Disappointment

[El Duderino]

A mate drove his folks D3 over for a bbq earlier tonight, had a few too many n asked me to drive him into town to go out clubbing tonight and pick him up afterwards (hence the late hour). I was quite honoured, didn't go out clubbing as it's not my thing, drove it around a bit like his parents had invited me to on many occasions, and was looking forward to the comparison from my D1 day's which I'm revisiting in the next few weeks.

To be blunt, the D3 was a massive disappointment to me tbh, and I expected a lot more given the price tag. To me it seems an overpriced machine and over electrified unit which is ordinary on-road, would have little faith in off road, and defies the original intentions of the Discovery in the marques lineup. Not meaning to **** anybody off in here, but it smacked of a poor mans Rangie, rather than adhering to what the Disco was originally designed for. It felt too 'car like', not something I'd be willing to take into more serious situations, and when I learned the price-tag nearly had a heart attack. A 5dr Disco used to be $40 in the mid 90's n seems to be a more capable n trustworthy weapon imo.

Like I said, I'm not meaning to **** anybody off, buy can owners explain the rationale behind the purchase please? It just came across as a lot of money for not much in return to me (no i didn't take this one off road for obvious reasons). Hehehe! I'd love to be proven wrong, so please do!!!

[Disco44]

All I can say is "crikey hell Mate"
They must have had me fooled.
O I own a disco 1 300TDI

Cheers,
Disco44

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I'd be interested in knowing what the original was designed for.

other than the continued use of chassis components


as for "too car like"
I'd say the designers then succeeded admirably.

[Shonky]

I have never driven D3, but I have seen one off road in the hands of a driver in tune with his vehicle, and was most impressed!

[rmp]

Interesting post. Each to their own. I would suggest spending a bit more time in a D3; maybe you'll change your mind, maybe not. I do know that first impressions of a vehicle are not usually last.

You also said it was ordinary on road, and car like? Is that not a contradictory statement or does "car like" mean not very robust as opposed to driving characteristics?

[AnD3rew]

I guess everybody will have their own opinions.

I have had a D1 and a D2 and my D3 is in every aspect the better vehicle.

On road it is very carlike (which is in my opinion what you would be aiming for) My immediately preveious car was a BMW which in my view was the best car in terms of feel and handling I have ever owned, and the D3 is surprisingly not too far off that mark on the road.

I have driven many Toyota's, owned a Mitsubishi Pajero and on road the D3 pi**es all over them (IMHO).

Off road which I did for the first time properly last weekend after 4 months of ownership it is truly awesome I can safely say it will go places a stock standard D1 will never go without a winch.

I truly don't believe there is another vehicle you can buy stock which can do both things so well.

Yes it is expensive, and yes it is highly reliant on a lot of electronics and although many have taken their D3's to very remote places, this is the one thing that might convince me to get a Tojo if I was planing a lot of very remote travel that there might be less electronic trickery to leave you stranded. Although having said that every generation of Tojo is now getting more and more of this stuff too.

Sorry you didn't like it, I guess you won't be buying one but I think we can live with that.

[waynep]

We had a D1 TDi and looking to get into the modern world so test drove both a V6 petrol and TDV6 D3 ( SE models ).

If you drove a petrol V6 then I sort of agree, it is a bit pedestrian, but the TDV6 - wow what a fantastic vehicle. Definitely worth every cent and more.

Unfortunately we did not go D3 or even Landrover in the end because we plan to do a lot of remote touring and there's no dealer support outside major metro areas. Made me cry having to go Jap but I had no choice.

[lewy]

A 5dr Disco used to be $40 in the mid 90's n seems to be a more capable n trustworthy weapon imo. 

does anyone know the difference in price between a mid 90's disco and rangie.compared to todays models,not that it matters to me.

[p38arover]

A 5dr Disco used to be $40 in the mid 90's n seems to be a more capable n trustworthy weapon imo.

does anyone know the difference in price between a mid 90's disco and rangie.compared to todays models,not that it matters to me.

One needs to compare not just the number of dollars but the buying power of those dollars - or even compare the average wage.

Using such comparisons, I suggest the price difference may not be that much.

Some of us want a 4WD that is car-like - which is why I don't own a Defender (I have owned a 110 County, a '95 Disco, an '83 RR, and an '86 RR).

[DiscoSaffa]

In my time I have had 4 Land Rovers, a ’73 RRC, a (cringe) 1.8 Freelander , a Disco II and now a Petrol V6 D3. I didn’t pay size cash for mine, it was an ex Land Rover Directors vehicle, only 8 months old at a SERIOUS saving over the new price (a new small car). I have a rule of never buying a new Land Rover….. we can explore this later……

Anyway I digress. For the money, the D3 is worth every penny and then some. Being who I am, I want to drive a Land Rover but being a dad, I need to move a family around (otherwise lads and ladies admit it, we would all drive Defender 90’s). Anyway, there is NO other car on the market that moves a family as comfortably as the D3 and then come the weekend, sheds it’s sheepskin and becomes a seriously capable (as stock) vehicle off the black top.

I recall driving a an Audi Q7 while I owned my D2 and think exactly the same thing as El Duderino, most certainly not worth the money over my D2……. But then it is a different animal to the Discos and I wouldn’t be caught dead in one…….

As others have pointed out, we are all entitled to our own opinion and that, for what it is worth, is mine……..