AnswerID: 12915 Submitted: Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003 at 18:39
Dane
replied:
G'day Alan,
Seems you've already made up your mind but I'll ad my 2c worth as well. I just traded my '98 v8 disco for a 12 mth old but as new '02 extreme 2 months ago. Have clocked up 6000 k's in that time so plenty of time to get used to it. No probs to date but then the disco led a tough life and ran for 5 years and 130k's without fault too.
Firstly economy is pretty static at 10.5 - 11.5 l/100k irrespective of driving. doesnt matter if low range, peak hr traffic or 110k's on the highway. Prob not quite as good as a tdi but very close. The decision for me was between a td5 disco or extreme. The xtreme already has a lot of the mods as standard over the disco, bullbar, larger
tyres, uprated
suspension etc. ie. much better value & much better resale ... if i ever sell it. The disco was obviously a lot quieter but the xtreme is certainly fine. Mine is my daily commuter and weekend toy. Much quieter than many tdi defenders i've been in.
Gearing is fairly short and 3000 rpm equates to about 120k's so thinking of changing high ratio to disco spec or fitting overdrive at some time in the future. Motor is very smooth up to this point. Off road it walks over ground in high 1st that i would have been in low range in the disco. Needless to say in low range its amazing. Traction control very rarely kicks in maybe due to the better wheel travel. Very low rpm torque is nothing like the v8 but once you get on boost the td5 will hold 5th far more comfortably than the v8 ever did.
Only negatives are the fuel tank is too small and the new models with colour coded roof look great but lacking the insulation of the disco they get bloody hot. Other than that the front springs are also not up to the job when you put a winch on the bar. As for space, no comparison with the disco so long as your rear seat passengers arent too big. Some of the load space is gained by the increased length, some by the lack of rear legroom.
Other tip is to ask the dealer to replace the useless clock with a nice matched td5 tacho instead. Not many dealers in melb seemed aware of this option.
cheers and enjoy
Dane
Reply 6 of 6
FollowupID: 7557 Submitted:
Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003 at 21:26
Alan H posted:
Thanks Dane and everybody else.
Seems there's quite a few well satisfied Td5 Defenders owners out there. Maybe LR products will start getting a better rep. in the not too distant future.
I was talking to a dealer in
Perth today and he certainly never mentioned replacing the clock with a rev counter............. maybe he doesn't know it can be done, or just forgot.
He did mention the colour coded roofs but as I want a white one that won't matter. I also mentioned the wheel flares being white and they also come colour coded. Cheaper and easier I expect.
I may wait a few weeks not only to sell my Discovery privately because of the dealers disgraceful (and insulting) trade in values, but because the new model supposedly coming soon may be the cause of dealers discounting Defenders to move them off the floor. We live in hopes.
You and others have found there's a few things you'll change over time and I suspect I'll be the same as I tow a 1.5 tonne van quiet often, but having more power will certainly help there.
Now I've got to start cleaning the Discovery and stripping out the 2 way and compressor before I advertise.
I'll give you all a wave
on the road.
Cheers.
FollowUp 1 of 1
