Moo wrote:

Nice to see you back, but my suggestion, which is totally what you don't want the hear, would be a Volvo XC90. Cracking car and 90% of a D4 without the pain.

MrTed wrote:

This is quite a scary chat! I’ve now had my D4 (MY16) for a year and a half and love it to pieces. The only work I’ve had done was a belt(s) change just after I got it and new brake lines then a cheeky all underbody Lanoguard but that’s it (& two services).

It does worry me that nearly every time I check these forums there seems to be yet another crank issue, etc which puts the wind up me no end.

I know other manufacturers have their own issues BUT where do you draw the line?
I think at some point you have to take a punt.

The only advice I once took was a couple of years ago when my Jag XF blew its intercooler on the A1 and I asked the recovery AA guy what car he was always called out to and he replied, “Ranger Rover, every time”. I then said, “Not Discovery’s?” (as I’d been thinking about one for a while by then) and he said, “Nope I hardly ever see a Discovery. Look Land Rover chuck all their latest tech into the Range Rover as pretty much a test-bed for all their other vehicle lines. So, they nearly always conk-out with electrical issues and I have to pick them up, especially these new ones with ALL the gizmos and they can’t get replacement parts.”

I’m paraphrasing that conversation a bit as it was a while back and this AA guy may not be the worlds expert on cars but if he recovers Range Rovers most days then I knew not to go for one for the time being. (He did not mention any other car specifically).

Also, around that time my work-friends husband said to me (when I remembered he was a car dealer for 30 years) “Si, get yourself a D4 HSE. Best car (they) ever made”. I then ran-off all the alternatives I had been looking at, X5, XC 90, ML350 or the newer GLE 350 and he shook his head and repeated himself. “Nope, nope & nope. Get the D4 HSE, if you can find one…”.

So, I did.

I really, really hope I have one of the ‘good’ ones in terms of Discovery 4 and that it continues to put a smile on my face for many years to come. As the saying goes:

‘If you don’t look back when walking away from your car, you have the wrong car’…

al cope wrote:

After having had every model of Disco from D1 200tdi through 300TDi, TD5, D3,D4 and finally D5 I have gone XC90. The only major issue I had was with D5 (2 ltr ingeniboom) which its engine big time. Ok LR replaced it but the love was lost, and I didn’t want another one, or anything else LR were offering. The final bit to swing it for me was the difference in attitude between LR dealers and the Volvo dealers i visited. Service at sales and at servicing has been much better (so far).

I have an XC90 B5D, mild hybrid. It does pretty much everything the D4/D5 did, tows our 1900kg caravan well, is much more economical and very comfortable. Very pleased after 18 months of ownership.

Al