Discovery 4 vs. Range Rover
Discussion
I'm in the market for a 4x4 family car come tow vehicle.
I've never been a 4x4 person, but I've been thoroughly converted after borrowing a friend's Discovery 3 to tow my Elise a few hundred miles.
The ride comfort, the ease of towing, the space all make it for me. I have a budget of around £15-20k.
That seems to get me a ~2011 Disco 4 or Range Rover, but the question is which? Reliability is my prime concern. It looks to me that the Range Rover has a bit more space and a bit more comfortable but the Disco is more economical, potentially more reliable and easier to work on? I think the Discovery being a bit smaller would make it a bit easier to live with in terms of parking etc.
Are those assertions correct? Is there anything else to consider?
I've never been a 4x4 person, but I've been thoroughly converted after borrowing a friend's Discovery 3 to tow my Elise a few hundred miles.
The ride comfort, the ease of towing, the space all make it for me. I have a budget of around £15-20k.
That seems to get me a ~2011 Disco 4 or Range Rover, but the question is which? Reliability is my prime concern. It looks to me that the Range Rover has a bit more space and a bit more comfortable but the Disco is more economical, potentially more reliable and easier to work on? I think the Discovery being a bit smaller would make it a bit easier to live with in terms of parking etc.
Are those assertions correct? Is there anything else to consider?
both are boxes with straight sides and are very easy to park
both are great cars
the disco is more useful, flexible, spacious etc.
the rangie is more of an occasion and overall a car I love more (though I have returned to a classic)
if you have children - disco
if you want more of a workhorse - disco
if you want a more elegant experience - rangie
both are great cars
the disco is more useful, flexible, spacious etc.
the rangie is more of an occasion and overall a car I love more (though I have returned to a classic)
if you have children - disco
if you want more of a workhorse - disco
if you want a more elegant experience - rangie
Hashtaggggg said:
For your budget I would go for a Range Rover L322.
Both are great vehicles
What makes the L322 better for my budget?Both are great vehicles
Bill said:
The RR is smaller surely?? The D4 boot is sometimes inconveniently large and you have to clamber in the get stuff at the front of it. 
Not sure about internally, but externally Parkers suggests the the Range Rover is 40mm wider and 150mm longer. Not much, I'll give you that!Discovery is higher, though.
mpit said:
Hashtaggggg said:
For your budget I would go for a Range Rover L322.
Both are great vehicles
What makes the L322 better for my budget?Both are great vehicles
Bill said:
The RR is smaller surely?? The D4 boot is sometimes inconveniently large and you have to clamber in the get stuff at the front of it.
Not sure about internally, but externally Parkers suggests the the Range Rover is 40mm wider and 150mm longer. Not much, I'll give you that!Discovery is higher, though.
Bill said:
The RR is smaller surely?? The D4 boot is sometimes inconveniently large and you have to clamber in the get stuff at the front of it.
Indeed. Fold the seats down and you have a flat, square area about the size of a transit. The boot with the seats up is huge and you have to climb in to reach the back! You also have 7 seats in the Disco, not so in the RR. My Disco also has rear heated seats as well as dual panoramic sunroofs and stadium seating so the rear passengers can see the road ahead. I have an 8 speed D4 with 255hp and it goes well enough whilst returning about 28 mpg. It’s never gone wrong either. Before it I owned a D3 for 7 years, the D4 is way better and more sorted. For your budget I’d go for a MY2012 8 speed before they introduced the stop start rubbish. They are wonderful cars.firman said:
It’s the little touches on the Range Rover that moved me to it rather than the Disco, heated rear seats for the kids, fridge in the console plus it just looks better overall I think too
D4 HSE comes with heated rear seats and the option of.a fridge in the arm rest. I’m biased but I prefer the utilitarian looks of the D4 over the “self made builder”/footballer looks of the RR. I would still like a P38 though.Here’s mine
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 20th April 18:06
firman said:
It’s the little touches on the Range Rover that moved me to it rather than the Disco, heated rear seats for the kids, fridge in the console plus it just looks better overall I think too
Heated rear seats and fridge both available in the D4 also.Personally I'd go L322 late 2012 or an L405 SDV8 and avoid the TDV6 of all models - this in its very nature means the D4 as well if you're worried about the crank shaft issues with the TDV6/SDV6 models - it's not as prevalent as forums make out but it is a known design issue that LR seems to be doing naff all about.
D4 is very well appointed, and practical to an extreme though - get some xanadoo baskets in the read for better storage solutions and you're away (in fact in tiers of being able to customise the practicality and ways to store/pack stuff the D4 is unsurpassed, you'll not get near it with an RR
wormus said:
Indeed. Fold the seats down and you have a flat, square area about the size of a transit. The boot with the seats up is huge and you have to climb in to reach the back! You also have 7 seats in the Disco, not so in the RR. My Disco also has rear heated seats as well as dual panoramic sunroofs and stadium seating so the rear passengers can see the road ahead. I have an 8 speed D4 with 255hp and it goes well enough whilst returning about 28 mpg. It’s never gone wrong either. Before it I owned a D3 for 7 years, the D4 is way better and more sorted. For your budget I’d go for a MY2012 8 speed before they introduced the stop start rubbish. They are wonderful cars.
The stop start rubbish also halves your road tax though so worth considering for another 1000 miles of free driving a yearI've owned both. I'm now in an L322 Rangie and I consider it a step up from the D4. I do some off roading for fun, take the dog in the back and commute across the High Peak and Pennines regularly. On winter/snow A/t tyres it's a go-anywhere vehicle, but in fairness so was the Disco. I don't tow anything.
Bill said:
The RR is smaller surely?? The D4 boot is sometimes inconveniently large and you have to clamber in the get stuff at the front of it.
same, although i think its mainly due to the tailgate so the RR would be no different. i wouldn't call either a massive car. i have a d3 v8 and thinking recently whether to upgrade to d4 or rr. whilst i prefer the look of d4, the extra luxury [not that the d4 is lacking] and grunt of the rr is swaying me towards it.
am i right that both weigh the same but the structure of the RR is a lot less being monocoque. ergo, is the additional weight all extra kit and luxury?
No mention of the RRS ? I've done 145000 miles in my early one (lowly TDV6 2.7) and found it a fantastic car - used a lot for towing and off-roading, as a long distance cruiser and as a wedding car. Its gearbox is now crying "enough !" so I recently tried a Disco 4 (V8 I think) but really didn't like the ride - it felt soft and wallowy by comparison to my tired Sport. Not so much space as in either the FFRR or the Disco, of course, but still a very nice place to be.
gothatway said:
No mention of the RRS ? I've done 145000 miles in my early one (lowly TDV6 2.7) and found it a fantastic car - used a lot for towing and off-roading, as a long distance cruiser and as a wedding car. Its gearbox is now crying "enough !" so I recently tried a Disco 4 (V8 I think) but really didn't like the ride - it felt soft and wallowy by comparison to my tired Sport. Not so much space as in either the FFRR or the Disco, of course, but still a very nice place to be.
Indeed, the RRS does have pretty much the same underpinnings as the D3/4 and the TDV8 is an awesome engine. It's a much smaller cabin but it depends on how much 'stuff' you need to carry. However, the D4 is still a better tow vehicle, especially if you can find one with all the towing extras fitted.As for your other comments:
If you're UK based, the D4 you drove would almost certainly have been a V6 diesel... The V8 diesel was never fitted and the V8 petrol was only available in other territories.
Depending on the grumblings from your gearbox, it might just need an oil flush.
M
Edited by camel_landy on Thursday 25th April 17:13
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