Which model Disco?

Hi. I have a 300tdi 110 Defender which is great for my overland adventures, camping etc, but i find i am now doing lots of long road journeys - sometimes towing a trailer or horse box - with no off road requirement that extends beyond driving a few yards across a field. Also where I live the lanes are very bad (potholes) - neighbour has had 1 wheel and 3 tyres replaced in the last few months, so a 4WD is the way to go.
I fancy a Disco - but which model? I don't have the £ for the latest and greatest, nor do I need loads of electrical things and other niceties which is more to go wrong. Which model is a dependable workhorse with more comfort than a defender?

Sounds like you are looking for either a 300tdi D1, or a TD5 D2 with a stage 1 tune.

Cheers

I've had enough of my 300tdi - maintenance pit, even after I'd welded the body from one end to the other. Have swapped it for a Shogun instead.

Base model D2 td5. You probably ain't desperate for CDL which isn't present on most, TC and decent tyres will see you across most fields and more if driven properly. Fantastic towcar and I find mine very comfortable on long journeys. Bear in mind if it's had centre silencer deleted from exhaust system it will drone at motorway speeds.
Good engine and solid chassis to start with and everything else is easily fixed.
They might look the same as a D1 to the untrained eye but completely different vehicle refinement wise

1988smithy said:

Base model D2 td5. You probably ain't desperate for CDL which isn't present on most, TC and decent tyres will see you across most fields and more if driven properly. Fantastic towcar and I find mine very comfortable on long journeys. Bear in mind if it's had centre silencer deleted from exhaust system it will drone at motorway speeds.
Good engine and solid chassis to start with and everything else is easily fixed.
They might look the same as a D1 to the untrained eye but completely different vehicle refinement wise

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thanks for this. out of curiosity, what sort of mpg do you get on a disco 2?

Sunray-I40 said:

thanks for this. out of curiosity, what sort of mpg do you get on a disco 2?

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Mate in all honesty I've never worked it out accurately enough to give you an honest answer. When i bought it I was kind of worrying about fuel economy but then I thought 'you don't own a landy if you're overly worried about fuel consumption!'
It's going to be comparable if not better than your defender due to the higher geared transfer case I would've thought.
I've got a stage 1 50/50 economy/performance map and I get c.95miles out of 1/4 of a tank stop start town driving. I havent done a long run since having the remap. But this is all hunch/educated guessing from fuel gauge and trip mileage

thetim said:

I've had enough of my 300tdi - maintenance pit, even after I'd welded the body from one end to the other. Have swapped it for a Shogun instead.

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Ok you wont need to weld it but I hope you like doing head gaskets

Sunray-I40 said:

thanks for this. out of curiosity, what sort of mpg do you get on a disco 2?

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I've got a leggy (191k now) D2 TD5.

If I drive it at 60 mph ish I get a little over 30mpg. Up that to 70mph and it goes down to high 20's - say 27 / 28 or so. On a recent trip back from the French alps, fully loaded, skis on the roof and the cruise set to a GPS indicated 130kph (81mph as near as dammit and showing about 86 mph on the speedo), I think we were around the 20mpg mark - but I didn't dare work it out...

Balbas said:

I've got a leggy (191k now) D2 TD5.

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Mines on 93k so if I can keep her going to reach that kind of mileage I'll be very happy. Confidence inspiring

1988smithy said:

Mines on 93k so if I can keep her going to reach that kind of mileage I'll be very happy. Confidence inspiring

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She'll go on for a few years yet I reckon.

She's had a new rear chassis, new SLS bags various bits of corrosion dealt with and a few other things over the past 12 months. In the next 12 I'll be sorting the glow plugs (she doesn't like starting in this weather), replacing a window regulator and probably rebuilding the turbo as a precautionary measure. Everytime I'm asked why I'm spending money on an old 'heap' I point out that a) I actually own my car (have you seen the number of cars put on the road under a PCP these days!?) and b) that I spend less on maintenance than they do on depreciation...

