. In the hills around Canberra, my td5 aquitted itself very well. My td5 is completely stock but I may do a mild ECU remap soon to reduce/remove the lag.

I have an SE (got it two years ago now with 60k and in immaculate cond) and its missing (compared to the HSE): twin sunroofs; parking sensors; HSE alloy wheels (I think they're called Typhoon; the SE has Hurricane wheels); and heated front seats (apparently only the switches are missing from the SE and can be retro fitted). I was looking for a tD5 HSE but gave up As they were/are quite few and far between plus I found 'my' SE in such good condition.

I believe the classic was the run out version just before the release of the D3- essentially a base model with non-electric/no armrest leather seats, nice alloy wheels and the sticker.

You would probably be best off calling the place you're planning to get servicing done for price differences between the td5 and v8. You can save many $ DIY'ing the simple stuff and this site is a great resource.

Not sure all HSE's have heated seats or at the least a heated seats on/off switch, mine doesn't anyway. I find at 140 + kg I don't tend to get a cold arse anyway. ...

There ain't much difference between a optioned SE and a HSE and I would be happy with either.

Re V8 v Diesel, there have been many sometimes very heated discussions re TD5 versus V8, but its an individuals choice which he/she prefers. Personally I like V8's and if I was to replace my D3 with another I would buy the 4.4 V8 instead of the TDV6 next time even though the TDV6 is an excellent engine powerwise. Its a case of the pain of the extra fuel usage versus the ongoing paranoia of waiting for a expensive engine failure and the high ongoing service costs of the much more frugal diesel.

cheers,
Terry

Hi all.

Thank you all so much for your advice and wisdom. I am hoping to sell my car soon and move on up to the world of Discovery, both in name and nature. I am looking forward to eventually purchasing a HSE however with your replies, it sounds that the SE may be a wise choice. As for towing, I suppose I am part of the lucky few to have the opportunity to borrow a Discovery 4 td3 HSE (parents car). Thanks once again for everyones advice, you have all been very helpful and looking forward to posting pics of my new adventure.

Craig

Originally Posted by Pierre

Got to be some sort of record, towing a 2000 ton boat with a D2!!!

Cheers

Pete

Reckon you could get a gig in Italy at the moment, if you could tow a boat that big.

Btw, how can go tell if you have an HSE or an optioned SE?