What are TDI's discos like 1996 ?????

Right then, i am sorry that i aint been on this site for a while.
Anyhoooo my dad is thinking about getting a Land Rover Discovery N reg 1996 TDI (changing it for his current Vectra 2.5 V6 estate R reg). The Disco is very clean inside and the chassis looks great, it looks like it was owned by a family and not been off road. what are they like on the mpg wen towing a meduim sized caravan? WHat other things are there to look for, and what are peoples opinions on them that own one already?



Thanks Joel

Good one's are like "rocking horse dropings".

Ive looked at 2 tonight and walked away from both of them !!!!!

The first one had a sunroof hole where the boot floor should be, The second one had seen more farmers than a welsh sheep !!!!!

Good Luck, My search now continues !!!!!

Ours has been fantastic, good engines the TDI's, they run well, reliable.

We get about 30MPG, never towed with it so cannot comment on that.

If I had to buy another Disco I would go for a TDI.

Check the service history and have the timing best changed if in doubt of last time it was done.

Ive pinched my brothers for 10 months while he tours Africa in a truck, silly arse, its a N 96 300, just been to the Isle of Mull, not a problem drove at 70 all the time and got 30 mpg, brother drives at 60 and gets 34-5 so very good indeed, dont know about the towing but driven steady should do 25 i would have thought??

I tow Rally/Race cars all over the country behind mine, with 3 people on board and spares for the car I have not seen consumption go below 25mpg, that is driving at the legal limits!!!! When it is just the Disco it returns 30/34mpg.

Hi,
Regarding the towing part of your thread I tow a large twin axle caravan and generally I get around 25 mpg with my 1998 Tdi, they do suffer with a slight lack of power for the larger hills (but I think most vehicles do) when towing but with a few small mods this can improved.

Trevor.

I've had mine a year now and it's been great. Believe it or not I don't think I've enjoyed a car so much and I've had some nice stuff over the years including Golf GTI's, MG ZS180 and an Audi Quattro!
Mine gives me around 30mpg and has been a handy work horse.
Swapping it for a TD5 next week so I just hope that lives up to expectations!

Iv got a 1997, love it although the clutch has just gone I see a lot of people saying they get 30mpg, I cant get that even if i drive at 50! I gather there must be a problem with mine

KITT said:

Iv got a 1997, love it although the clutch has just gone I see a lot of people saying they get 30mpg, I cant get that even if i drive at 50! I gather there must be a problem with mine

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You might want to clean out the sedimenter, flush the intercooler, remove the EGR valve and fit a blanking pate (if your Disco has an EGR valve fitted), replace the fuel filter, replace the air filter and carry out an engine service (engine/gearbox oil change mainly - use the correct oils though). Its surprising what a difference those make, to both the fuel consumption and the acceleration.

The inlet manifold might be coked up too, but that is not a job for novices. There are posts on this site regarding how to do this.

Is the turbo whistling? If so, it may be on the way out.

Once that is all done, you might want to get the engine tuned, or even tweak the fuel pump.

I put a similar post on here last year and thanks to the overwhelming positive response went and got a 1995 300tdi (as appose to a TD5) six months later and 5k miles, still think that it's the "Dogs what knots" regularly get 32 mpg with or with out trailer (as long as I down cane it down the motorway that is) Can throw the kids in the boot,superb ride,drives great which I must admit was a major concern after moving from V6 180bhp Audi -No regrets

Like all cars bad maintenance kills them but especially so with landy's cos you have so much more oil to change & keep an eye on (gearbox/transfer box,front & rear diff,swivel pins & greasing points on the prop shafts etc.......)

Look out for as fewer owners as pos,good service history,owner done not a problem as long as he can prove it.

Good Luck

Jason

I have a 1995 300 Tdi and am delighted with it. I've owned it for 2 years and I use it on a farm and I do a lot of towing. I pull a horsebox that weighs 1650kg and carries 3 horses or 5 ponies. I regularly tow 3 tons and get 23-25 to the gallon and also like your other replies manage to achieve 30 to the gallon on a reasonable run when not towing.

The mileage on my car is coming up 150k, of which I have done 25k, and apart from having to replace things like exhausts, wheel bearings, track rod ends, timing and fan belts, bulbs and a door hinge (the things you expect with most cars) I have had very few problems with it. Maybe I was lucky in picking this car up, but from my experience I would definitely give this car my thumbs up.

Thanks tony, I think ill do what you suggest. I have cleaned the intercooler out as a start so ill do the rest this weekend. Id love 30+ MPG!!!

Update on mpg of my 300tdi, Have today towed my car trailer with a Rally Car up to Whitehaven, dropped that off and then went through to Moor Row to bring another back home with me. Disco was full at set off, kept at between 55 to 65mph all day and covered 310miles, It has used 10 .1 gallons of Diesel mixed with 25% Veggie oil and has pulled like a train all day!!

well thanks everyone, but we test drove a tdi disco today and surprisingly it was slow and sluggish,that was a 300tdi. But we test drove a 200 tdi Range Rover as well, and boy did that have some poke. We are now looking for a Range Rover tdi. Good turning circle me dad says as well.

the wheelbase if a disco and a rr is exactly the same, the 200tdi in the rr is exactly tha same as the disco. you wanted a disco but because the 300 disco was a parp you tried a rr with a 200, why not try a disco with a 200 its a bit more modern looking than a rr classic and bits are cheaper and more ready available

its not its me dad, we all prefer a RR looks nicer and is more comfy

ffs its the same chassis, same suspension, even the same basic shell with a few adjustments

ok ok calm down lol

YEH BUT!
You are not going to get the same MPG with a RR which was one of your major concerns in your original posting!!!!!!!!!!

Mine is the last of the 300s and an ES with all the goodies.
It's just turning 100k now with a FSH and its a pleasure to drive.
I get around 28 - 30 mpg and 26ish when towing my 21' caravan.
I have chipped it cos it's got the ECU like the TD5 and also added an upgraded intercooler and dropped the cat from the header as well as the EGR.
Fairly sharp off the mark for an auto and a big one at that.
I am thinking of swapping her for a V8 now tho to improve take off when towing.
All in all she's a nice truck but I had a hell of a job to find one in such good shape.