This is the Stories Thread. Post here any story you like, as long as it involves a Discovery 3, 4 or Rangie Sport in some way.
Don't post responses to stories here, please start a new thread in the discussion section.
Thanks to DiscoSaffa for the idea and most of the initial stories. We may cull stories after a period of time, but enjoy and feel free to contribute.
The first one begins below:
Why I love my D3…….
Well. I love the fact that it is a Land Rover, but more on that later, but it is the V6 Petrol which I love, it has to be one of the nicest sounding engines around…… I hazard to say it sounds nicer than my DII V8, and is just such a lovely motor to drive ……. I love the way the vehicle looks, black plastic trim and all, I am still not sold on the colour coded wheel arches and bumpers of the late D3s and D4s. I especially love the way it looks with it’s ARB bar now……. I could go on and on but I will now get to the point…….
Last week I had the chore of moving house, from Sydney to Ballina a trip of about 750km. I put Safari Barbie and my two little girls on a plane, packed up the house and filled the car with what Safari Barbie had deemed necessary to survive the interim time without all our stuff. This meant that with the seats folded the D3 was packed to the roof with no space left bar a spot for me to sit and drive the vehicle.
Thursday morning I set off…… a total of 753km, just shy of ten hours driving time (at an average speed of 78.9km/h) and an average fuel consumption of 11.6l/100km. So far nothing special. But the D3, despite the load, just ate the kilometres, no hassles sticking to the speed limits, in fact I struggled to notice it was there unless I looked in the rear view mirror…… I would challenge the driver of any other make to find a better long distance cruiser! BUT there is something special about this long distance cruiser…… after arriving at my destination and unloading, it was straight onto site, and that in the Northern Rivers means that it is steep, muddy, slippery and great and fun. Find me another long distance cruiser that can shed it’s sheep’s clothing and do that! I have had the vehicle for two years now and the perma grin is still well and truly attached!
So why do I love my Landy? Well I pulled up behind another D3 in Kempsey, parked at a traffic light the driver waved at me. Shock of horrors….. a D3 waved, could it be a real Land Rover driver in a D3!?! Anyway we followed each other for about 40km until I pulled over in a rest stop, and low and behold the other D3 stopped…… At this point I had the pleasure of meeting Jim. It was a wonderful break to the long trip. I met a new friend, we traded Land Rover stories and contact details and I know we will meet again in the future, all thanks to my Land Rover….. (does that happen in Toyota?)…….
So forgive my indulgence, but that is why I love my D3…… and in particular why I drive a Land Rover!
Right…… after side tracking (not entirely on my own ) a few technical threads I thought maybe I should revive this topic….. this way we can stay focused the lighter side of Land Rovers….. and in this case D3s……. and not interrupt the very useful technical content out there….. for those of you that aren’t sure what I am talking about…… go and have a look at:
So to kick off, over the course of late last week and the weekend there were a few occasions where I found myself saying “Dang, I love this car”. So here goes…….
More of why I love my D3:
The vehicle is well and truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing…… I often find myself puttering very comfortably and casually around town and Audrey (my D3) just loves that, but when you need to (a P plater gets cocky on his little scooby, or you just need to get yourself out of trouble) simply plant your right foot and the vehicle becomes a different animal, surprisingly quick and agile for not only what it is, but just about any vehicle…… not too many others are as good as both……. When done…… insert “Dang I love my car” here……
Last week I was walking up to the vehicle on site, and got to thinking…… This car is about the best looking vehicle on the market whether covered in mud (as Audrey was at the time) or sparkling clean sitting in the driveway…… What other vehicle goes from being able to crash it’s way around a construction site during the week, and with a little baby wash (Thanks Jonesfam ) and the addition of two child seats, becomes the most comfortable family car that can run the four of us (plus Granny and Grandpa if needed) around in air conditioned comfort? insert another “Dang I love my car” here…….
Last for today……. I know not of any other brand on the market that inspires the sort of banter that resulted in the two threads above……. insert the last “Dang I love my car” for the day here……
As an aside……
Fifi, if you are reading this…… more of Police Girl and less of the tooth fairy please……
WhiteD3, based on your pic in the Sand Driving thread…… you looked awfully familiar, and that was when I realised we must have met each other before…… I am the guy on the right…..
