Disco to Defender
#1
10-22-2020 | 01:54 PM
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Rock Crawling
Joined: Jul 2007
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angelboing (10-22-2020)
#2
10-22-2020 | 03:26 PM
Recovery Vehicle
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 1,058
Likes: 700
Dear ToiletDuck:
There are several persons regularly on this site whose deep affection for the capabilities (most notably roominess of an adult third row seat, toughness and a V8) of their Discovery 3s and 4s (LR3 and LR4) -- me included -- have led them to the New Defender as the most natural LR successor to those vehicles. The Defender has a very similar boxy look, but is lighter, is taller and resolves several design gaps which did not optimize 4WD capability.
In actuality, the build technology and materials of your TD6 Discovery 5 are much more similar to the New Defender than that of the D3s and D4s, maybe. I view the new Defender as a strengthened (heavier) Discovery 5 with more out of the box 4WD capability, at the sacrifice of comparable interior room and with the boxier look which buyers of the D3 and D4 seem to really like. The D5, to its credit has more family friendly size, a capable third row seat, and a more modern, sleek look.
I have not seen participate much a person trading in their D5 for a Defender, but I suppose they must exist. I look forward to reading their stories !!
There are several persons regularly on this site whose deep affection for the capabilities (most notably roominess of an adult third row seat, toughness and a V8) of their Discovery 3s and 4s (LR3 and LR4) -- me included -- have led them to the New Defender as the most natural LR successor to those vehicles. The Defender has a very similar boxy look, but is lighter, is taller and resolves several design gaps which did not optimize 4WD capability.
In actuality, the build technology and materials of your TD6 Discovery 5 are much more similar to the New Defender than that of the D3s and D4s, maybe. I view the new Defender as a strengthened (heavier) Discovery 5 with more out of the box 4WD capability, at the sacrifice of comparable interior room and with the boxier look which buyers of the D3 and D4 seem to really like. The D5, to its credit has more family friendly size, a capable third row seat, and a more modern, sleek look.
I have not seen participate much a person trading in their D5 for a Defender, but I suppose they must exist. I look forward to reading their stories !!
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angelboing (11-26-2020)
#3
10-22-2020 | 05:12 PM
Mudding
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 193
Likes: 85
I am going from a Disco 1 (1998) to a Defender. So, I think I am not the best to answer, lol. I have had it for 16 years.
I did have an LR3 which I also loved. And a P38 Rangie. But my old Disco has been my favorite.
As TrioLRowner mentioned, I feel like the new Defender is the successor to that line. In spirit anyway. I get in the Defender and it feels like my old Disco. Just modern, obviously. I was pretty sold before I even stepped on the lot to test drive. But as soon as I got in, it was over. I knew I was buying one. Nothing else on the Land Rover lot these days has that feeling. At least, in my mind.
I did have an LR3 which I also loved. And a P38 Rangie. But my old Disco has been my favorite.
As TrioLRowner mentioned, I feel like the new Defender is the successor to that line. In spirit anyway. I get in the Defender and it feels like my old Disco. Just modern, obviously. I was pretty sold before I even stepped on the lot to test drive. But as soon as I got in, it was over. I knew I was buying one. Nothing else on the Land Rover lot these days has that feeling. At least, in my mind.
#4
10-22-2020 | 05:36 PM
Mudding
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 182
Likes: 142
I went from an LR4 (Disco 4) to a Defender. The front 2 rows are much roomier. The off road specs are as good or better. The rear cargo room is less (but that's how I justified the roof rack and exterior gear carrier lol) I loved the LR4 for the decade we owned it, and I'm hoping to own the Defender for the next decade.
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#5
10-22-2020 | 07:30 PM
Three Wheeling
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 51
Likes: 56
You can't beat on it if you lease it!
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#7
10-25-2020 | 09:39 AM
Mudding
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 145
Likes: 78
Hi ToiletDuck. I actually own both a 2020 Disco and a 2020 Defender. Here is some feedback on the differences.
1) I absolutely love the styling of the Defender. It looks great in photos but even better in person. You get all sorts of looks and thumbs up when driving; people will talk to you when filling up at the gas station—almost like driving an exotic care. You won't see many on the streets. I must say though that the Discovery 5 is not that common too--you can drive a full week in NYC w/o seeing another one.
2) I like the way that the Defender drives/handles. It feels more firmly planted on the road than the Discovery 5--hugs the corners better. The engines sounds almost like an 8 cylinder rather than a 6 cylinder. I have the larger engine (P400) and it has great acceleration.
