3.0 GU v's TD5 L/R

I am a Nissan fan but we went the path of the 300Tdi Discovery. No regrets. TD5 is good on fuel (even in the Brick Defender!) plenty of power unless you are planning hauling big loads all the time and the 4x4 system works well. Both vehicles are more capable than most owners would ever need. Defender probably a little better off road with better low down gearing and clearance. (Before the Nissan hate mail starts my 300 Tdi crawls down hills slower than my mate's 4.2 Patrol)

Patrol will give you more comfort and from what I have read on Landrover forum's most Defender owners are not impressed with the aircon! I have no complaints with comfort, aircon, heating, off road ability of the Discovery but would probably not have the same opinion if I had a Defender. Landrover do not recommend using Bio diesel in their vehicles. (Yet to find out why as Bio diesel is common in Europe where these vehicle's are sold by the bucket load) Don't think either are any more sensitive to poor fuel than the other. (4.2 Patrol is probably least sensitive due to older design)

A couple of links that might be worth looking at are:

http://www.aulro.com//modules.php?name=Forums
http://www.landroversonly.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9&page=1&sort=lastpost&order=&pp=20&daysprune=-1

IMHO, Neither..

There are other/better 4bs out there for them $

YMMV

The the newer 3.0 Patrol (2003+) should not be a worry in terms of reliability. There are plenty of horror stories about the Td5, in fact if you search enough all cars have some negative history.

Fuel economy is very similar between both vehicles. You will probably need to upgrade the fuel tanks on the TD5 to increase the range. I crossed the Simpson in a convoy of Patrols, LC's & a Disco. The Disco's back door got jammed closed. Dust got into the rear lock and stopped it from opening - It was a nightmare getting it open. Rear Cargo space is way too small in the Disco.

thanx for the input .

he wont be able to afford anything over a 2001 Patrol , unless it has a million kilometers on it .....so the first of the 3.0's are his price .
The Defenders are a little more scarce on the ground , Patrols are everywhere ....
I have tried to do some reserch on the TD5 for him , and thankyou for the links provided above .

Looking like the L/R maybe the way for him to go .The 1999 Defender had some wiing issues on the harness to the injectors ... but that was rectified ...seems since Ford has had them not much else has really gone wrong .He would be looking at a 2000-2002 Defender .
The Disco's are plush but one he put his wife and 3 kids in there , there would only be enough room for his pup in the cargo hold and maybe a little shopping .

Toyota is out , he hates them -don't shoot me im just the messenger- and same with utes like Triton and that Holden one ??

I don't know what Discos you've been looking at but our TD5 has heaps of room in the back, when we were searching this was one thing we looked at, space in the back.
The only area where the GU was biger was from the back of the rear seats to the back door, but the Disco makes up for it in height from floor to roof, the width is about the same.

Width is 1.7 metres
Height is 1.3 metres
Length is 900mm or 0.9 of a metre

3 adults 2 dogs, fridge and heaps of gear + a 1.3t camper no problem and plenty of room.

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Like the Patrol the early series 2 Disco had it's issues but from late 2000 on they have an updated ECU and that issue was solved, do your homework and make sure if you choose the Disco look into the centre diff lock as some model didn't have it in the transfer case, so it is basicly an AWD in those models, LR in their wisdom thought that the traction control was enough, how stupid was that thinking.

Knee space: a tad unusual but adequate.
Fuel eccon: 10-11 l/100
Do a search on when 2 issues were corrected
1. Oil capilliary transfer into ECU corrected
2. Plastic locating pin thingos replaced with steel in the engine
I think both were fixed around 2000 - 2001 but well worth checking.
Vehicle somewhat agricultural but exceptional off road. Most capable of all Landies off road, according to official web site.

Cheers

Just traded a Defender in on a Patrol.
Defender (was a TDi), good on fuel (av 10l/100km). Best vehicle off road, never any problems. Not the most comfortable (had a dual cab), the back seats are only suited for kids. Bit of a problem trying to fit dual batteries under the passenger seat but did get it done. Had some mechanical problems but think that was just one of those models. Have a mate with a 1998 dual cab and he hasn't had any of the problems I had. Aircon is cold but only gets as far as your knees. The handbrake is unusual but to be honest it never worried me regarding it's positioning. Didn't like towing the van - if I tried to use the aircon at the same time as towing the temp guage went into the red.
Patrol (2003 4.2). Much more comfortable. Great aircon. Tows with the aircon on without any problems. Not as good in the ground clearance as the Defender. Also the nicely rounded panels make it a bit harder for judging very close distances. Fuel economy around 15l/100km. Can live with that because of the extra luxuries.
Both cars have their good and bad. Take them for a drive and you decide which you like.
Love the Patrol but miss the Landie!!!

