Land Rover Discovery 4

If I had 40+K to spend on a SUV, my money would go on the Mercedez Benz GL , far , far better car!

By frenchpress2 on 11 November, 2009, 10:24am

frenchpress2, you are talking bollocks and obviuosly know very little about 4x4's

By willyeckerslike on 12 November, 2009, 10:50am

Willyeckerslike, totally agree. I've owned several Mercs and they are like Andrex. Too soft for the job in hand and unnecessarily expensive. Even my Discovery 3 knocks spots off the GL, it's a third cheaper, costs way less to run and doesn't break down half as much. Landrover all the way for me and this D4 looks to be a pearl. Would be nice to see the TDV8 in it though.

By Tintenter on 12 November, 2009, 7:20pm

GMR

I have to agree with the latter comments although I do fail to see where this vehicle is marketed for and I think the above dissagrement says it all. I used to love the old Discovery go anywhere ability whilst still granting you access to the wonderful green badge ownership without the elbow knocking agricultural Defender... BUT... If you are looking for an SUV then a MB GL is probably better suited for general refinement, and if you are looking for a proper 4x4 then the Defender still rules hands down so that leaves status symbols and well you are always going to feel £10k poorer in traffic when a Range Rover pulls up beside you (& no not the Sport which suffers from exactly the same problem).

For me LR have missed the point here but making the Discovery a bit too like a luxury car, I would rather see at least an option for a 'basic' interior that I won't mind getting my muddy boots on and letting the dog romp around in while I hook up the horse box (this is in my imagination I have neither a dog or a want to be hurled around the country side on a frankly scary animal!) but I am sure you get what I mean.

The D4 is a lovely 4x4 but I am still going to buy a great car to use daily and a slightly rough Discovery 1/2 to get muddy and pull large trailing objects. Unless I win the lottery!

By tiveroz on 24 November, 2009, 12:23pm

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By mitchell123 on 26 November, 2009, 7:44am

Not as good as it's made out to be

I travelled in one of these (in the back) over the weekend and found it quite unpleasant. It might have a "smooth ride" but that disregards its tendency to lurch into corners terribly. I felt like I was being thrown all over the car on normal cross-country roads. Really not comfortable. But then what do you expect with a behemoth like this - all the fancy electronics in the world can't compensate entirely for its bulk. Give me a proper car any day!

Oh, and regarding the comment that it looks at home in a Farmer's field - not round here it doesn't! No self-respecting farmer would be seen dead in one of these nowadays - people might mistake you for a banker! Or another type of anker that begins with the letter W...

By ncollingridge on 3 December, 2009, 3:22pm

Blah-Blah-Blah

Listen, unlike the other reviewers above, I have owned a Discovery 4 HSE since early November, having previously owned a TD5.

The D4 is nothing short of a revelation in terms of refinement, all round ability and beautiful, but purposeful styling.

Gl's, ML's, X5's? Footballer's wives and drug dealer's cars -all bling and no sting I'm afraid, and I've looked at them all.

The D4 is the best of the lot - no further discussion required!!

By tob300 on 1 January, 2010, 10:24am

Disco 4

I also own a Disco 4 and agree the refinement and allround ability are very good,

Just a great pity about the reliability as mine has broken down three times in as many months, and so I could not recommend one based on my experience

By josscooper on 10 January, 2010, 10:12am

Recommended

I'm looking forward to my Disco 4 arriving soon. I've had two Disco 3s, three Freelander 2s and a few of the old models. The only time I've called out Land Rover Assist is when I managed to lock the keys in one of the Freelanders which the technician managed to retrieve after some magic trick with the tailgate wiring and another cock up when I left a coolbox plugged into the aux circuit overnight and drained the battery! None have let me down with just routine servicing at the dealers. Of course fuel economy isn't great and there are faster vehicles but I knew what I was buying into and have had no complaints. They've got me through floods, snow, ice and Britain's third world roads unscathed.

By Offroader on 17 January, 2010, 10:50pm

TB

I have owned a variety of 4x4's before I tried my first Discovery.
It was the Disco 3 in 2005 and it ran rings around my car at the time ( Merc ML320 ) in every aspect.
I am now on my third Disco,the 3L 4 and this is the best yet.
LR has marketed the Disco 4 at the people who would not be interested in a RR but who wanted the luxury and refinement in their practical,7seat Discovery.
I say well done Land Rover .

By brad2330 on 19 January, 2010, 8:54am

No thanks!

Sounds like you lot work for LR or are escapees from the LR owners club (or should that be Tata OC?). Just go have a look at any mainstream reliability survey (JDP, Warranty Direct, etc.) to see just what a piece of junk most LR's are. Even good ole JC from TG might love the dynamics but can't defend their appalling quality. Don't understand why anyone would put up with such poor reliability in something so expensive - clearly as long as you guys have more money than sense, LR is safe.

