Hi all, not had the pleasure of owning a landy yet however i am on an active search with £9000 to spend. Absolutely love and always have loved the defender however i have tonight been scared to death by the amount stolen after reading the security forum.
I must admit ive been 65 / 35 defender / disco for a few weeks now and being as there are a few traveller sites not to far from me and my landy will be kept on the driveway i think from what ive read on here im now leaning towards the disco.
Am i being naive in thinking the discovery is less easily pinched and less desirable to the theives than the defender?
Hi, as you've had some less than helpful replies maybe I can offer up a bit more rational.
- What do you truly plan to do with it?
- Is comfort, as in creature comforts, noise, interior, etc an important factor to you?
- How long do you plan to keep it?
In short Defenders are great, but they are somewhat of a compromise not all can live with. People moan about lack of elbow room, a seat that won't go back far enough, too noisey, fuel tank too small, not comfy enough....
And guess what - Land Rover listened!!
And they built the Range Rover, then Disco and D2.
These all (even the D2 to a large extent) are a 100" Defender chassis with a bigger, more roomy, more comfortable body on top. :doh::doh::doh:
Their 4wd system is pretty much the same or identical (depending on models), the same engines, gearboxes and transfer boxes have been used in them. Axles are pretty much the same and even the box section of the chassis is pretty identical.
So in terms of off road ability a Defender actually isn't any more capable in terms of suspension and AWD ability. The only advantage a Defender has is a D90 is shorter and all Defenders have short overhangs and are less bulky. So in tight terrain they are more nimble.
On this basis a Disco makes sense, it'll even tow the same weights as a Defender as is a much better people lugger.
Downsides are Disco's aren't as good at hauling and the nicer interior makes them less rufty tufty.
Defender's also have far superior residuals. Spend £9k on a Disco and expect it's value to tumble compared to £9k spent on a Defender.
Cult status - the Defender has it. But there is a big Disco following too.
Your best bet is go and test drive on of each and see which you genuinely prefer - its the only way!
