V8 vs Diesel Discovery

[Ranga]

This has probably been asked before, but a quick search didn't help me.

Both me and my BIL are in the market for 7 seater auto Discoveries (preferably series 2 for him, but I could live with a series 1).

I've always been a diesel man, but it's a bit hard finding what I'm after in a diesel. Petrol Discos on the other hand are pretty easy to find, and a fair bit cheaper.

The biggest concerns for me are:

• fuel cost - how thirsty are they?
• registration - an extra $300/year
• engine longevity - would they last as long as a diesel before major maintenance?
• resale value - people are struggling to get rid of them now!

Am I under-estimating the overall value of the V8. Anyone care to comment?

[bee utey]

Basically for touring nothing beats a diesel. For city and surrounds a LPG converted V8 will give similar running costs to the diesel but less than half the range per tankful. The V8 is reliable enough if well treated during its life. Resale value of a V8 is low but how much can you lose, you get it cheap enough.

[waz]

I reckon the diesel is worth the extra dollars. BUT the difference in price will buy a LOT of petrol.

Personally I like the range of the diesel and the fact that towing doesn't do too much to the consumption.

Waz

[warren9981]

My thoughts on these questions.
(I have had a 1996 D1 manual diesel and now have a 1996 D1 3.9V8 petrol).

The diesel is heaps cheaper to run as it is more economical. Diesel used to get around 8-9l/100kms, V8 petrol gets around 15-16l/100kms.
I service my vehicle every 5000kms with engine oil and filters (air, oil and fuel). Others as per the schedule. Filter and oil costs are around the same for both. I only use Penrite oil.
Gas would be cheaper to run but wouldn't have the range and you also lose load space. (For me this is important so I just run petrol).

Registration in NSW is about the same from memory.

The diesels seem to last longer between rebuilds if they are looked after. To me they seem simpler. Less electronics to go wrong.

Diesels will always have a higher resale value. Probably due to longer engine life? I think the auto diesel would be a good option if you can get hold of one.
Diesels tend to be harder to get hold of. Probably less of them around compared to the V8's.

But I love the sound of the V8 and because I no longer use it as an everyday vehicle the fuel cost is not such a big issue. If I was to be doing lots of long distance touring I would definitely go the diesel.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

The ratio of V8's to diesels does a complete 180 from series one to two

[Redback]

Don't know anything about Series One Discos, so if your looking at a D2, the TD5 is ahead, better economy, better torque for towing, service costs are about the same, rego is the same, having driven both V8 and TD5, I was amazed at how slow the V8 is compared to the TD5 (stock) the only thing I found better in the V8 was it was smoother than the TD5.

Baz.

[PhilipA]

I cannot understand that you did a search on this and didn't find anything.
The diesel owners have been drilling into V8 owners for years how superior they are blah blah blah.

My take as a V8 owner is if you do not already own a V8 ,and are buying, it makes sense to buy diesel. If you have a V8 , then it is economically sensible to keep it.

But do your sums on how much extra you would need to spend to buy an equivalent diesel to a petrol and how many years the payback would be. If you do lots of Ks then a diesel is the go.

Personally I love my V8 RRC which I have owned for 11years., but if I were buying today I would go for a diesel. I don't think I could take a 300tdi or TD5 , but boy those D4Ds in the new Prado and the 2.9in the Terrican are good.
My extra costs for teh RRC over a diesel at say 15KK ayear tops as my holiday car are about maybe 2K, and I would have to spend LOTS more than that on a diesel.
petrol costs are still not the major cost of car ownership. It is the opportunity cost of outlaying all that capital, or borrowing all that money.
Regards Philip A

[ozscott]

I have had mates with td5 and tdi lr. I have mates with v8s. I drove td5 discos and v8 discos before buying my 02 d2 v8 manual. It's a preference thing. Mine is on LPG. It's as cheap or cheaper than a td5 to run. It should see high k's. My d1 v8 has 290'000 and is still very strong and smooth. If it transpired though that it was more expensive to run than the td5 and i knew that and had my time over again I would still buy the v8. Go test drive a few back to back. Also check out the loonies in the us on discoweb with a Lot of guys with well over 350'000 klm and still going strong. I am not bagging the diesel but as I say it comes down to personal choice and for me I could not move past the smooth power of the v8 and that great noise - makes the disco feel special. Cheers

[ozscott]

Don't know anything about Series One Discos, so if your looking at a D2, the TD5 is ahead, better economy, better torque for towing, service costs are about the same, rego is the same, having driven both V8 and TD5, I was amazed at how slow the V8 is compared to the TD5 (stock) the only thing I found better in the V8 was it was smoother than the TD5.

Baz.

I found the complete opposite Baz and the dealer agreed. Also the acceleration figures from the factory put the v8 ahead by several second in the 100'dash for eg and the difference is even more stark with manual to manual comparo. I have had a drag with 2 diesels and the v8 eats them. Modified yep sure it's easier to get bigger gains from the force fed motor and I know you guys reckon they are then quicker than a v8. Cheers

[Redback]

I found the complete opposite Baz and the dealer agreed. Also the acceleration figures from the factory put the v8 ahead by several second in the 100'dash for eg and the difference is even more stark with manual to manual comparo. I have had a drag with 2 diesels and the v8 eats them. Modified yep sure it's easier to get bigger gains from the force fed motor and I know you guys reckon they are then quicker than a v8. Cheers

Maybe the V8 auto was a bit tired, or it just felt slower because of where the torque comes in, yes I agree about the manual V8 v manual TD5, mines chipped and is hopeless off the mark until 2nd and 3rd gear.

One thing I didn't like about the auto, it seems to rev more than the manual, constantly sitting in the high 2500 to 3000rpm, whereas in the manual more around the 1600rpm to 2200rpm, for the same speed, I hope the D3 auto isn't like that.

Baz.