By firemack on 25 January, 2010, 11:11am

Reputation out of date

By all means consult Warranty Direct's results, which are very informative, but observe the average age of the vehicles their report refers to. Their target market is warranties for vehicles that are out of manufacturers warranty, so instantly that means their reports do not include anything under 3 years old.
Their reports include a high proportion of vehicles that are 5 - 7 years or older, and so the older, less well made LR's (and they were poorly built at that time) will make it appear that LR is a brand of poor reliability.
Land Rover has moved on and whilst no-one can say they never break, the brand relaibility has improved out of all recognition in recent times.

Where LR does have an issue is the high cost of servicing. The range desparately needs quicker service routines to reduce the cost of standard services, particularly to reduce the cost of labour, which in turn will bring down the cost of ownership.

By j_harden on 26 January, 2010, 10:13pm

LR4 Problem?

I have had my LR4 since October and have been plagued with a gearbox problem which LR seem incapable,unwilling or unable to fix.The problem is loss of power at low speed because the gearbox cannot drop it's gears quick enough causing some pretty scary moments.
Has anybody else experienced this yet?

By brad2330 on 15 February, 2010, 7:58pm

LR4 Problem?

I have had my LR4 since October and have been plagued with a gearbox problem which LR seem incapable,unwilling or unable to fix.The problem is loss of power at low speed because the gearbox cannot drop it's gears quick enough causing some pretty scary moments.
Has anybody else experienced this yet?

By brad2330 on 15 February, 2010, 7:59pm

disco 3 ....amazing!!

I have to say reading the comments above , im glad to see there are many devoted LR fans .My family have a 2005 disco3 tdv6 HSE and i have realised today how much i really love it . Its the best car we have ever had , Its been amazingly reliable even though i have seen many horror stories . I worked in a local LandRover dealer for work experience for a short while and saw varied broken down disco's ! Ours amazingly stayed reasonably in good condition .
We have become interested in the new d4 but my dad ( the driver) wants a malual , since we go offroading alot and is not an auto fan . !
But the big problem is that in ireland . The 3.0 diesel manual HSE model won't be in dealers until june. Why is there such a long wait ?????
and with the unbelievably exborbatant tax increase on suv's over here it seems like its gonna be quite expensive.

By RoryFarrell on 21 March, 2010, 10:04pm

LIMP REAR WINDSCREEN WIPER???????

We have a disco 3 , and have recently encountered a problem . Our rear windscreen wiper snaplink has broken . his means it hangs loose ! Which in any terms , isnt good !
Strange thing is we decided to test drive a range rover vouge , which had the same issue . I have noticed 8 discos and one freelander with this problem since . Is it a commen issue??

By RoryFarrell on 21 March, 2010, 10:13pm

Land Rover or VW group?

I run a Range Rover and was thinking of moving down to a Disco 4. But with it's high emissions (top group) and heavy drinking habit (still only about 30mpg as they make it so heavy) I am seriously considering leaving the LR brand after many years. The new diesel VW and Porsche 4x4s coming out soon will have much better fuel economy (about 20% judging by the figures) and will not be in the top VED band. They have been designed to be lighter, not like LRs which just seem to get heavier with each new generation. If I need to do some rough offroading I'll use my Defender instead.

By Top90 on 24 March, 2010, 8:48am

Anything but a Land Rover

You people are completely deluded. I have just got rid of my Discovery 3 which I had from new for 2 years. Absolute nightmare. Spent plenty of time offroad in the dealers workshop! Lots of problems too many to list and so delighted to have got it out of my life. Firemack is so right. Take a look at the JD Power Survey. My experience is not the exception. Friends of mine have had an even worse time. For such expensive to buy (and run) cars Land Rover should get it right. NO EXCUSES!!!!!

By monkeychops on 13 April, 2010, 9:44pm

LR Disco

I have read with great interest the articles on both the Disco 3 and now the 4. I had one of the early 3’s an 05 reg, when it was working, it was great, but like others it spent many of it’s day (weeks / months) sitting in the local LR dealers. In the 3 years I had it, I covered 90K, it spent 6 months off the road and visited the tow truck on several occasions, had 6 new suspension generators, a new Turbo enough computers to power a small office and a split engine block .

What came as a bolt was that a friend of mine said one day every book you see on LR’s is on “How to mend your LR”, I didn’t believe him so visited Smiths: You try it and see the answer . .

I swore that I wouldn’t get another, but now find I miss the LR, I’m not sure if I will buy another, but it’s a bit like a virus, once you have it you can’t continue without a regular injection of LR!

I now have a Hyundai, which hasn’t broken down, let me down or caused any problem, but it just isn’t any fun - - - -

By austintansley on 3 May, 2010, 7:53pm

got the T-shirt!..