And c)every time you do something new you learn something
Have you had much corrosion in the bodywork? Mines showing signs all along the nearsidr, inner arches, surface rust on sills and rear mudflap brackets completely gone

Sunray-I40 said:

thanks for this. out of curiosity, what sort of mpg do you get on a disco 2?

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I'd agree generally with the rest of the replies, on a recent long drive to York and back, I reckon I got about 27-28 mpg, motorway driving most of the way at a speed of say low to mid 70's mph. The Disco 2 never missed a beat.

We have a D2 td5 iv just done the air bags, valve block and refurbed the pump it turned out to be pump failure but i just did the lot any ways its on 175k think weve put 10k on it in our ownership i had it chipped by mike at dynochips its a different beast now the chassis is solid except the rear 1/4 so im gonna do that at some point. Its a comfy motor motorway speeds you would not know its a deisel. My daily runner being a p38 v8 and im happy driving either.

IMHO, don't buy a D1 unless you can weld, and don't buy a D2 unless your budget includes a Nanocom.

Have you considered changing your transfer box ratios ? cheap and easy, and will transform your deafener ...

thetim said:

I've had enough of my 300tdi - maintenance pit, even after I'd welded the body from one end to the other. Have swapped it for a Shogun instead.

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Never mind Disco 2 TD5 is a lot better

D2 TD5 is a great buy and currently a bargain.

One of the best engines fitted to an off road car and very accomplished at what ever it has to do.

1988smithy said:

And c)every time you do something new you learn something
Have you had much corrosion in the bodywork? Mines showing signs all along the nearsidr, inner arches, surface rust on sills and rear mudflap brackets completely gone

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Oh and d) the money I save on depreciation and main dealer labour charges means that I can afford to buy the new tools I need for the job in hand (man maths in full effect!).

Yeah,a bit of rot has made an appearance. The cills needed welding for the last MoT, and if I'm honest the boot floor isn't the best, but there are no holes, so I've cleaned it up and repainted it. I need to do one small hole at the bottom of the rear nearside wheel arch (just inside the door slam) at some point. And my rear mudguard brackets are completely gone, but then I've just bought new galv ones for about £50 the pair, so as soon as it's warm enough I'll get those on.

I had a bit of rot at the top of the windscreen as well, but I think that was caused by stone chips more than anything else.

I've heard of the tinworm getting into the inner wheel arches on the D2, but there's no evidence of that on mine (fortunately).

Balbas said:

I had a bit of rot at the top of the windscreen as well, but I think that was caused by stone chips more than anything else.

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I've got this too but nothing major. Yours sounds in good nick for the mileage though! I've literally got all your rust but I think just starting to show rather than holing thru so I'm going to get the rust converter and paint out when winter fecks off

Balbas said:

(man maths in full effect!).

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There should be a thread on this

I've got a Disco 1 300tdi a Disco 2 V8 and sister in law has a TD5 Disco 2.
Out of all of them my V8 Disco 2 is the nicest to drive, the smooth power delivery coupled with the smooth auto gearbox makes it so effortless to drive, whether it be cruising the motorway or towing.
Mine has SLS and ACE, and they are both fantastic! I do a lot of towing, and the rear airbags make the car handle and look so much better with a load on.
The ACE system is great also, I can drive like I'm in a sports car and there is no body roll what so ever.

The D2 is not my daily driver so the fuel bill isn't a huge concern, but if you do a lot of driving the TD5 will be a far better option.
I'm not a huge fan of my sisters TD5 manual, I feel like the power is in the wrong place for the gearing but I don't think it runs quite right.
Does get over 30mpg though.
If I were to get a TD5 I'd want to chip it, apparently makes it go better than the V8. Maybe someday I'll do that.

I've found both the D1 and D2 to be reliable, neither haven't left me stranded and the only real repairs have been due to age and mileage, things like shocks, suspension bushes, alternator etc.