I love the fact that when you get behind the wheel, you feel about two inches taller and the only things bigger are F250s and Trucks…… I dare say driving a Land Rover becomes part of yoru identity...... Brad Pitt and George Clooney can only dream of feeling this good (insert permagrin here)
I love the fact that my D3 is the only local one in the small town I now live in….. (holidaying Queenslanders excluded)
I love the fact that it is the only Land Rover on site in amongst a sea of Prados and HiLuxes…….
“For me this incident was a one off, I wouldn't have said this was a regular thing. All vehicles have their problems some more serious than others. I had a 200 Nissan Patrol for about five years living under the cloud that the 2000 ZD30 engine was going to blow up. I maintained my Patrol with regular preventative maintenance, I chipped it , I towed with it, had bigger tyres etc plus it was close to it's load limit with all the gadgets and gizmos, never missed a beat from the day I bought it until I sold it, great vehicle. My D3 is the same, great vehicle, when mine toasted itself I searched forums, I made contact with LR in the UK trying to find out if this was a regular thing. Nothing alarming came back from anywhere, to be honest this is the first time I've heard about the fuel pump issue, will I be selling mine tomorrow because of this? No I won't, the pros far out weigh the cons. Didn't get to be 4WD of the year for eva by being overpriced and unreliable did it. On forums you will find the majority of people have got problems or who have had problems, you will also find people who've got a genuine interest in helping people. Some forums I've been on look at suspension and tyres and lift kits and how far you can push something until it breaks. This LR forum for me has been great, the majority of assistance and comments have been of a constructive nature which sits well with me, the comaradary (spelling) is 100% fits with the marque. If you update buy wisely, look to the forum for assistance, if you do get into strife I'm sure someone out there in Land Rover land can and will help you.”
There are a few points made in this post (you need to read the entire thread above for context) that are some key reasons as to why I love my Landy
The first being that the D3 (and the D4 is fast following) is the most awarded 4x4 on the market, and there is a certain ownership pride that comes with that…. But the key issue here is that it took some serious balls on the part of Land Rover to take the D2, and the years of, call it what you will, under the skin that made it a true Land Rover and start with a clean slate. What they came up with was the D3, which not only changed the minds of the motoring fraternity with respect to Land Rover, but kept all of us skeptics (in our D2s at the time, and shaking our heads at the independently sprung, computerised, behemoth that was presented to us) true to the marque, at the same time winning over countless new converts. All of this in addition to producing one of the best 4x4s of all time. I dare say, they managed to please all the people….. I love my D3!
Another point Nomad makes is about the people that drive Land Rovers, both here in the forum, and out there on and off the road. I have not met a true Land Rover driver (RRS pimp mobiles excluded) that wouldn’t drop everything to help another. Land Rover drivers are special people, why I am not sure…. Perhaps brought together by adversity J, but they are! I love the fact that Safari Barbie considers us Land Rover people, and I love what that makes us…… I love my Landy!
And last for today, the point about buying wisely….. I have said this before, but dollar for dollar, rand for rand, pound for pound, wherever you are spending your money, you can’t beat a Land Rover for value, you just get so much more vehicle for your money…. A few years ago in South Africa, a mate of mine bought a 2nd hand Prado, at about the same time I bought my 2nd hand D2. He paid a 25% premium for an older, higher mileage vehicle. A year later he sold it because he couldn’t live with it. I had my D2 until we left a year later and could not have been happier with it. The point here is, if you remove the “only buy Toyota or you will have trouble” blinkers, do a bit of research, make use of these forums and the countless people out there who are willing to help, and as a result buy wisely, you will not go wrong with a Land Rover and will have years of happy motoring and 4x4ing with it. Not to mention the smug permagrin every time you overtake a Prado…….. I love my Landy.
That’s it for today folks, let me know when you get sick of my ramblings and I will stop.
DS I love your installments and if you keep this up LR may put you on their pr payroll.
