Member Since: 30 Mar 2006
Location: Leicestershire
Posts: 281
Gareth
Brilliant move from our old 54 plate D3 that we wore out. You will be amazed at how things have progressed in 7 years from your original D3.
But..... less room for odds and sods in the car; still concerned re the painted bumpers/wheelarches; better fuel economy is a myth Richard
27th Sep 2011 7:16 am
DiscoDunc
Member Since: 08 May 2006
Location: Bristol
Posts: 16390
the D4 is excellant apart from a few annoyances !! :
1) the blingy colour coded bumper and wheel arches - i dont like these - but in all fairness the later D3s had them anyway
2) the EPB switch it blingy and shinny so when the sun shines through the sunroof it reflects up into my eyes
3) there is very little storage in the front so all my bits need to be kept in the cup holders which means when I put a cup in it wobbles and spills over.
4) Keyless entry - this is a pain in the and has already cost me £400 because I sat on my keys and raised the hydraulic security bollard as I was reversing out of the drive - need a new bumper.
5) you cant look at the radio channels and the sat nav at the same time which has caught me out a few times.
6) and this, this is the most annoying of all things.... the front bumper is too rounded so you cant balance your cup of tea/bottle of beer on it when outside working on the car or camping. On the D3 it is nice and flat and hold a mug of tea perfectly.Duncan
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27th Sep 2011 7:50 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73048
DG wrote:
But you still have one in the household don't you Del ?
Only as an offroader, equivalent of the rusty old Deafner on the front lawn. The £50k budget this year for the family wheels went elsewhere.
27th Sep 2011 2:03 pm
raadar
Member Since: 14 Dec 2010
Location: sunshinecoastQ
Posts: 28
discodunc,
1) not only the wheel arches present this problem. I have stornaway grey and after 50k klms it shows brush marks also on body panels, but none that can't be buffed out. Solution is to buy a white one if you intend any serious offroad.
3), 4) one of the things I like about the disco is the two glove boxes as well as the shelf above the upper glove box. The biggest downside of keyless entry is "where to keep the keys" as they heve no ignition switch to hang from. I developed the habit of placing the bunch of keys in the handy recess above and in front of the steering wheel but behind the instrument panel.......this gets them out of the way and keeps the seat and drink holders available for more logical uses
6) one of the biggest advantages of the disco over the RR sport is the drop down tailgate. This is used for a full on bar in our camping setup.
Without going into a full list of the D4 attributes, my next one (If there is a next one) would definitely have the locking rear diff, and hopefully by then Landrover may have designed in some more manual controls to allow better offroad performance for the experienced. I am reeeaaallly frustrated by the computor override interfering with critical forward progress when traversing technical offroad environments. Too many times easy traction or adequate ride height has been denied in preference to percieved safety issues determined by the computor programs. I appreciate the ability of terrain response for use by the inexperienced, however, a manual override control would give the experienced better options to maintain traction, ride height, and particularly invaluable momentum which is more than half the secret in sucessfully negotiating deep soft sand, as an example, where ANY application of the brakes by the abs results in instant burial up to the floor boards.
Having said that the general design and packaging and performance are first class. This is a love/hate relationship[/b][/u]my10D4se3Ltdv6 current
my08RRStdv8 sold
my07RRStdv8 sold
27th Sep 2011 11:49 pm
ronp
Member Since: 29 Nov 2006
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 15261
Ditto what Duncan says - especially the lack of front storage areas [incl no nsf slide out cup holder].
This lack of storage really annoys me - but reckon it's now worse on the MY12 models with the removal of another storage area due to repositioning of the TR controls.
1] No little mats in the storage areas that are there.
2] Door bottle holders are square and way too big that bottles just slop around.
3] You cann't see, mileage, trip mileage, ave mpg, instant mpg etc etc all at once, it's either one or the other.
4] Indicators & screen wash are set to predetermined times - I'd rather be in control of how much scoosh to put on the windscreen or how many clicks to give the indicators.
5] No grab handles on front seats.
IMO the practibility of the D3 is now lost in the D4 - it's now gone too 'city' orientated.
Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic drive, way ahead of the D3, but gone are the days of the basic functional design and layout. ...... DC100 for me next methinks.
Finally, there is a big ongoing problem with mine!!
At 5 months old with 11k on the clock [mainly motorway miles & towing caravan], I've now gone through 3 sets of front discs, calipers & brake pads. .... vibration under braking!
It's back in next week for LR to attempt yet another fix ...... Not Happy!!!!
If I don't get a final fix I'll be considering steps to reject the vehicle....... always on the road less travelled 🚧
I agree with the blingy wheel arches plain black arches and bumper are much better IMO
I wonder if you can buy a D4 that is de-Blinged ? i.e. with the far more logical & smarter black wheels arches
They are only a cosmetic thing I know but for practical reasons - i.e. actually using a vehicle in real life are far much more practical.
same goes for painted bumpers....bumpers are meant to take the odd knockBREXIT - done properly.
Right now ...We need Government - not Politics
Save the Dipstick Flagbearer-keep it simple, less likely to fail campaign-agenda items:Starting Handles, Acetylene Lamps.
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D3 HSE-perfectly formed, passenger friendly...has real DIPSTICK
Jag XK-but sadly no DIPSTICK...HUGE design fault
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28th Sep 2011 7:48 am
ronp
Member Since: 29 Nov 2006
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 15261
D4 Commercial has black plastic arches and rear bumper....... always on the road less travelled 🚧
28th Sep 2011 8:10 am
Calcul@tor
Member Since: 08 Mar 2006
Location: Middle England!
Posts: 810
Interestingly, keyless entry and automatic dipping headlights (high beam assist) are two 'extras' I'd consider paying not to have!
The other one that really bugs me is the automatic (electrochromic) dipping rear view mirror! I want to know who's behind me! D4 XS MY12 Galway
28th Sep 2011 8:59 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73048
ISTR the dipping mirror fuse is 69 on the prefacelifted D3s and that pulling it sorts it. Might be same on facelifted D3s.
28th Sep 2011 2:30 pm
crews control
Member Since: 18 Mar 2007
Location: Dorset
Posts: 5011
Calcul@tor wrote:
The other one that really bugs me is the automatic (electrochromic) dipping rear view mirror! I want to know who's behind me!
Or...just specify privacy glass and then it's useless anyway!
28th Sep 2011 3:28 pm
steveraspberry
Member Since: 18 Sep 2011
Location: Nr Sevenoaks,Kent
Posts: 2081
DiscoDunc wrote:
the D4 is excellant apart from a few annoyances !! :
4) Keyless entry - this is a pain in the and has already cost me £400 because I sat on my keys and raised the hydraulic security bollard as I was reversing out of the drive - need a new bumper.
Erm... have you tried NOT putting your keys in your back pocket? I'm just saying.....
Sorry to hear about your bumper though My17 Volvo XC90 Inscription
MY15 Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian
RGK Tiga Fx Wheelchair,
Large Alsation called Abbs
Medium blue Staffie called Piglet
Medium Alsation called Bailey
11th Oct 2011 2:18 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26767
Thanks for all the feedback chaps
In summary, the Discovery 4 is far better as a driving machine, but has lost some of the practicality of the Discovery 3. It has so far demonstrated excellent reliability, with many of the common failures of the '3' not yet showing up on the '4'
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and has already cost me £400 because I sat on my keys and raised the hydraulic security bollard as I was reversing out of the drive - need a new bumper.
plain black arches and bumper are much better IMO
I'm just saying..... 
