Looking at replacing my current aging 4×4 (’03 shogun sport) with a landrover discovery 3. I’ve done my fair share of research and I’m pretty set on what sort of spec; dark leather interior, only engine choice is the 2.7 tdv6 unless a decent facelift with the 3.0 appears.

I’d be interested in STW thoughts, experiences, problems and things to look out for. Any LR independent specialists in the SE?

🔥

Either That, or the gearbox ceases up

🧟‍♂️

I owned and ran one for 10 years, and it was a great tow car. No major problems, but consider suspension parts as consumables. The disco3 forum is a good one – crank failures are a recurring topic, but this is a model that’s now 15 years old. Good luck!

Great bits of kit but there are much more reliable and cheaper to run trucks out there.

If your pockets are deep enough they’re a good shout but personally the running costs would put me off.

I had 3 Discoverys then had enough of regular bills. Changed to Shogun Sport (54) 3yrs ago. Been great until recently, big bills for unusual reasons. Would still have another in preference to Discovery but they stopped the model in 2006. Need something that will tow 3 tonnes but don’t like pickups.

Interesting to hear responses. More positive than I expected!

Haven’t posted on here for a very long time but thought I’d drop into this conversation when it popped up in my news feeds

I’m a D3 owner, had a TD5 D2 for 8 years which I loved and was also immensely reliable – only really let me down once when the injector harness failed just as we were leaving for a camping trip.

About 2 years ago I started looking for it replacement, not that it needed it, I just fancied a D3, actually, I wanted a full fat range rover but never found a one that I liked.

After reading all the horror stories on http://www.disco3.co.uk I decided that I wanted a petrol V8 and I managed to find a very nicely looked after one, and 18 months down the road I still don’t regret my decision, sure its getting 15mpg but I’m only running around the doors at the moment, or towing upto 3.5 tonnes on my trailer so I’m not complaining about that, only needed a wheels bearing, door handle assembly and servicing in 18 months of ownership so far, no turbo’s to worry about, no glowascii plugs to fail and no body off to replace the timing belts.

Happy owner here, so I’d say if you are prepared to find a really good one, go for it

I have a 2010 Disco 4 and it’s the perfect car if you accept you can’t run it on a shoestring. Bought it with timing belt change imminent (every 7 years I think), needed lower front arms too. Ran to about £1200 at local specialist. I keep up with preventative maintenance and I’ve never had a problem. I got the gearbox flushed, I did the rear upper arms, both front wheel bearings and the water pump as they were all a bit tired. Oh and I rebuilt the compressor with a £70 kit off ebay in a couple of hours. There’s a plastic skirt on the piston that wears, the rest of the compressor is usually sound. Most jobs are DIYable if you’re handy with a socket set. The versatility is the best bit. It’ll carry 7 adults comfortably or 4 people and 4 bikes and a bootful of luggage anywhere you want to go without batting an eyelid. Air suspension keeps everything level and comfortable. You can fold all the seats flat and get a double airbed in the back, and when you’re knackered after a big ride it’ll waft you home with minimum fuss. The heating and aircon are epic. Another bonus is the stereo in mine is louder than the kids. I’d have another tomorrow. Get on Disco3.com and my advice would be look for a cherished one that hasn’t been skimped on. Also personally I prefer the light interiors… Colour matched waterproof seat covers are available 😉

Thanks all. Think we’ve found one that ticks the boxes.

Shameless plug, there will be a ’53 shogun sport warrior for sale. 124k. Belts replaced recently.