Hi Tuff-Trol
I recently went from a GU 3.0L 2001 Patrol to a new Td5 Defender. The Patrol had 190,000Km on it and was in excellent reliable condition when I sold it. The only non maintenance part needed was 1 air flow sensor ($360 I think). Same battery, same brake pads. A lot of country miles and not driven hard. No engine problems as often reported. Fuel economy was 9.7l/100km local running (not city) and 10.8 on a regular 2000km Central Qld trip, on standard tyres.

Defender Td5 returns 8.7 and 9.6 respectively. The vehicles are lightly loaded. Defender comfort is compromised with shoulder room. Standard shocks are close to dangerous on dirt roads. The Nissan was stable at 90kph, where the Defender was not, at even 70kph on the same road. Munroe Magnums were a cheap fix at a little over $300. The Defender ride was better where the Nissan shuddered harshly over washboard conditions. The Defender has only done 7000km, so I can't comment on running costs.

I like them both. The Defender certainly has character, but it won't suit everyone.
The Patrol was difficult to sell...not many buyers. I ended up getting only $25,000, high kms, but still really felt like new. Excellent value if you can get one that cheap.

Tuff/Trol,

I owned a 2004 Defender for about 9 months or so a little while back. I loved it, it went anywhere I wanted it to go, and it wasn't too uncomfortable.

The knee conditioning was a bit funny, but it worked OK. Would have been bad on a 40+ day sitting in the back or the very back.

Fuel economy was 10L/100k.

I liked it, but was a bit disappointed the more I got to know it. There are just too many little weak plastic bits. We broke the turn indicator, and I am sure at least 2 of the door handles were about to break. The doors never lined up properly, no matter how much we tried to fix it.

Would I buy another one? probably not a current model. I would buy an older model, spend a bit to get it up to scratch, and be very happy with that. Looks would be similar, but there would be none of the plastic bits to break.

My cousin owns a 2004 3L Patrol, and judging by the problems he has had both with the car and nissan management, I wouldn't touch one. See posts 27173 and 26495 - they are both his car. It has been in the dealership 16 times since he bought it new.....

Cheers,

Chump

check out the debate on landrover vs toyota on the forum vey interesting.

Hi Tuff-Trol.
I've got a 2003 reg. Td5 Defender (built late 2002) and am well satisfied with it's performance and reliability. The aircon performance could probably be improved by shutting off the back end with heavy duty plastic so you're only cooling the front 2 seating rows.

Handbrake position or shoulder room doesn't bother me although I'm 181cm. Sit back from the wheel and there's no problem. It's been comfortable for us both on long trips.
One tiny oil leak from rocker cover but nothing else.
The build quality could be better but those clever pommy engineers built in water leaks to wash the dust out. Now you can't get better engineering than that can you?

Only time it's "failed to proceed" was up in Bell Gorge when the so called Smart Solenoid wasn't and the battery was drained by the fridge overnight.
Had to get a jump start from a passing tourist in a hired Tojo but the nightmares about that have now receded!
Turned out that the well known off road stockist and suppliers in Osbourne Park WA had wired the damn thing up wrong which they rectified, but that resulted in the battery collapsing inside when it received it's first charge in 2 years! That was replaced under warranty with a new unit.
Good economy and pulls the van weighing approx. 1.5t easily but may get it rechipped for more power on hills.
Last but not least the cook likes it and if it helps keep her happy what more can I ask for!

Cheers and safe motoring.

Hi Tuff-Troll

He can have my 2002 GU 3.0 Litre if he wants full service history many extras much loved vehicle.

Dave T

Most points have been covered. Main thing I reckon is to consider whether he would be regularly taking back seat passengers. The back seats in the Defender are really only "occasional" seats for adults. No leg room/knee room and they are set so high you can't see out of the windows! Also very low backs. Doesn't bother me because I hardly ever use them and I find the front quite comfortable.

The knee conditioning is a joke. I have found that besides struggling to cool more than your knees, it tend to freeze up with prolonged use and stops cooling altogether until you let it thaw out.

Mine has been extremely reliable, is limited only by tyre choice off-road, has plenty of power and great economy.

thanx out to all ,
he has 3 kids to take up the backseat .....10,7,4 so there wont be adults in there !
He has put his name dow at a few dealerships for L/R but none are available at this time ...
we are going out Patrol hunting Sat with him thru Vic Park ... but he really has his heart se4t on the Landy by the way he is talking !!

once again thanx very much for all responces