Thread: Expedition Ready Landrover Discovery 4

I didn't say no D4's are fitted with e-diffs, rather there are very few compared to those without.

Have a look on Carpoint at the number of D4's for sale both new and secondhand that have an e-diff fitted. I'd guess maybe 5% to 10% at best on a good day.

The other thing is in general we are enthusiasts on here so an e-diff for many of us makes sense. I would hazard another guess that very few Aussie D4 owners would know about or even belong to Aulro so for the mainstream D4 punter an e-diff is just an extra unwanted initial purchase expence. Like it or not the potential market for a base model D4 in Australia with all the basically off road mods as mentioned in this thread would be very small in this country.

Originally Posted by TerryO

I didn't say no D4's are fitted with e-diffs, rather there are very few compared to those without.

Have a look on Carpoint at the number of D4's for sale both new and secondhand that have an e-diff fitted. I'd guess maybe 5% to 10% at best on a good day.

The other thing is in general we are enthusiasts on here so an e-diff for many of us makes sense. I would hazard another guess that very few Aussie D4 owners would know about or even belong to Aulro so for the mainstream D4 punter an e-diff is just an extra unwanted initial purchase expence. Like it or not the potential market for a base model D4 in Australia with all the basically off road mods as mentioned in this thread would be very small in this country.

When I ordered mine, the dealer had two near identical vehicles on the water. One had an E diff. Guess which one I took. I would have been prepared to wait for another 3 months to get one ex factory. If the dealers are ordering them with E diffs on spec., it points to a ready acceptance of the advantages of the E diff by potential buyers.

Thinking more about this e diff,why didn't they just use a locker,e diff seems much more complicated?

Or was it because it suits the TR better?

Originally Posted by scarry

Thinking more about this e diff,why didn't they just use a locker,e diff seems much more complicated?

Or was it because it suits the TR better?

Yep, because of TR - My understanding is, it has varying degrees of lock allowing it to release and tighten up as much as required for different scenarios. It is not like an ordinary locker that is either on or off which places more stress on components. For example when attempting to make sharp turns etc. In this example the e-diff can release enough to allow the wheels to turn independently without you having to think about it still provide some lock to still give the benefits of having the lock engaged.

and another D4 with e-diff. When I was looking to buy a while back there were a couple of showroom versions that had e-diff but for one reason or anther (I can't remember why exactly) I ended up ordering from the factory (at least that way you can get exactly what you want). The e-diff is terrific and definately works as advertised, proportionally locking each wheel individually as needed - much better than the usual "all on" or "all off" locking on other systems. The central screen on the dash has a 4WD section that shows how much lock it being applied to which wheel, but frankly I'm usually a bit too busy watching the track to take too much notice... but the passengers seem to enjoy watching! I'm sure my truck is in the minority of D4s around the country, but that suits me just fine.

E-diff should be standard on all D4s IMHO. For many people I've spoken to, a major attraction of Land Rover is the "ultimate 4x4 / best 4wd available" cachet that comes with the brand. Adding a $1k option which makes the vehicle significantly more capable in many off road situations just makes good sense.

When I was buying my MY12 D4 SE, during the last big sales push, I had the option between "every option I want except e-diff and xenons" or "base SE with e-diff and xenon only".

As much as I'd love the e-diff version I use the rear camera, HL audio and rear air vastly more than I would an e-diff. The only option I'm not enamoured with is nav; the speed (lack thereof) in entering an address is incredibly frustrating.

It was a no brainer for me.....must have an e-diff.

Latest 4x4 magazine with the comparo with the 200, stated that the D4 was 50% better with an e-diff. They said in this comparo it let the D4 down not having one fitted, so they sat on the fence with their decision.

But from what I have read from Gordon, and learnt from Gordon, once you know how to drive it properly, there is little difference.

But I am still happy to have ticked the box for one.

Brett....

I wish I had ordered my D3 with an e-diff but I didn't know it existed at the time and it certainly wasnt offered to me.

However I have done some pretty amazing things with my D3, things I never thought I would try and stuff that broke other cars in the groups and have never had to use any of my recovery gear to recover my car yet, so for my purposes, although I would like to know its there, I would probably have to say it is not necessary.