Thread: Looking to buy D4

130 in the Triton?? I think not. Light steering, bouncy front end and not to mention the high pitched noises coming from the combination of snorkel and roof racks, 115 max, especially on the Katherine-Darwin road with all the tourists and mining vehicles. The tyres are the best thing about that car. If it wasnt for them, who knows where it would be.

But I do understand about the fuel economy. My 89 Rangie which is my daily driver is getting at least 21L/100, so really anything better than that is winning.

LRD414, Mungus- Thanks. We have been leaning more and more towards a new vehicle as the price vs km comparison is in most cases a little hard to swallow. And considering the Triton is a 06/07 model and has done only 126k, it makes it harder to spend 74k on a D4 which 50-60,000kms on it, where with a bit of savings and a trade in, we could spend 78k for a car with zero kms on it. And the sweat new car smell.
And again you are right about dealerships and their attitudes. When I brought my ute in 2003, my father was a then employee of GMH and because of his position/tenure was able to get a significant discount on new vehicles. When the document of discount was shown to the salesman, his attitude dropped off to that of a sulky 5 year old and their aftersales was pretty much non-existant. But I have known people to have brought vehicles from the same dealership and had nothing but a fantastic experience.

In my brief return to SA I was a service manager at a AG machinery dealership and first hand got to learn the ways. Every customer was treat the same, but if you were a good to deal with or returning customer, that little bit extra was achievable.

Thanks again everyone. I am in Darwin briefly in mid August so I will take the time to pop in and see what they are about.

We have a few NT members who really enjoyed the New Car Experience...

Purchased from MLR in Melbourne and enjoyed the drive home

The fuel savings are an issue. I think that compared to a 200 series, the savings in fuel are significant. But the service costs are much more in the Disco. IMO the fuel savings versus the extra service costs will equal out ... but the 200 will likely depreciate less. So ... buy at a good discount, or buy a demo, or a low mileage one, and that way you can remove the heavier depreciation.

I am not sure that the SD has much lower fuel consumption than the TD. IF you think about it, the motor is rarely using its 600 Nm. I think the difference in performance is when the turbo is open - and that will not save fuel. I reckon that on partial throttles, the economy would be much the same. Up hills under power the SD would use more fuel, but would feel more assuring IMO. I guess towing in sand would be much better in the SD, as KW are useful with sand conditions and there is a big kw differential.

I tow an off road quite tall van that weighs around 2,300kg. The economy is phenomenal, but I don't push the vehicle. Because I do not push it, perhaps the TD would provide the same fuel economy (I have an SD).

I've had a 150 Prado Kakadu, and still have a 90 series Prado (bought new in 1997). I get the same fuel economy towing 2,300kg as I do in the Prado not towing anything.

The Disco is a world apart but I expect the new Prado to tow 3,500kg. A GXL would be a cheaper buy, and their steering is uncertain, which means, not good. The air in the Disco means you don't need to buy a new suspension, and you do in a Prado. Because of the need to put in a new suspension in a Prado, only buy a GX or a GXL, the KDSS vehicles are troublesome to improve.

Towers all say the 200 series uses much the same amount of fuel as a Prado, when towing a 2 tonne or so van. Hence the Disco is a world in front in towing economy with a reasonable sized van.

One thing about the Disco - these models are likely the end of this series - a new one is coming. It may have an alloy monocoque body, and weigh 400 kg less than today's steel chassis equipped Discos. To me, I like today's design for towing. I don't trust alloy underneath for towing, let alone a brand new model. The alloy based vehicle may weigh 20% less, but if towing a 2,500kg trailer, the weight saving is 8%, and less than 5% if towing 3,500kg. So for towing, the benefits of steel are still there. But its something to be considered.

My BIL is quite disappointd in his Triton and is about to get rid of it, so I understand what you mean.
The D4 is a good choice and excellent for towing. It's a class up on a Prado.
As for the Prado, I'd take a Pajero every time.

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Originally Posted by Tombie

We have a few NT members who really enjoyed the New Car Experience...

Purchased from MLR in Melbourne and enjoyed the drive home

And also try Brighton Land Rover. The salesmen for Discos is ex MLR, and straight. As an MLR buyer, I'd recommend Brighton Land Rover.

You bring up a interesting point regarding servicing. Out of interest, what is a ball park figure for a standard service.

I have no problems in handing it to a dealership for a service, as previously done under warranty conditions, but I do all the servicing on what we have now, including obd diagnostics.

Would be nice to know what it is worth and whether or not there are people out there that service them personally, obviously out of warranty.

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Originally Posted by Konradical

You bring up a interesting point regarding servicing. Out of interest, what is a ball park figure for a standard service.

