Member Since: 31 Oct 2012
Location: Chesterfield
Posts: 565
Don’t worry too much about the horror stories that you read on here. People are more likely to hit the keyboard when things go wrong than if they’re performing as they’re supposed to. Saying that, it’s a complicated car so regular servicing is a must. It’s a Naomi of cars - high maintenance 😂. I’ve only been through rivers occasionally but have had no problems. Touch wood - lets see what next weeks service holds in store for the wallet.
30th Apr 2018 5:08 pm
RRSTDV8
Member Since: 07 Apr 2014
Location: Here
Posts: 13607
johnlad wrote:
But if I could only have 1 it would be the Defender all day.
If it was the choice between the Defender and walking, I'd walk. Anything further than a good walk and I'd get the bus.
An old Series to have in the garage and potter around for 10 minutes in the sunshine would be nice. A Defender as an only-vehicle would be purgatory. I guess I'm just not Defender-shaped.Visiting from rrsport.co.uk
2012 RRS SDV6
2008 RRS TDV8
"When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know who's children are going to scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken. How many lives shattered. How much blood will spill, until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: SIT DOWN AND TALK!"
30th Apr 2018 8:02 pm
professorpool
Member Since: 19 Mar 2012
Location: Woking
Posts: 3213
I wonder how many people, faced with a ridiculous choice of
one car and one car only - for the rest of your life to meet all your motoring needs..
would choose a deafener over a discovery? D3 07 SE - still going strong
D3 07 HSE - gone to car heaven
FL1 - gone to Romania
D3 05 HSE - gone to a divorce diet
D1 V8 manual - gone but not forgotten
RR Classic - gone to car heaven
Jeeps, Lexus, X-trails... Too many to name..
1st May 2018 7:38 am
Dave T
Member Since: 03 Jul 2009
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 6910
I have a 94 defender and a 2016 D4, love them both for different reasons.
I certainly wouldn't do RTVs or go down half the Green Lanes we do in my Disco but living with a defender every day........that's a tough one.Joined the BMWX5 45e group
1994 Defender 90
2015 RRS Corris Grey/Black roof
2016 D4 Graphite Santorini Black
2012 D4 XS Orkney Grey
2005 D3 S Maya Gold
Convoy for Heroes 2011
1st May 2018 11:36 am
Maxxed_Ross
Member Since: 13 Mar 2018
Location: Bathgate
Posts: 310
professorpool wrote:
I wonder how many people, faced with a ridiculous choice of
one car and one car only - for the rest of your life to meet all your motoring needs..
would choose a deafener over a discovery?
I would
The Defender gets driven every day and I'm 6ft 3" without any issues
I echo what someone else said earlier. The Disco is great for driving every day but there are some things that I wouldn't hesitate to do in the Defender
Deep water would be one thing that would worry me with a Disco. My TD5 Defender has some electrics but they're all fairly simple and easy to fix. Just think how many tasks on a Disco that require removing the body for example
Plus if you bounce it off a tree it adds to the character
It's great owning both, but to be honest if I had to face the zombie apocalypse tomorrow I'd pick the Defender keys up... no air bags to go off when things get interesting 2013 Discovery 4 HSE Lux | 2001 Defender 90 TD5 | 2007 Prodrive RB320
1st May 2018 7:36 pm
lynalldiscovery
Member Since: 22 Dec 2009
Location: Maidstone
Posts: 7274
For the apocoplyse you need a tdi anything later will go wrong and demand clean fuel to run on.
1st May 2018 8:16 pm
xcentric
Member Since: 01 Apr 2015
Location: Shropshire, UK
Posts: 1081
I'm lucky in that I have both, and have done some serious long distance trips in both of them.
The Defender is more characterful, for which I mean noisy, less comfortable, no air con, rattly, cramped and harder work.
The Discovery (4, in may case) is relaxed on the autoroutes, capable in the rough stuff, and much more comfy to sit in.
BUT for serious overlanding, it's not getting there that counts, it's getting back as well - and so you have to have something you can service yourself, which has as few electrics as possible (unless you have a good diagnostic tool, lots of wiring looms and plugs, a few ECU chips, and a fair slice of luck), and so has little to go wrong. The Defender (200tdi, in my case) wins every time for that.
But again, for a longer trip I'm planning, it may well turn out to be a Toyota Landcruiser that I take (the HZJ78 sort) as there's even less to go wrong, even more ground clearance, and even easier to work on.