The funniest thing I have ever seen from a land rover driver was about 11 years ago when I was driving on the beach at Robe. I had left my beloved range rover classic at home because it had broken down and I wasn't interested in fixing it and be faced with the fuel bill generated by the 350 I had under the bonnet. So I hired a rav 4 soft top and had a wonderfull time blasting on top of the sand. Anyway we were driving along the beach and an unfortunate LR driver had managed to get himself bogged in the semi soft sand (as many were doing in their new computer controlled cars). I drove around him a couple of times to see what was going on and stopped to lend a hand and assistance by shovelling some sand away from his axles and sills because he had managed to bury it that much. The hapless LR driver was using one of the little fold up shovels whilst his barbie doll sat on the foot mat on the sand waiting patiently for her man to sort out the problem. With a long handled shovel and tires aired down we quickly had him freed. Barbie doll hops back in the car and lol and behold 10 meters on, he has bogged himself just as bad again by not knowing when to stop using the right foot. We dug him out and got him going again. He was determined not to get bogged again and continued on up the beach and out of sight.... leaving his barbie doll behind. She sure did have a long walk up the beach to where ever they had come from carrying that floor mat.
I might also add that at least when the D3 went up in smoke it was covered by insurance not like that time bomb ticking under the nissan bonnet where you are left high and dry by everyone and importantly Nissan.
Right, today’s instalment….. (gonna take advantage of a few spare minutes in my morning)
Why I love my Land Rover. I love it’s ability to make friends…… towards the end of last week I had a training session at work…. You know the kind….. at the beginning you all have to introduce yourself, name, where you from, what are your interests blah blah blah….. offcourse Land Rovers came up under the interest section when I introduced myself. Come the morning tea break, this kicked off two conversations and resulted in making contact with two people I would otherwise never have met….. my favourite was a young guy who has just started work with us and his opening remark was something like, “So mate, you got any other Land Rovers or just the shiny one you drive every day?” made me chuckle……. Love my D3!
As mentioned earlier, we had the pleasure of moving house last week……. Somehow while in transit our goods seem to have expanded, and we had a surplus of furniture etc etc…… no problem, there is a local place that offers storage, and they even have a trailer you can borrow for free, bonus. Friday morning I went along, signed up and picked up the trailer…… not the little box trailer I was expected, but a two ton horsebox type thing…… “no worries” I thought, I drive a D3. That said I was a bit concerned, in that I only drive the V6 petrol……. Anyway I hitched it up (thanks for all the advice from all of you out there!) and off I went…… the vehicle didn’t even feel it, at one point I had to negotiate a right turn across traffic on the Pacific highway, a manoeuvre that requires lightning quick reflexes on the part of the driver and the vehicle, forgot about trailer, saw a gap, took it….. no drama…… I love my D3!
I love the fact that my eldest daughter (all of 2 years and 4 months old) has a relationship with my Land Rover. You should know by now that my Land Rover’s name is Audrey….. My daughter after commenting that Audrey looked funny with a bright orange trailer, was helping me unpack……. At which point she turns to the car and says. “look at me Audrey, I am carrying boxes”. Later in the day, she was paddling in her pool in the garden, and turned to the driveway and said, “look at me Audrey, I’m swimming”…… My family loves my D3!
A quiet day on the job for a change, so time for another post me thinks……….
What do I love about my Landy today?
As you know by now, I work on a construction site…… it is 12.5km of major earthworks and structures that in 2 years time will be a highway……… in short (at the moment anyway) a muddy mess….. I have noticed over the past few weeks that whenever we get visitors to site….. I get asked to take them round, in short I love the way that my D3 is the (VIP) vehicle of choice on site…… I love my D3
Engines……. Now I have said before that I love the 4.0 petrol V6 in the D3. It drives nicely, it sounds awesome, and when considering that it is asked to move a 3 ton 4x4, with the aerodynamics of a brick, around…. it is actually pretty good in the fuel consumption stakes….. all that said there is nothing to beat a Land Rover V8………. Safari Barbie and I tend to sit on our veranda in the evenings and have a drink. There is a D2 V8 that lives across the road from us, and when he turns into the top of the street, you can hear it. I love the sound, I love the fact that amongst all the Holden and Ford V6 and V8s around the Land Rover V8 stands out. It is such a distinctive sound. I love that despite having had my D3 for near enough two years now, I still miss my D2 V8. I love a Land Rover V8!
Last for today, and we have the D3 alone to thank for this. I love the fact that there appear to be more and more Land Rover converts around (you just have to look at this forum). This I believe is as a result of the number of 2nd hand D3s on the market increasing. With the arrival of the D4, this is only going to increase. I love the fact that previous Toyota and Pajero owners are converting to Land Rover as they realise that the D3 has so much to offer and that the vehicle has gone a long way to dealing with the reliability issues that have plagued Land Rover for so long. I love the D3!
