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Thanks for all the quick feed-back. Yeah, bugger it, you only live once, Disco here I come. The whole feel of a Disco compared to a dumbed down Japanese machine makes the choice pretty easy, I've driven the Toyota and they have no idea how to go about putting a dirty big grin on your face, unlike the pommy machine. ( I just wish for Jap reliability )
Don't buy a Prado you will regret it.
I sold my D3 & then bought a 150 Prado with all the fruit.
It lasted 3 months.
I have a friend in the car trade and he is generally anti land Rovers (especially Defenders), but as he has said to me, he could tell bad stories about every make of car he has in the yard. He has said the D3/D4's are very good cars, and for him to say that about a LR, they must be good. Good luck.
Cheers,
Vinnie
Do yourself a favour and buy the Disco. Trust me, deep down your expertly opinionated friends will end up jealous.... and behind you in your dust, carrying & towing less weight, with less power, less torque, far less comfort and also less capable. I searched through this forum for over three years, night and day, to gain the confidence you are looking for and there has been only a few reports of what I would call concerning issues, all of which have been resolved and/or rectified. I just bought a brand spanker and love it. So do my Playdo owning mates.
I think you've answered your own question :)Quote:
Originally Posted by applesandoranges
I went through the same issues prior to buying my first LR last November (new D4 HSE). I previously had a Pajero but the Discovery had what I needed. Couldn't be happier.
if u want a 7 seater, the disco is the best thing that is available in the market. the back row seats are just as comfortable as the rest....
I've had about 7 Prado's and a couple of Landcruisers - all company provided vehicles, none that I purchased myself.
At the same time - I'm on my third Disco. Have had a D1, a D2 (which is still in the family) and now the D4.
The last decent Landcruiser was the 80 series. The 100 series was nowhere near as good, and the 200 series is worse again - overpriced rubbish if you ask me (and yes, the company I work for has a few of them).
The last decent Prado was the 120 series (which was a nice comfortable car on the highway, but the diesel was gutless and its off-road ability was "ordinary" to say the least).
The Discovery has always been a better choice for me - even though the earlier models may have been known for a few "quirks". OK - I'm not bad on the spanners and can do most of what I need to do myself - but in all honesty I've never really had to do anything on the Disco's, other than routine servicing and a couple of simple fixes to address some "known" issues on the D2. I've never had any need to touch anything on the D4 other than fitting accessories.
Another example - our company provides company vehicles to senior management. The choices are limited - a Hi-lux for Superintendent Level and a Prado for Managers. Alternatively, they provide a "vehicle assistance" allowance and you can buy whatever you like. When I started here, there were quite a few Prado's and a couple of Hi-lux's downstairs. Today, there are still 3 Hi-lux's (Plant Maintenance Superintendents) and only one Prado (the General Manager still has his old 120 series). Everyone else has opted to make their own choice, most after having 120 series Prado's for a year or two). There's two Disco 4's, a Freelander, two Jeeps a Subaru wagon etc.
Don't listen to "everyone" telling you you're mad - I'll bet that "everyone" have never owned or probably even driven a Disco 4.
Honest opinion - the Disco 4 will run rings around anything Toyota has to offer any day of the week without question - and is AT LEAST as reliable as the modern day Toyotas, probably more so. ;)
Nissans - they don't even make anything that's in the same league - unless you're looking for a very agricultural (yes, they're a solid bit of gear) and not so comfortable vehicle. Only possible exception to this is the new V8 petrol Patrol - but not many of these selling - you'd have to ask why ???
What's the difference between a motoring journalist and an elephant? The journalist has a longer memory. LR had quality and build problems that haven't been around for 15 years.
Toyota is now suffering from reliability issues in most of it's offerings - D4D carboning up the oil strainer and killing the engine(some workshops inspect at every service), brake issues, v8 diesel with ordinary outputs, poor fuel economy and some with oil consumption issues. D4s are very sophisticated and better engineered than most other offerings. Toyota usually follows LR's lead, like they have since they built their first 4WD. (Landcruiser name was due to having to compete with Land Rover for mindset in the marketplace).
However a D4 will still have issues, like any complex modern vehicle. So make an informed decision by using this forum and others (both LR and others you are considering).
You've answered your question. "I wish I had a disco". It's not like chewing gum ( a bit more depreciation) that you can change your mind on next week.Quote:
Originally Posted by applesandoranges
I previously had Isusu (Jackaroo) and Patrol and agonised over a D4 for a long time due 'unreliability' issues all of my mates brought up every time I mentioned buying a D4.
After spending time on this forum and going by the dealer every so often, several things happened which made me bite the bullet.
I had finally saved the money to buy a new D4, but was still having the handbrake pulled on every time I mentioned it, then the ZD30 Patrol finally grenaded on the way home from Sydney one day so I fixed and sold that.
I then signed for the new D4 sitting on the showroom floor which had been obviously specced for me as it ticked every box.
76000km later and nearly 3 years having driven around Australia, Chambers Pillar, Bungles etc the only warranty item has been the central screen for the audio system which kept whiting out. No other problems.
My wife, who has arthritis is overjoyed with the comfort and the only thing I had fitted for her was the sliders as she is too short to easily step inside.
Would I recommend you buy a D4??? YOU BET!! You will not be sorry.