3) I have very, very few electronic gremlins in the 2020 Disco but a lot in the Defender: SiriusXM requires a reboot a couple times a week--you just hold down the radio power button for about 20 seconds. It’s a tad annoying because you then have to sometimes reprogram all your favorite stations after the reboot (but at least you don’t have to drive to the dealer to fix). Sometimes the clock will be inaccurate for the first 5 minutes of your drive and then it will display the correct time. And sometimes the time on the instrument panel is different than the time on the infotainment screen (for the first 5 mins of the driver). My sunroof no longer opens (after about 9,000 miles). I will bring it in to the dealer next month to get that checked out. Also, I have auto high beam assist turned on in my settings, but I would say about once a week it flips off in the settings (and I have to turn it back on in the settings). When driving at night, if you like your cabin to be dark, you can turn the infotainment screen off and it goes very dim, but it took me like 5 or 10 minutes to get it to come back to normal light when I needed to see the screen. I am not going to dim or turn off that screen again because it was annoying. Sometimes (maybe 5% of the time) the camera buttons don't work when parking. According to their brochure and articles I have read, there are 2 LTE modems in the vehicle that support over-the-air updates, so I hope these various electronic bugs will be fixed remotely eventually w/o a trip to the dealer. But since this is a first model yr vehicle, I expected a lot of these electronic gremlins.
4) I got a low coolant level warning on my second day with the Defender; didn't happen in the Disco. When the engine was hot, it was indeed at the low level marking, but after letting it cool off for 90 minutes, it was at its max level. I basically just added a tablespoon of coolant and I no longer get the low level warning.
5) Occasionally I will get a warning about the radar system or something not working, but it goes away after restarting the car or after driving for a few mins.
6) There are some nice features that are defaulted off in the Defender but not on the Disco. For example, on my Disco auto high beam assist is defaulted on. But in the Defender it is defaulted off. I also like satellite maps on the navigation system, it’s also defaulted off (and took some time to find the satellite view option in the various sub menus) but this is just a minor gripe as I am sure many don’t like the satellite map view. The Defender is not defaulted to auto-access height like the Disco, but you can add this feature by playing around on the touchscreen menu.
7) The vehicle does come with forward collision alert on the First Edition Model so I assumed it would come with adaptive cruise control but it just comes with regular cruise control (so maybe forward collision alert uses different radars/sensors as the adaptive cruise control). Not a dealbreaker but I do like adaptive cruise control. The lane keep assist is MUCH better in the Disco compared to the Defender. It is way to heavy handed in the Defender to the point that I think it is dangerous. In the Defender it almost pulls you to the left yellow line on the road when the road bends left. After 2 weeks, I turned it off in the Defender.
8) On the Disco, the vehicle comes with a heated front windshield. The First Edition Defender does not (but is available on other Defender models).
9) My Defender came with the “basic rear seat convenience pack” which is basically the “click and go” hangar plus hook. The Defender came with the hangar but not hook (with the Disco, it came with both). I emailed the dealer and they mailed me the hook.
10) The 3D surround view is very cool (when working--it works 95% of the time). The clearsight interior rear view mirror is also very cool—just takes a day or 2 to get used to it. There is more tech on my Defender than the Disco for sure, but some of it is glitchy. The infotainment screen comes on instantly in the Defender--is a tad slower in the Disco.
11) I find that the driver’s and front passenger seat is much more comfortable than the Discovery 5. But the First Edition Model doesn't have massage seats nor cooled seats (I think the X model has cooled seats).The interior of the Defender is more utilitarian than the Disco. I find the interior of the Disco VERY luxurious; much more luxurious than the Defender. That being said, the Defender interior is wicked cool.
12) The air conditioning system works well. In the Disco and in my former RRS, I could turn the rear AC system off, but I don’t think you can turn the rear system off (or at least I have not figured out how yet). I did figure out how to turn off the 3rd row AC though in the Defender.
13) The button on the door handles to unlock them is on the far right. In the Disco, it is on the far left--which makes it much easier/natural for right-handed people. If you are right-handed, you have to twist your palm up to unlock and open; however, you get used to it after a few days. So the Defender is a total win for lefties.
14) Usable storage: It is superior in the Disco. The door pockets are much bigger in the Disco and many more storage spaces in the Disco. I do like the shelf on the Defender though in the front but there are more storage compartments/areas in the Disco. The cargo area is a bit better in the Disco because the seats go totally flat. I have the 7 seat Defender, and they don't go fully flat (like the Range Rover Sport); if they do, I can't figure out how....but I don't think they do in the 7 seat Defender. When you read the manual of the Defender, it sounds like only the 5 seat Defender seats go fully flat. In the Disco, you can fold the seats on your iPhone or with the press of a button in the vehicle. In the Defender, folding the 2nd and 3rd row is manual.
15) In terms of size, the Defender is about 4 inches longer than the Disco and the Defender is not as wide. They feel like the same size when driving. The Disco is a legit 7 seater; the Defender is not.
16) The recommended service interval is very different between the 2 vehicles: The owners manual recommends that the 2020 Disco be serviced every 1 yr or 16,000 miles (which ever comes first) vs. the Defender manual recommends that the vehicle be serviced every 2 years or 21,000 miles (which ever comes first). I did not realize you could go 21,000 miles between oil changes with these new engines and synthetic oils. The 2 year interval is being recommended on more and more Land Rover vehicles (ie, new Disco Sport, new Evoque, Velar 2.0L, RRS 3.0L, RR & RRS 2.0L PHEV, RR & RRS 3.0L).
