Hi there,
when I read this, I simply had to respond. We just got our brand new Discovery 3, TDV 6, manual transmission, 7 seater. Before I bought it, I "researched" virtually every website and visited many dealers. I would say, you could very well go ahead and buy it now.
So far there has definetely been "no recall". Further, there is no problem with regard to water entering the cabin and the gas cover does not need a key to open. Whenever you unlock the car, the gas cover is also unlocked (just like with all modern cars). And there "is" a diagnostics program.
So far the only critics I would have refer to the fact that the documentation is not as thorough as with other cars in this category. For example, in addition to the manual's options you can program the key so that the back door will open while the rest of the car remains locked and there is no hint in the manual on how to remove the head rests in the second row. This is possible through pushing a little button-like area on the opposite side to the button with which you can raise/lower the head rest. For us, this is important, since the kids' seats fit better then.
Otherwise so far I can only say that the Disco is superb car. It's diesel engine drives more comfortable than the one in our recent BMW 530 (new model). The interior does have an upscale look and feel. We bought the walnut fascia which is really worth the costs.
I will keep you posted on our experiences with the Disco, positive and negative.
Bye from Bavaria,
Christian
