Thread: What to expect from a Disco 2?

Crackers, I would suggest you put aside the budget issues for the moment and find a late model D2 with a manual and lower km's first to test drive.

The auto is a lot more sluggish to the manual as the stock torque converter revs too high and completely misses the max torque point for the motor. Having said that the Td5 is not a high performance motor in stock form, but it responds well to a remap and a bit of tweaking. It is the late models from mid-2002 on that you really want if you are interested in remaps as the ECU can be easily reprogrammed, and the D2a from 2003/2004 is probably the pick of the bunch.

As far as soft suspension goes - compared to the comparison vehicles you listed, yes it should be a lot softer - this is how the Rangies and Discoveries achieve such excellent wheel articulation which makes them so great off road. Stiff suspension is no good for off road use, but if you can find one in good nick with ACE fitted you will find it rides a lot flatter through the corners but still retains good wheel articulation when needed.

I have a mildly tweaked Manual D2 with ACE and also a D3, and whilst I love the D3, the D2 is more fun, with a few performance mods can be made to go quicker than a stock D3, and it rides flatter in the corners than the D3. The D2 suspension is actually stiffer than the D3 but the D3 rides the bumps better. It is all relative.

Find some good examples before you pass judgement.

So manual and 2002 onwards (I'm vaguely aware of a model change around then).

The soft suspension had me wondering about worn shock absorbers but these two were just horrid.

Thanks mate. It wasn't 'judging' so much as 'sickening disappointment'. I'll keep looking.

Mate at high mileage you are looking at many vehicles that have shot ball joints in the steering knuckles and sad springs and shocks that are just doing nothing. So look for a vehicle that has had all those items replaced in say the last 50k and it will be a different vehicle.

Now comparing with other 4wds the d2 when it was released was way ahead in handling, brakijg distance (better braking distances tha an X5 or ML Merc for eg) and ride. Acceleration of the td5 wasnt bad but wasnt good either in stock form if you are used to a petrol sedan for eg. If you want to get to 100 many seconds quicker you go the v8 but pay for it at the bowser....unless you can get one on injected lpg. It also stands above the stockers from other makes off road.

Aftermarket parts are plentiful and cheap. Dont let anyone tell you that Toyota for example are cheaper on parts prices.

Cheers

The euro 3 engine as fitted to the d2a also came out in 02 pre update d2s it has the same ecu larger intercooler mine has egr deleted high flow cat rear muffler delete and it will take off like a sports car if you plant your foot and it's an auto

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Once you get past any common known problems they are actually quite good. I have a 02 D2 with 245,000km auto, removed EGR, and ECU flash tune. Once I got all the little things sorted it actually gets along quite nicely and the handling isn't too bad for a large truck like it is.

As stated above the brakes are far better than other SUV's and diesel utes of the same time.

It really depends what you need it for, my other vehicles are a XR6T and a Golf Gti so for me to say its not too bad for everyday driving means they can get along nicely. As said about the Torque convertor not being as great as it could be I definitely agree.

Crackers I have test driven a May 2004 TD5 with a chipped engine and it flew. A bit of turbo lag and then wooosh. This car had about 232K on the clock. I've also driven a 1999 td5 with 307k on the clock, not as sprightly as the chipped car but no slouch either.

Bo

There is a perfect d1 in the markets for that money and with very low k's, i would steer clear from high mileage d2's unless your budget can handle it.

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Think about the milage you will be doing each year. IF it is between 5-8K then you may find a V8 still comes out cheeper over 3 years.

The V8s tend to have lower KMs and seem to have a lot less ongoing issues than the TD5s.