Conflicted

My wife forms an illogical bond with every car she owns, although all her cars have been not the sort of things you'd expect a professional person to drive. She's howled her eyes out every time one has gone...

She had a D1, late model, manual transmission that she though was the best thing in the world. When it started to become unreliable (she drags a horse float, last thing we want is her broken down on the side of the road at night) we sold it and bought a D3.

She could not believe how much better it is, and its her first auto (although most of her company cars were autos). It is quiet, easy to drive, keeps up with traffic effortlessly. In other words it is relaxing to drive in stop start traffic, unlike the D1.

She looks fondly at D4s occasionally, but she still washes the D3 far more than any other car she owned. She loves it...

And yes, I think she's bonded with it.

Thanks again for all the imput guys, I might seem easy to some but I like to have all the info I can when making these decisions. The 2.7 ltr in a D4 should be a good thing Iam sure & it certainly helps with the purchase price.

Cam belts changed around the 80k mark I assume? Your right about plenty of 2.7s towing large vans & doing it easy, I could always do a remap for more grunt also.:D

How does the auto tranny hold up? I have read some horror stories about the tranny in the L322 Rangies.

Regards Chris

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Originally Posted by Bess

Thanks again for all the imput guys, I might seem easy to some but I like to have all the info I can when making these decisions. The 2.7 ltr in a D4 should be a good thing Iam sure & it certainly helps with the purchase price.

Cam belts changed around the 80k mark I assume? Your right about plenty of 2.7s towing large vans & doing it easy, I could always do a remap for more grunt also.:D

How does the auto tranny hold up? I have read some horror stories about the tranny in the L322 Rangies.

Regards Chris

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Belt change at 7 years/168,000.

Auto tranny will hold up perfectly if you service it in accordance with the manufacturer's (ZF not LR) recommendations. The L322 tranny is a different box altogether (assuming you're thinking of the GM box behind the diesel 6).

I spent a few hours on the phone to a mate who has come from Touregs and into an LC200. He had a tinge of regret driving it out of the dealer and now avoids driving it because its "hard work".

On a big trip, towing a big van, he's very happy with it, and its holding its value very well. It also gives him a sense of comfort as he feels he can "trust" it but doesn't like it as a daily driver.

I don't think D4 drivers need to make that compromise. Its a beautiful tourer, tows very well from all accounts and is a pleasure to live with on a daily basis.

It's also a very very capable off road vehicle.