Posted by Al (oz) on September 13, 2002 at 05:58:56:

In Reply to: Advice needed on replacing Defender 110 200tdi CSW posted by RMF on August 26, 2002 at 03:55:37:

Oh come now!

You're obviously a devotee to the LR product, so be prepared to admit that either Disco's aren't that bad, or the other LR products are admittedly just as bad as Discoveries - only we don't hear so much about them because the Discovery outsells the others by a country mile.

You're right - the Defender or County 110 is not a fantastically comfortable vehicle on long drives. It's very agricultural and annoying, especially for tall or large drivers. They're good wagons though.

The Rangie is a good choice, but be prepared for electrical niggles, just as you would with a Disco, or anything else built in England. I have a 4.6L Stage One, and love the raw power and effortless torque. On gas, it's as cheap to run as a small 1.8L Hatchback. I can't recommend the 4.6L V8 enough.
It drinks the fuel though, but LPG here costs $AUD.33c/L and petrol costs $AUD.95c/L.

Oz never got the BMW diesel, so can't comment here.

Before my 4.6L Stage One, I had a 97 300Tdi Disco, which was a superb long distance machine. Supportive seats, a functional dash, low noise and an ultra fuel miser. I'd get 800km from a tank of diesel, even at 110km/hr with the a/c going to cope with the Aussie heat. For a bush basher, the Disco is the wrong choice, but for cruising and towing and city driving, it's a lovely lovely car. I had NO problems with it, so don't discount the Disco. Because it was a base spec model, I didn't have all the extra gear to go wrong. I'd have another late model 300Tdi Disco in a heartbeat, if all I was doing was cruising and touring on open roads.

Probably the best vehicle available from the LR stable currently is the TD5 Disco II. The engine is fantastic, it's reliable and it's a very solid car. If you won't get one of these, then consider either a '94 Classic Rangie, or a newish HSE Rangie. Steer away from '95/'96 new shape Range Rovers, they had lots of electrical dramas.

If all you're doing is pulling caravans out of the mud, any LR product with low range will do the job, assuming you have the correct tyres fitted. Once the 'van is out of the mud and you've hit the blacktop to cruise home, choose the vehicle that is going to pull the van quietly and effortlessly - shifting gears to get up hills is annoying.

A 4.6L V8 is hard to beat in pulling power and long term reliability; unless you think about that TD5...

good hunting