advice needed on td5

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kevin evans

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Hi all,
we are new to the land rover world we have been looking at a lot of 4x4's suitable to tow our newly acquired (dare i say) caravan.

i would love a disco td5 but i have heard some contradicting reports about the reliability and fuel economy??? nearly everyone i speak to Say's "oooo a disco don't touch one of those" but i cant think of any i have seen broken down on the side of the road...... ever!!
so you can see why I'm a little confused why do people say that they are so bad when you see so many on the road?????

my mate is on his second disco his first only let him down because of its age and mileage.

i hope there are some of you that may be able to help
thanks
kev
 
as for fuel economy, theyre pretty damn good considering the size of the things. I used mine to tow a trailer to essex and back, 500miles, 65mph all the way and did it all on one tank, 80quid!
plus Ive never had anything go wrong with mine that has stopped it working, few niggling problems but its never broken down or made me be without it, and stuff thats a few quid to change like small sensors :) mine a 1999 T with 112000 miles, and the previous owner abused it quite alot!
 
Great for towing provided they are maintained correctly. You've also got options with tuning to offer even more torque and refinement. A remap (NOT the PSI external box type), EGR kit and good exhaust system will improve the fuel consumption.

Probably best go for a 51 plate on model. The 51 plate are non face lift and are slightly better value. Check for service history (by someone Land Rover savvy) and also check for chassis corrosion, especially the rear half of the chassis.

Don't get drawn into any accessories on the vehicle. They can be added later if you are into that sort of thing.
 
Hello Kevin, I guess when buying any used car, it is important to get a good one; it must have been regulary serviced and looked after. I have a year 2000 which has covered over 180,000 kilometers. One thing that does impress me is the fuel economy. For a vehicle of this size and weight I regulary get 10 litres per 100 kms. This is a vehicle that is kept in tip top condition. However, another reason to go TD5, is that all the niggling electrical faults that occasionally pop up, can always be identified and rectified on forums such as Land Rover Zone. Hope this helps to make your decision easier!
 
from what i can gather disco's are no worse than alfa Romeo's

before you all start I'm an alfa specialist (i love alfa's as much as you lot love landy's) and they are not as bad as people would have you believe they have a few niggles but nothing bad

my dad used to say if you look after it it will look after you

another quick question are manuals better than autos?????
 
kevin evans said:
from what i can gather disco's are no worse than alfa Romeo's

another quick question are manuals better than autos?????[/quote]


In what respect? MPG - yes; offroading - no; towing yes and no;

That help????

Seriously both have their pro's and cons but very often it just comes down to a. the car you find you want to buy & b. your personal preference.

I used to drive manuals but the last two Disco's are auto and I particularly like the TD5 auto as it has Torque Converter (TC) lock-up on 3rd and 4th(top) gears. Excellent when towing heavier loads.

A remap makes a big difference to their towing capability also, as you generally want more grunt lower down the rev range when towing.

Good luck in your search

Dave
Click to expand...
 
thebiglad said:
kevin evans said:
from what i can gather disco's are no worse than alfa Romeo's

another quick question are manuals better than autos?????[/quote]


In what respect? MPG - yes; offroading - no; towing yes and no;

That help????

Seriously both have their pro's and cons but very often it just comes down to a. the car you find you want to buy & b. your personal preference.

I used to drive manuals but the last two Disco's are auto and I particularly like the TD5 auto as it has Torque Converter (TC) lock-up on 3rd and 4th(top) gears. Excellent when towing heavier loads.

A remap makes a big difference to their towing capability also, as you generally want more grunt lower down the rev range when towing.

Good luck in your search

Dave
Click to expand...

Interested to know why you say that ?, "imo" theres a LOT more control with an Auto offroad, and no clutch to burn out either
Click to expand...
 
i think we are swaying more towards the manual my wife will be driving it more than me and she's not a big fan of autos.
i doubt it'll be going off road much but i wouldn't mind having a go at some off road events be a bit of a departure from circuit racing
 
when you de-EGR and de-CAT would you re-map after you have done this? also do you have to put these back on for the mot every year?
 
I have a TD5 manual and to be honest it's ok on A roads etc. City driving or stop start traffic queues are a pain with the manual. The change isn't slick and the clutch is heavy. It's definitely not chick friendly.

If I was buying again I would definitely get an auto.

Cheers, Andy
 
kevin evans said:
when you de-EGR and de-CAT would you re-map after you have done this? also do you have to put these back on for the mot every year?
Click to expand...

Hi Kevin, re the above mods once you have done them your car will breath better therefore the exhaust smoke will be reduced helping to give a cleaner exhaust.

Doing the remap is the third in this series of modifications intended to improve the drivability of Disco TD5. What I found when I had mine done was that the car is now much more pleasant to drive in all conditions, being more responsive to throttle inputs for climbing hills, overtaking etc.

You will not need to reinstall these pieces for mot time.

Good luck

Dave
 
thanks for that Dave. very useful to know.

as for not chick friendly i think my wife would take issue with you on that one:)
 
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