The local police sergeant (Boss) who has always been a "Toyota Man" saw us roll back into town last October in the D3, asked for a look & also asked how we liked it. So we sung the D3's praises & his only comment was that we were asking for trouble with all the electronics.
Now I have know this bloke many years & we do like taking the mickey regarding cars, driving skill & our dogs. He has Belgian Shepards we have a Belgian Melenos, mines meaner
So the Sargent went off on leave a few weeks ago with the comment he might buy a new car, my comment was when he got bogged in the 200 series coming back to give me a call.
Well, he got back from leave & came in to sing the D3/D4's praises.
Seems he test drove every different 4WD while he was on leave & after driving a D4 everything else seemed ordinary, very ordinary. He could not afford a D4 so he also drove a 2nd hand D3 V6. Still better than anything else though he liked the D4 interior a bit better.
So now he is trying to figure a way to buy a 2nd hand TDV6 with a few options.
I suggested graft & corruption but he reckoned there wasn't any point in Doomadgee, besides he wants to drive it, not see it from a cell window.
So I love the D3 because it has another convert.
BTW The sarg was chasing some kids around the school grounds (Vandals) in his new Toyota Troopie V8TD police car when she sank in the mud to the side steps. Had to get an exivator in to pull it out.
I told him that the police should invest in some D4's.
Jonesfam
Another reaso I love my D3 - because it makes my wife SOoo jealous.
We are going on leave next month & while we were having a coffee together today the wife asked "What are you buying your number 1 love while we are away?" I replied "I don'y know, tyres are a bit expensive at the moment so I guess I will just put A UHF in her."
The coffee cup just missed.
A bit later I was out washing the Disco & had the grill out for cleaning, the wife wanders out & says "Oh, you've stripped her?" "Nah, just taken her bra off." says I.
That bucket of soapy water was nice & cool but the bucket hurt when it hit me.
So tonight I was re reading the manual to see if I could adjust the low beam lights up a bit, wife says "I'm going to bed - you can sit here & read your porn." "Nah, think I'll jump on the 'puter & read about it there."
Bloody strange woman, my wife. & now I have another bruise.
This thread got me to thinking about the purchase of my LR3 vs the alternatives.
Here in Canada, about the only practical alternative would be a Chev Tahoe / GMC Yukon or Escalade. Toyota/Lexus and the like to my mind have the disadvantages of any import, and nothing really to speak of in terms of advantages, and I mean advantages over something from GM.
The D3/LR3 is just plain unique - it really does not have any equals, just alternatives.
I would say that about once a month, a complete stranger, (male always), comes up to me and asks how I like my Land Rover.
At first, I did not really know what to say other than "OK". With time however, I have now developed a better answer.
The first thing of note is that strangers actually recognize the LR3, first as a Land Rover, and second, as something special and worth asking about.
That in in itself reminds me that I know a couple of guys with G Wagons, and no one even approaches them. I am not really certain why, as the Canadian Army now has camo oufitted G-Wagons running around the City, so the mark is not totally strange to the Province, or Canada. I however, regard the fact that I am even approached as reflecting something positive about the D3.
My short answer to the "How do I like it question?" is that well, I drive the vehicle daily and that 29 days of the month, it is just transportation. That other day can however, be interesting.
It may be just that I hauled some purchase home from a store that would not have fit into a Tahoe. It may come as a surprise, but the LR3, while narrower, has better rear access to the cargo area, a flatter floor, and a higher door height. Since about model year 2000, something happened to the interior room inside the Chevs - they just got tighter for some reason.
Another day, it just may be that the roads became unpleasant. I find that I feel quite confident driving in adverse conditions with the LR3. I do not know if it is the weight, the steering, the full time all wheel drive, the traction controls, the anti skid programs, or just what. The vehicle feels roadworthy be the track, wet, slippery, rough, or dark.
With reference to dark, I credit the low beam head lights for giving me a feeling that I can see what is there, (and not there), under the snowiness or most miserable of conditions. Also that pair of brighter red "fog" lights at the back gives me the feeling that the guy following just might not plow into me.