My services so far :

6 month health check which included an oil change at my request, oil, oil filter and drain plug was $563.56

12 month full service which included oil, filter and plug plus the Odour and Particle filter was $820.04.

18 month oil change only which included oil, filter and plug was $331.40.

FYI before GST prices for parts (in order 6, 12, 18 months) were.

Oil: $186.38, $169.00, $169.00.
Filter: $30.50, $30.50, $31.42.
Drain Plug: $9.95, $9,95, $10.85.
Odour Filter: $118.77.
Labour: $280.00, $350.00, $75.00.

Martin

So, a update on what I did over the Christmas period.

When visiting my partners family in Newcastle over Christmas, we took the opportunity to test drive some cars.

On the list were the disco 4, Prado, Pajero and MU-X. We didn't get to the Isuzu, my partners mind was already made up by the time she stepped out of the Pajero.

The Toyota salesman was willing to throw a Prado VX at us for 78k. Then we would have to get it to Katherine plus Rego. It wasn't to bad and rode better than GXL's I had driven in the past. It did feel jittery on 50km/h back streets in Newcastle CBD and even though they sold it as a improvement, engine and road noise didn't seem any different to me. It had a ton of gadgets, but the woodgrain "look", leather " accented" seats and the gear selector turned me off. I also hated the side steps. My partner found the back seat in the middle uncomfortable (when she has to sit there on long trips to settle the kids) and leg room wasn't that great. She found the set up of the third row easy being electric, but the space behind the third row was small and because of the door set up, couldn't stick stuff in the space without it falling. That was the other thing, the door. Was pretty big and didn't lock to hold position unless fully open. Then she had to reach over the bumper and towbar to get into the back, not easy when the bumper was around her waist.

The Pajero.. I didnt even want to test it, but thought I'd give my partner a good cross section of a 7 seated. The third row seating was basically a joke. It would have been ok for maybe up to a ten year old, but then the question of a booster seat in the third row is asked. The interior was pretty poor. Again it had plenty of gadgets, but fake woodgrain, fake leather, basically the same engine from the triton we already have and lots of road/engine noise were huge turn offs. My partner didn't even bother to try the back seat. The biggest turn off for me was the fact we stood in the dealership for 10mins before anyone greeted us. Then after having to listen to a 21 year old salesman tell me that the 3t (or 3.5t, stopped listening) towing capacity was one of the many reasons the Pajero was better than the Prado and then incorrectly explain how that was possible. Then once the testing was over the head salesman, from behind a desk not even engaging us as to what we wanted/needed, dropped the price on the Exceed (6 in stock) 10k to 59k on road.. As good as that price was, I would have maybe though 40k was more appropriate. Then we had to get it to Katherine and get Rego.

We actually test drove the Discovery first, to set the bar, but on reflection I now know that was a mistake. Why a mistake? Because it would have been refreshing to test last, especially after the other two. We drove a SE as that was what I was looking at and have been researching for a while. I was just happy with the whole package, probably because I'm biased. The level of gadgets isn't as great as the other two but they are just that, gadgets. The one we tested had the 20" black pack and tech pack. My partner loved the back seat and the third row. She also liked that we could drop the suspension so she could reach in the back better. And it actually had leather seats..

So after we deliberated for a day or two and endoured a couple of pressing phones calls from Toyota, we choose to see what our chances of getting into a Disco were. I rang Darwin Land Rover and I didn't get a call back, even after two further calls and a message to the manager. So I rang Hunter Land Rover where we went to test the Disco only to find the salesman was on leave. But we struck luck and the HPMG general manager decided to help us. I was specifically chasing a SE with 19" wheels and maybe electric rear diff. Oh and not white. They had a Kaikura Stone TDV6 which I would have settled for as it was a colour we both liked, but it sold the day we went back in. They had a Corris Grey SE coming in which other than the diff, was what I wanted, but then my partner found the memory seat buttons on the HSE. So we ended up with two prices, SE and HSE, both Corris Grey, a spec sheet and 24hrs to decide and put pen to paper.

So in summary, in a week or so, we take delivery of a Corris Grey Discovery 4 HSE SDV6 with Windsor leather, 20" style 516 wheels, grand black finisher, reverse traffic detection, a factory "snorkel" and an additional 2 years warranty. They also gave us a 3.99% interest rate, free servicing for three years and took the free on roads deal off as a additional discount as we are going to Rego it here in Katherine. Oh and the price included delivery to Katherine. All because of the memory seat buttons..

I'm sorry to have written war and peace, but I was pretty excited to share my experience. I would like to thank you all for your input and advice.

Can't wait to share some pics!

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