With no offense to the trademark, my LR experience has been very costly and unpleasant, remaining in the center of Greece, FYROM, and and Kosova for several reasons. I wonder if I had needed a helicopter to pull up my so called "off road vehicle".. in outback...No thanks!..I better drive my current Santa Fe and no worries that what I call "fantasy worries exclusively for LRs"!..

By guneren on 12 May, 2010, 5:15pm

Stop complaining

All you people complaining about your Land Rovers being off the road, I cant see the problem myself, you wanted the ultimate offroader and thats what you got, you just forgot to read the small print where it said off the road broken down.

By Shaun34 on 8 June, 2010, 11:56pm

Cake and eat it...

I think the main issue here is - "you can't have your cake and eat it! ". I'm (hopefully) going to be purchasing a vehicle like the Disco 3 soon. I've researched all the options eg. XC90, Disco, etc etc. I'm a private buyer who will be buying the vehicle with my own real money (not credit) and keep it for about five years. I will also use it off road and for serious towing for work (no XC90, Merc or BMW then). Seven seats is also becoming increasingly important as my "little people " reach an age where they wish to bring friends home. I also need the car to be a good motorway cruiser for long journeys to France. So it's narrowed down to a Disco, Pathfinder or Cruiser. All three tick the boxes (though, I understand the Pathfinder's auto box is a bit s**t). So it all comes down to cost and reliablity for the private buyer and there's is no doubt about it that the Disco is just too risky a bet. I really wish it wasn't but I simply can't be arsed with driving down to France etc with the ever present thought of "are we going to get there"? It's such a shame as I know the car is brilliant but............would you risk it?

By hustin1 on 10 June, 2010, 8:20pm

Car Mag reviewers think they're wonderful but .....

...they hand them back after a short period of time and any problems meantime are dealt with very efficiently by LR's press people. I had a Disco 2 for 30 months and it spent over 6 weeks in the dealership having problems sorted. Considered both a Disco 3 and 4 recently but if you look at them closely you'll find that the build quality is still lacking and the reliability truly awful.

One of the car magazines recently voted the Disco the best offroad vehicle you can buy. A reader survey in the same magazine showed it to be the worst! My money's on the readers.

By lairdfp on 10 March, 2011, 1:09pm

Discovery revelation

My wife and I bought our first Discovery 3 two years ago, having tried many of the cheaper imitations.
To be honest it was like a revelation, the build quality is excellent, the reliability has been terrific’ all, in all fantastic. It tows our horse boc c/w 2 x horses easily, and you wouldn’t know it was there if you didn’t look in the mirror.
During the various large dumps of snow, it never faltered or let us down. Unbelievable how it got through some of the snow drifts we had in the North of Scotland.
It is never put in the garage and lies out in all weather. No signs of rust even where it’s stone chipped
We have been so impressed that we ordered a new one just before Xmas. Our new Disco 4 arrives on Friday. If it's anything live the D3 or better as they claim I will be well chuffed. I can't fault it although expensive to buy and a tad dear to run, but some of the imitations are greedy on fuel as we have previously found out. The poor imitations depreciate like a stone once 3 + years old.
So if you can find the initial large outlay of money to buy one, you seem to loose less than most other makes.
Great car and huge fun off road

By stagdad on 24 March, 2011, 6:47am

Discovery revelation

My wife and I bought our first Discovery 3 two years ago, having tried many of the cheaper imitations.
To be honest it was like a revelation, the build quality is excellent, the reliability has been terrific’ all, in all fantastic. It tows our horse boc c/w 2 x horses easily, and you wouldn’t know it was there if you didn’t look in the mirror.
During the various large dumps of snow, it never faltered or let us down. Unbelievable how it got through some of the snow drifts we had in the North of Scotland.
It is never put in the garage and lies out in all weather. No signs of rust even where it’s stone chipped
We have been so impressed that we ordered a new one just before Xmas. Our new Disco 4 arrives on Friday. If it's anything live the D3 or better as they claim I will be well chuffed. I can't fault it although expensive to buy and a tad dear to run, but some of the imitations are greedy on fuel as we have previously found out. The poor imitations depreciate like a stone once 3 + years old.
So if you can find the initial large outlay of money to buy one, you seem to loose less than most other makes.
Great car and huge fun off road

By stagdad on 24 March, 2011, 6:54am

HONEST ..

Am sure a lot of the above posts are from BMW or Merc salesmen.. What a load of sugar!
Land Rover have invested huge amounts of effort, time and money into it's build quality over resent years and it's really begging to show! A true off road 4x4 must have long suspension travel to cope.. Unlike most 4x4 about LandRover is a real off road machine

As for the comment by ncollingridge you disgust me! are you a member of the Hitler mustache BMW fan club? because you are talking rubbish... and anyway most farmers understand how important it is to support your own ... LandRover as a off road 4x4 has always been the beast of a machine.. The new landRovers are getting the build quality to match...

I don't work for LandRover! But makes seance to support your own and Land Rover is a winner!

By liverpool on 16 June, 2011, 9:27pm