Hi all, Im looking for a automatic tow vehicle and looking for opinions from those with experience who can compare.
I have had a 300tdi disco auto before and loved it for towing, I was going to get another but they are thin on the ground in half decent condition. There are td5s available for around the same price with lower mileage but I worry about the auto box. I also hear that the td5 is far more thirsty, I will be transporting a car mostly and I am wondering if the td5 would actually be better under load than the tdi for mpg? There is also the drivetrain wear to consider as the td5 is likely to be around 50k less drivetrain wear.. so there is my dilema. Not having had a td5 before I am leaning towards what I know in the tdi, especially with the higher capacity but I'm hoping I can be enlightened by those who have used both for towing in the past.

A TD5 will run rings around a 300Tdi in all situations, mine used to do 16-18mpg towing a 3t box trailer, and an average of 26 unladen but to be fair I didn't hang around, so if driven slightly more sensibly there is no reason why you couldn't get better MPG.

As for drivetrain wear, it is mainly dependant on maintenance driving style and what work it has done in its life, my 200k TD5 had no drivetrain wear whatsovever the trade off being it was a school run/ family motor. you'd be best to test drive a few to get a feel for them..

Tbh I think either with the four speed box is pretty crap
Any of the older landrovers especially auto are going to be a risky buy

I can remember years ago test driving a td5 xs auto, dont think I have ever been that disappointed driving a car!

Henry_b said:

A TD5 will run rings around a 300Tdi in all situations, mine used to do 16-18mpg towing a 3t box trailer, and an average of 26 unladen but to be fair I didn't hang around, so if driven slightly more sensibly there is no reason why you couldn't get better MPG.

As for drivetrain wear, it is mainly dependant on maintenance driving style and what work it has done in its life, my 200k TD5 had no drivetrain wear whatsovever the trade off being it was a school run/ family motor. you'd be best to test drive a few to get a feel for them..

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Thanks, that is exactly the kind of info I was looking for, It is going to be a workhorse so I am not too worried about refinements, I grew up on series 2's where you were lucky to have all windows and doors, everything nowadays feels like luxury to me..

I had considered a p38 but I have had one of those before, I did not use it for towing to know what they are like in that regard and mine was a manual but unless my one was a lemon I think best avoided for reliability issues.

My auto Td5 is remapped and in good order. I wouldn’t say its an amazing tow car. But its still better than most cars. Really a D3 is way better to tow, but then you have all the D3 foibles to deal with. A good d3 would be a much better tow car than any td5 or tdi though.

Yes i agree with last post my old td5 towed fine and is economical and if looked after ultra-reliable (rust is an issue) used it with caravan struggled with hills but have towed D3 on trailers with it, D3 different kettle of fish bags of power good mpg and not much less towing, but have issues if you go D3 route in my opinion service history is key oil change every 6 months or 6000 miles but this is no guarantee of reliability keep the faith TY