D3 petrol vs diesel engines.

[Aussie Jeepster]

I've gone from looking for a defender to getting a D3 HSE
Forgetting about fuel economy what is the perceived reliability of the diesel versus the petrol engines in the D3.
I'm looking at both versions and seeing significant differences in prices between the 2 models. When I do the sums, the savings on the petrol models will buy a lot of petrol and I wont be doing high miles.
I'm just unsure of reliability between the engines.
Any thoughts?

[LandyAndy]

The V8 petrol isn't as thirsty as the V6 petrol apparently.
Andrew

[The Mighty Range Rover]

The V8 petrol isn't as thirsty as the V6 petrol apparently.
Andrew

In the owners manual the V6 is .1 L/100 thirstier than the V8. I originally wanted V8 but i ended up getting an 07 V6.
I'm pretty sure that the V8 wasn't sold here later than 06, meaning you don't get the upgraded electronics (two cambuses, meaning no brake light cascading faults, general reliability, and stuff like automatic up passenger window).

[Aussie Jeepster]

Like I said. Not interested in economy between the engines. Just interested in reliabilty of one vs the other.

[rar110]

The petrol v8 & v6 are regarded as very reliable. The 4.4v8 is a Jag motor that was also fitted to the Range Rover Vogue and Sport. The v6 is a Ford motor also fitted to the Explorer. More info on v6 here.
Ford Cologne V6 engine - Wikipedia

The D3 tdv6 is a very reliable motor developed jointly by JLR, Ford & PSA, and also fitted to the Ford Territory and Pugs. Some more info here.
Ford AJD-V6/PSA DT17 - Wikipedia
It has had a relatively small number of bearing failures (even in the newer 3.0) and oil pump failures after the timing belts were changed at 160,000km service.