Disco 3 - how much better?

Hi, at the risk of annoying everyone with a Disco 2, I was wondering how much better the Disco 3 is?

I've an '03 Disco 2 and am seriously thinking of trading up to an 06/07 Disco 3.

Why? The Disco 2 is just a bit too slow for me (even at 70 on the motorway, it feels like it would rather not be doing 70), it's a bit too agricultural in it's handling, and although I've done a few things to spruce it up (discs and pads, new boot carpet to get rid of a diesel smell, removed the EGR valve) I don't think that the car has been particularly well maintained.

Rather than carrying on sinking money into it, I'm thinking that the sensible spend would be in a more modern Disco...

What do people who've done the same have to say?

Thanks in advance

Must be summat wrong wi ur disco if it's a bit too agricultural...mines excellent on the motorway

Why not get yours remapped it won't seem slow then ?

I have done a fair bit of research as a result of which we are keeping our disco 2. Yes it may be a bit agricultural and ours starts vibrating at 58, so thats our maximum, but we use it for towing a horse trailer and in bad weather, so we dont need a ballistic missile!

Why not buy a diesel saloon for your motoway stuff, makes far more sense.

Now the disco 3 may well be more civilised on the motorway, but my research has shown that whilst it is an amazing car when it goes wrong be prepared!!!

Hand brake is a regular failure (often annually) and costs £600 - £1000, turbo or EGR failure (cant remember which) requires the body removing from chassis so you can work out how cheap that is! Loads of other problems, many require specialist dealer diagnostics. Fuel consumption can often be poor.

There is a D3 forum have a look through there before you decide.

I went as far as getting a price for a 3 year warranty which came out at nearly £3000, which gives you a fair idea of the cost of likely repairs quite apart from servicing.

Great car IF you have the spare money, I also heard of one where the dealer had said the only solution is a rewire at £6000,

Our Disco 2 is staying

I think the problem could be in shifting from the later D2 with all the various issues more or less sorted to an early D3 where they haven't.
Personally I would upgrade to the latest, lowest mileage D2 with a really good service history. Always found my D2's handling to be really good, especially with ACE. Getting back into my old D1 feels like climbing into a tractor in comparison.
Know what you mean about the speed though. Does feel like at 70mph + it's getting a bit rough.

hedgehogsdad said:

Hi, at the risk of annoying everyone with a Disco 2, I was wondering how much better the Disco 3 is?

I've an '03 Disco 2 and am seriously thinking of trading up to an 06/07 Disco 3.

Why? The Disco 2 is just a bit too slow for me (even at 70 on the motorway, it feels like it would rather not be doing 70), it's a bit too agricultural in it's handling, and although I've done a few things to spruce it up (discs and pads, new boot carpet to get rid of a diesel smell, removed the EGR valve) I don't think that the car has been particularly well maintained.

Rather than carrying on sinking money into it, I'm thinking that the sensible spend would be in a more modern Disco...

What do people who've done the same have to say?

Thanks in advance

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It depends what you use it for really. I use my Disco 2 for fun off road and for utility duties whereas I drive a BMW 320d E90 to get to and from work and for any other trips significant in distance.

If you use it for off roading, I wouldn't get a disco 3. Every dent and scratch will be painful to bear unless you have a lot of money to spare.

The D3 is a completely different type of vehicle and construction. So while it bears the same name it isn't really all that easy to compare directly.

The biggest differences are IFS/IRS and semi-monoque construction. This means the D3's road manners are quite different to any live axle LR.

So your best bet is go and drive one and see what you think.

But remember it's still a 4x4, so will still drive like one. If you want high on road performance a 4x4 might not be the best solution.