Horses for courses. (I drive the Disco to work almost every day - I'd never want to do that in the Defender).
1st May 2018 9:28 pm
professorpool
Member Since: 19 Mar 2012
Location: Woking
Posts: 3213
100% agree. For a camel trophy type adventure I’d want a 300 tdi all day long...
People are still missing the point with regard to overlanders turning to D3s.
The reality of overlanding is that you are really not doing as much “off road” as you think you are.
Prepping a vehicle for off roading/laning is completely different to overlanding...D3 07 SE - still going strong
D3 07 HSE - gone to car heaven
FL1 - gone to Romania
D3 05 HSE - gone to a divorce diet
D1 V8 manual - gone but not forgotten
RR Classic - gone to car heaven
Jeeps, Lexus, X-trails... Too many to name..
1st May 2018 9:29 pm
Maxxed_Ross
Member Since: 13 Mar 2018
Location: Bathgate
Posts: 310
you're still asking a very very complicated machine to operate over vast distances of probably challenging terrain without going so wrong you can't fix it by the road side - so my comment about the electricals and poor access to almost every major component that is likely to go wrong in a D3 still stands
I replaced the alternator in my TD5 Defender in a camp site with a shifting spanner and a cheap Halfords tool kit... If we had been away in a D3 or 4 it would have been taken home on a recovery truck2013 Discovery 4 HSE Lux | 2001 Defender 90 TD5 | 2007 Prodrive RB320
1st May 2018 10:07 pm
professorpool
Member Since: 19 Mar 2012
Location: Woking
Posts: 3213
How do you explain the article then?D3 07 SE - still going strong
D3 07 HSE - gone to car heaven
FL1 - gone to Romania
D3 05 HSE - gone to a divorce diet
D1 V8 manual - gone but not forgotten
RR Classic - gone to car heaven
Jeeps, Lexus, X-trails... Too many to name..
1st May 2018 11:33 pm
Maxxed_Ross
Member Since: 13 Mar 2018
Location: Bathgate
Posts: 310
I've not read it so no idea what they took into account when coming to that conclusion
As long as everything is working then yes it probably is better2013 Discovery 4 HSE Lux | 2001 Defender 90 TD5 | 2007 Prodrive RB320
2nd May 2018 5:07 am
nearlee
Member Since: 15 Dec 2012
Location: where the sheep are scared
Posts: 1777
300tdi discovery 1 es
Almost the best of both worlds.Just remember:-
Amateurs built the Ark
Professionals built the titanic
2nd May 2018 5:34 am
lynalldiscovery
Member Since: 22 Dec 2009
Location: Maidstone
Posts: 7274
xcentric wrote:
I'm lucky in that I have both, and have done some serious long distance trips in both of them.
The Defender is more characterful, for which I mean noisy, less comfortable, no air con, rattly, cramped and harder work.
The Discovery (4, in may case) is relaxed on the autoroutes, capable in the rough stuff, and much more comfy to sit in.
BUT for serious overlanding, it's not getting there that counts, it's getting back as well - and so you have to have something you can service yourself, which has as few electrics as possible (unless you have a good diagnostic tool, lots of wiring looms and plugs, a few ECU chips, and a fair slice of luck), and so has little to go wrong. The Defender (200tdi, in my case) wins every time for that.
But again, for a longer trip I'm planning, it may well turn out to be a Toyota Landcruiser that I take (the HZJ78 sort) as there's even less to go wrong, even more ground clearance, and even easier to work on.
Horses for courses. (I drive the Disco to work almost every day - I'd never want to do that in the Defender).
I drove my 200tdi 90 as my everyday car for 4 years, it was real challenging in the winter, fogged up windows, carp heater and er damp all of the time.
2nd May 2018 6:05 am
lynalldiscovery
Member Since: 22 Dec 2009
Location: Maidstone
Posts: 7274
nearlee wrote:
300tdi discovery 1 es
Almost the best of both worlds.
It will have rusted out before the end of the trip
2nd May 2018 6:06 am
professorpool
Member Since: 19 Mar 2012
Location: Woking
Posts: 3213
This is the second article I have seen comparing the d3 to the deafener. A couple of months ago LRO ran a similar article.D3 07 SE - still going strong
D3 07 HSE - gone to car heaven
FL1 - gone to Romania
D3 05 HSE - gone to a divorce diet
D1 V8 manual - gone but not forgotten
RR Classic - gone to car heaven
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