Proper Flash One

[BMKal]

Had this as a loan car for the day last Friday while the D4 was in at Barbagallo for a service. A bit different to the Freelander that they usually give me.

Quite liked it - was a pleasure to drive around the city for a day. Had all the bells & whistles - even electric tailgate and folding mirrors (that I'm not used to). The "eco" start system which shuts the engine off every time you pull up at the lights would take a bit of getting used to for me, though it is disabled whenever the air-con is turned on (or you can manually disable it via a switch on the dash) would mean that it would rarely operate if the vehicle was mine in any case.

Very comfortable to drive, torquey little diesel engine which had plenty of squirt when you needed it in city traffic, and the auto transmission was very smooth. Probably not what we need as a touring wagon, but would be ideal as a second car - SWMBO loved it, except for the sunroof. I showed her a late model Freelander 2 and she actually preferred that.

Looks like there's a bit of room under the bonnet to add a couple of extras if you're that way inclined - you can see even less of the engine etc than you can in the Disco.

I'm not a fan of this completely keyless entry system though. As we discovered, as long as I was standing not too far away from the vehicle with the key in my pocket, anyone could walk up and unlock / open the front door. The last Prado I had was also like this, and I didn't like it then either. I much prefer the system I have on the D4, where you still have to put your hand in your pocket and push a button to lock / unlock the vehicle.

It's also not as easy to judge how close the front left corner of the vehicle is to other cars etc when parking - you can't see the corners of the vehicle anywhere near as well as you can in the D4 - though it did have front & rear parking sensors, and a reversing camera. The in-dash screen is very different to that in the Disco - much more user friendly. I especially liked the sat-nav, and pairing my phone to the system was a breeze (even for someone as technically challenged as I am).

Anyway, I showed it to a mate who is currently looking for a replacement for his (company) Ford Territory. He wants "some" off-road ability but his employer will not go to a full size 4WD, so this should meet his needs quite well. He was impressed and is investigating further. He reckons it is a much nicer ride than his Territory.

[rar110]

A mate is looking at a Prado for the wife to use as a DD and to tow a camper on holidays. I think one of these would be a better allrounder as he does very light off road work and no beach work. The on line stats indicate the DS has more cargo space and a better power/torque:weight ratio than the Prado, which is a bigger vehicle.

[BMKal]

I've had about 6 Prado's (company vehicles) from the 90 series right through to the current 150 series.

If I was buying for myself - I'd choose the Discovery Sport over the Prado.

The Disco Sport is very close in size to a Ford Territory - I didn't take too much notice of how much luggage space it had, but appeared to be plenty - though I would be surprised if it is more than a Prado. One thing I did note though is that there was plenty of leg room for rear seat passengers, even though I had the driver's seat adjusted right back.

[rar110]

I've had about 6 Prado's (company vehicles) from the 90 series right through to the current 150 series.

If I was buying for myself - I'd choose the Discovery Sport over the Prado.

The Disco Sport is very close in size to a Ford Territory - I didn't take too much notice of how much luggage space it had, but appeared to be plenty - though I would be surprised if it is more than a Prado. One thing I did note though is that there was plenty of leg room for rear seat passengers, even though I had the driver's seat adjusted right back.

I think you may be right. LR specify the cargo area as 981 lt. Toyota don't specify the volume of the cargo area. Some reviews put pre 2015 Prado cargo area at under 800 lt. However, I think that may include the two extra seats that fold up the side. Without those extra seats the Prado load space is a bit over 1000 lt going on someone's maximum measurements of the cargo area.

So it might be the equivalent of about 40-60 lt difference between the two, which equates to about 2-3 jerry cans.

It sounds like the DS is better off road than the FL2, and going on an account earlier the FL2 is a very capable vehicle. I might be looking at a Ingenium td4 at the end of the RRV lease in a few years time.