Also the tail light red plastic is so big, it is just about impossible for the tail lights to become completely covered with sticking snow. That is a real problem with transport trucks here: 4" (100mm) tail lights, (any number of them), and all covered in snow - hence effectively, no tail lights - just the appearance of a heavy snow storm with something to slide under.
I note that I am also telling the people that while the LR3 looks small, everthing on it is big. I point out the wheel lugs and say they are that way as the vehicle weighs 3 tons and is designed to balance on one or two wheels at a near 45 degree angle. That sort of thing then puts a bit of a load on the rims, but that nothing twists for if it did the glass roof would pop out. What glass roof they ask? Then I point out the three skylights.
Speaking of glass, the size of the side windows is just larger than most vehicles. It gives a bright open and I think inviting look to the car.
I also show them my two batteries (Traxide kit), and that impresses them. Here, two batteries are sometimes seen on diesel pickups, (but that is not too common), and is considered big truck stuff at any rate.
While the bonnet is up, I pull the grill out - they have never seen that before on anything - they now are starting to show some real interest, I might add.
At that time I usually start the LR3 and raise it to off road height. That is something normal to us, but very unusual to most, and comes as a surprise. Lifted trucks here are common, but the lift is fixed, not variable at the whim of the driver so actually seeing it is an experience.
Off road height gives a pretty good view of the air springs and also the frame. I talk about the weight and say that weighing 3 tons means it does not float when wading. What do you mean floating and wading they ask? Well, driving thru creeks etc - Oh, is the puzzled response. (A Tahoe is about a thousand pounds less and looses traction and either floats away, or stalls and sinks.)
I mention that the air springs are similar to those rubber things on the back of semi trailer tractor units - again, an Oh.
Anyway, when the interested party departs, they know the 3 is something special.
Another reason I like my LR3 is knowing that it will hold its new look for at least another five years. With the D4 retaining the body shape of the D3, my LR3 will remain current looking - kind of a good feeling as I tend to keep my cars a long time.
With the help of the Board here, I am beginning to understand how the 3 is put together. This gives me more confidence as the closest Land Rover dealer North of me is in either Iceland or Greenland. South is not so extreme - there is one 400 km South, another 800 km East, and West, 1,200 km on the Pacific Coast.
While this may seem not so good, Toyota is not much better. (Numerically more dealers, but only concentrated in major Cities). I must however concede the Tahoe is superior when it comes to finding fix it places.
In summary, I find that the interest, or perhaps even awe, that my 3 generates when I show it off, has made me realize how special and unique it is.
It therefore comes not as a suprise that the vehicle at times suffers from problems no other vehicle will ever have - three computer buses, four corner air supension that raises and lowers everything but the tyres, a "radio" that sounds like you brought the orchestra with you; autobaun speeds for the Bemmers to give chase, and alternatively, so slow a snail would get bored - now that is unique.
All that, and one other rather interesting characteristic - the 3 fits right in at the Club or on the job site. One can park right in front of the Client and not worry about the image - you tend to get respect rather than distain - a very versatile ride it is.
……. I love the way the vehicle looks, black plastic trim and all, I am still not sold on the colour coded wheel arches and bumpers of the late D3s and D4s. I especially love the way it looks with it’s ARB bar now……. I could go on and on but I will now get to the point…….
Reply With Quote) a few technical threads I thought maybe I should revive this topic….. this way we can stay focused the lighter side of Land Rovers….. and in this case D3s……. and not interrupt the very useful technical content out there….. for those of you that aren’t sure what I am talking about…… go and have a look at:
) and the addition of two child seats, becomes the most comfortable family car that can run the four of us (plus Granny and Grandpa if needed) around in air conditioned comfort? insert another “Dang I love my car” here…….
towards the end of last week I had a training session at work…. You know the kind….. at the beginning you all have to introduce yourself, name, where you from, what are your interests blah blah blah….. offcourse Land Rovers came up under the interest section when I introduced myself. Come the morning tea break, this kicked off two conversations and resulted in making contact with two people I would otherwise never have met….. my favourite was a young guy who has just started work with us and his opening remark was something like, “So mate, you got any other Land Rovers or just the shiny one you drive every day?” made me chuckle……. Love my D3!
) vehicle of choice on site…… I love my D3
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