Thread: Defender v's Discovery

a bit more clearance and articulation in the defender......and a greater payload.....

Well the larger tyres would account for the increased clearence, i'd still love a Defender cause i love the look of them but if thats all thats different then finnacially i'd be better off getting more travel in the suspension and a bit more clearence in the disco( and a locker or two to make sure i keep up).

I dont think they do have better articulation when compared to the Disco that came with no swaybars. The suspensions are the same. Perhaps the Defenders are stiffer??? They are no doubt a lot better than the Discos with swaybars though.

Until the Rover diff was used in the rear, the ground clearance was the same because the Defender ran the big Salisbury rear diff, but the bigger tyres don't fall into holes as badly.

The low range gearing in both are the same.

Apart from the different wheelbase (the Discovery is between the 90 and the 110) the main difference (other than noted above) is the bodywork, and here the advantage of the Defender is greater clearance around the wheels and this and the narrower main body make damage off road less likely. Some Discoverys I think also have bodywork that is more likely to be damaged. Because of the shorter bodywork together with larger tyres as standard the 90 is significantly more capable than the Discovery or 110, but these are very rare in Australia, so the question is usually between the 110 and the Discovery.
Mainly because of the greater payload the 110 is significantly more heavily built in a number of areas, including wheels and bodywork, so damage is less likely.
But as far as the actual base capability of either vehicle goes, this is so far ahead of most drivers that there is no practical difference in capability.

You are correct in saying they are both very similar.

Only things which give the Defender an advantage are larger wheels and greater clearance on sills, approach and departure.

You could argue the Discovery (and we are talking Series 1 here which IMO is more capable than a D2 - another arguement in itself), has an advantage as it can be auto.

What about things such as drivetrain strength and rollover angles?

My Disco (series 1) looks and feels like it is very top heavy. I'm not sure if this is because of the seating position or not but when I've got one side of the car stuck in a rut I'm always on edge. It just feels like the slightest breeze will tip her over.

Harvs.

Wortho, check the thread "Questions about Defenders". The crew here has put up a very worthy discussion about exactly this.....

Cheers, GQ

Have read somewhere Defender has better weight distribution compare most 4WD. Also lower CG. 50/50 weight/force to axels and 25/25/25/25 to wheels is ideal 4WD.

IMHO, nothing special, just pure physic. Good proportion of applied forces gives excellent drivability factor.

Cheers,
Ruslan