Time for a bigger rover......?

I too would have to think very hard for a reason not to get disco, but there is one nagging point. I am in exactly the same situation as you family wise, except we are about 9 months and three weeks further on.

Upon trying to fit a rearward facing car seat in the d2, but bugger me if it would not fit,...until i moved the front passenger seat forward enough. Your wife, if u drive, is going to take a hit in the legroom area with car seat in.

Still would need to be surgically separated from my truck, but at least u go into this with all the info.

Nick.:)

Sorry guys,i am with Slunnie :(, couple of mates have LC's,and one has a GU,the extra room is great.

I dont have any probs with the D2,as there is only 2 of us now the kids have grown up& do there own thing:D

You can actually go to the UK and get the LR operation in St Guys Hospital. Its now a standard op and they make all comers 5 foot 8 inches exactly.

Now for me I am just over 6 foot one and have been as heavy as 100kg whilst owning a D1 and D2 and always found them comfortable. An extra inch or 2 of legroom would be welcome but the upright seating seems to be the compensating factor and all is good. I have 3 kids and sure I would like a bit of extra room, but not having the box compartments in the rear and having a cage gives you the ability to load up to the roof which does make it, volume wise as big as a GU I reckon.

The rear facing child seat can be a pain - agree fully with that.

I reckon that a cage makes up the load difference but if you wanted to, a good set of roof racks well and truly does the business (I have resisted that temptation to part with more dosh myself, but its attractive). Going camping I take a 7x4 box trailer with 4 foot high sides when the cage is included...fair bit of room there.

Cheers

It has been so long since I have tried a 100 series that I can't remember what they're like - but I know the 200 Series is positively enormous compared to the D2. But so is a D3.

I too have a 7-seat D2 and find that it can seem a bit cramped in cabin length - yes, if you use a reversable childseat (that can be used as a capsule first and later as a forward-facing seat) there is not much room for the front seats to be set back (but I have found that problem with a surprising number of cars, including of all things an S-Class Benz!). You may get around that by using a dedicated baby capsule, which I have not tried but they look much smaller. You can rent them for the 6-8 months you'll need it.

Three seats across can be a challenge in the Disco as the wheelarches intrude, so it depends on the design of child seat. If the base is wide at the rear of each of the three seats, you simply won't fit three in. Narrower-base seats are available and I have an older "Discovery' seat that is quite narrow altogether and can be used with the other two wide seats we have. We have two kids but occasionally one of their friends comes along.

If you are going to fit 3 childseats in a 100 series and want to use the third row much, bear in mind that people will have to scramble up and over the drop-down tailgate to get in - unless you remove the child seats, which would become a major irritation. The D2 is rear access and it's much easier to get in, although it's true the side-swing tailgate is a pain on typical cambered road sides cos it won't stay open.

A trap for young players is that the first few years of D2 production they didn't seem to come with outer tether points. Well, they did come with the thread, but you have to buy and fit the bolt and tether point yourself (not hard). The outer points on the seatback are great but the (in situ) centre tether point on the back roof rail (above the back door) clearly impinges on load area if you're loading up high (for which you should have a cargo barrier).

The main advantage of the Disco is its height and I like the flat floor. The flat floor makes it easier for the kids (now 2 and 3) to walk across to their seat, and when we travel the dog can lie comfortably across the floor. The height of the interior at the back (except the door area - that can be a pain as it just seems not tall enough and not long enough). Height is good if you want to climb in and put them in the seats, it's just the access thru narrow door openings is a pain.

Sorry, that was a bit of a rave really, but given that all my D2 ever does these days is ferry kids about I have become a bit of a pseudo-expert.

I would rather be cramped in a d2 than drive a Toyota.:D
The D2 won't be that bad surely.;)

In terms of the issue with the baby capsule....my missus is around 5'9. I have an older baby seat in mine and she has the flash new one. Her's fitted better but was a bit snug in the front seat. Six months later, he is sitting up right, so for a short term of incovenience...all is well again.

Now in our D2 the rear seats face forward...from a few things I have read hear some must face a different way:confused:. My 10 yr old normally jumps in there and has no problems. An adult different kettle of fish but the way LR's depreciate, I will have a D3 again in no time :D.

Any vehicle will have its pro and cons...plus also comes down to a passion level to I guess. As I said in my previous post....I would never own a toyota or nissan...just like I would never own a camry or pulsar....just aint gunna happen. Even with 5 children and having the D3, we still would have needed roof racks or a trailer to go somewhere on a trip.

Regards

Stevo

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Any vehicle will have its pro and cons...plus also comes down to a passion level to I guess. As I said in my previous post....I would never own a toyota or nissan

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Hear hear. I agree totally. Even though the old design of the D2 holds it back a bit (the rear door length, wheelarch intrusion and cabin design) I much prefer it to the alternative Japanese 4WDs and any way you cut it it is much bigger and more practical than most cars. It isn't a bad thing at all, and if I sold mine the first thing I would miss is its practicality. Unless I replaced it with a D3 :angel:

It's hard to compare it with the D3, because firstly the D3 interior is so innovative in seating design regardless, but when you think about how long the basic D1/D2 body was built (yes, I know they're not exactly the same, but D2 was hardly a clean-sheet) LR had a long time to think about the replacement.

Thanks everyone for your comments, appreciate the feedback.
Is there a difference in the rear seats between the D2 models/years namely the ones from 2003 D2a models. Or is it just a trim level? Trying to determine if the extra dollars for a 2003 onwards model (versus an earlier one) would be of any benefit considering the only reason for changing/upgrading is for seven seats and the extra room.

Whilst we haven't decided exactly what car we will have, I reluctantly have come to the conclusion our 5 seat D1 will have to go. (unless I can justify two 4wds....) Now to try and work out a fair selling price for our D1....

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Originally Posted by JohnM

Thanks everyone for your comments, appreciate the feedback.
Is there a difference in the rear seats between the D2 models/years namely the ones from 2003 D2a models. Or is it just a trim level? Trying to determine if the extra dollars for a 2003 onwards model (versus an earlier one) would be of any benefit considering the only reason for changing/upgrading is for seven seats and the extra room.

Whilst we haven't decided exactly what car we will have, I reluctantly have come to the conclusion our 5 seat D1 will have to go. (unless I can justify two 4wds....) Now to try and work out a fair selling price for our D1....

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John

I dont think there is any real differences in the seats. As for the year, I would get the latest model you can and get the D2a update model if you can. They changed quite a few things, namely putting the factory diff lock back in.

Also, lower kms and you might be able to get one with a warranty.

Angus

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Originally Posted by JohnM

Whilst we haven't decided exactly what car we will have, I reluctantly have come to the conclusion our 5 seat D1 will have to go. ....

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It doesn't have to go yet!
We have 3 kids (8, 6, and 3) and we fit in our D1 with out any problems. We have a camper trailer, so all that goes in the back of the car we we go away is the fridge (Waeco CF-80), a few pillows, tools and other small bags. We have a roof rack, but it is only really used for surf skis etc that would have to go on the roof of any other car anyway.
We have just one child seat in the car. It is in the middle. The two older kids sit either side without booster seats. Our 6yo could probably do with a booster seat, but the Disco is our second car so it isn't so much of an issue.

The thing I like about the Disco is the flat floor in the back (as already mentioned) and the fact that I can stand over the child seat if I have to, to strap in the youngest (I am 178cm tall). The kids like the elevated seats in the back of the Disco. Very few cars have the height in the rear seats to allow kids to see out the windows.

I'd keep the Disco for a couple of years and then get a D3. (Well that's my dream anyway ...)


Paul