17) The headlights in the Defender are designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle; not sure about the Discovery 5.
18) With the Discovery 5, I feel it doesn't have a family resemblance to the prior Discos. With the Defender, I think the family resemblance is totally there--which I like.
In summary, I do like both vehicles; the HSE Luxury Discovery is definitely more luxurious with many more features than the Defender. I got the Discovery in its 4th model year--so honestly all the hiccups were totally ironed out by then. I know it is always a gamble getting a first-year model because of all the glitches and hiccups that need to be worked out, so I did purchase an extended warranty with the Defender to boost my confidence (and because I plan on keeping the vehicle beyond the standard warranty period). I also like the fact they state they will do over-the-air updates to fix the electronic gremlins. I consider all my various complaints/issues on the Defender to be minor (and frankly I expected them) but know that many of you like these types of details. Hope this feedback helps.
1) I absolutely love the styling of the Defender. It looks great in photos but even better in person. You get all sorts of looks and thumbs up when driving; people will talk to you when filling up at the gas station—almost like driving an exotic care. You won't see many on the streets. I must say though that the Discovery 5 is not that common too--you can drive a full week in NYC w/o seeing another one.
2) I like the way that the Defender drives/handles. It feels more firmly planted on the road than the Discovery 5--hugs the corners better. The engines sounds almost like an 8 cylinder rather than a 6 cylinder. I have the larger engine (P400) and it has great acceleration.
3) I have very, very few electronic gremlins in the 2020 Disco but a lot in the Defender: SiriusXM requires a reboot a couple times a week--you just hold down the radio power button for about 20 seconds. It’s a tad annoying because you then have to sometimes reprogram all your favorite stations after the reboot (but at least you don’t have to drive to the dealer to fix). Sometimes the clock will be inaccurate for the first 5 minutes of your drive and then it will display the correct time. And sometimes the time on the instrument panel is different than the time on the infotainment screen (for the first 5 mins of the driver). My sunroof no longer opens (after about 9,000 miles). I will bring it in to the dealer next month to get that checked out. Also, I have auto high beam assist turned on in my settings, but I would say about once a week it flips off in the settings (and I have to turn it back on in the settings). When driving at night, if you like your cabin to be dark, you can turn the infotainment screen off and it goes very dim, but it took me like 5 or 10 minutes to get it to come back to normal light when I needed to see the screen. I am not going to dim or turn off that screen again because it was annoying. Sometimes (maybe 5% of the time) the camera buttons don't work when parking. According to their brochure and articles I have read, there are 2 LTE modems in the vehicle that support over-the-air updates, so I hope these various electronic bugs will be fixed remotely eventually w/o a trip to the dealer. But since this is a first model yr vehicle, I expected a lot of these electronic gremlins.
4) I got a low coolant level warning on my second day with the Defender; didn't happen in the Disco. When the engine was hot, it was indeed at the low level marking, but after letting it cool off for 90 minutes, it was at its max level. I basically just added a tablespoon of coolant and I no longer get the low level warning.
5) Occasionally I will get a warning about the radar system or something not working, but it goes away after restarting the car or after driving for a few mins.
6) There are some nice features that are defaulted off in the Defender but not on the Disco. For example, on my Disco auto high beam assist is defaulted on. But in the Defender it is defaulted off. I also like satellite maps on the navigation system, it’s also defaulted off (and took some time to find the satellite view option in the various sub menus) but this is just a minor gripe as I am sure many don’t like the satellite map view. The Defender is not defaulted to auto-access height like the Disco, but you can add this feature by playing around on the touchscreen menu.
7) The vehicle does come with forward collision alert on the First Edition Model so I assumed it would come with adaptive cruise control but it just comes with regular cruise control (so maybe forward collision alert uses different radars/sensors as the adaptive cruise control). Not a dealbreaker but I do like adaptive cruise control. The lane keep assist is MUCH better in the Disco compared to the Defender. It is way to heavy handed in the Defender to the point that I think it is dangerous. In the Defender it almost pulls you to the left yellow line on the road when the road bends left. After 2 weeks, I turned it off in the Defender.
8) On the Disco, the vehicle comes with a heated front windshield. The First Edition Defender does not (but is available on other Defender models).
9) My Defender came with the “basic rear seat convenience pack” which is basically the “click and go” hangar plus hook. The Defender came with the hangar but not hook (with the Disco, it came with both). I emailed the dealer and they mailed me the hook.
10) The 3D surround view is very cool (when working--it works 95% of the time). The clearsight interior rear view mirror is also very cool—just takes a day or 2 to get used to it. There is more tech on my Defender than the Disco for sure, but some of it is glitchy. The infotainment screen comes on instantly in the Defender--is a tad slower in the Disco.
11) I find that the driver’s and front passenger seat is much more comfortable than the Discovery 5. But the First Edition Model doesn't have massage seats nor cooled seats (I think the X model has cooled seats).The interior of the Defender is more utilitarian than the Disco. I find the interior of the Disco VERY luxurious; much more luxurious than the Defender. That being said, the Defender interior is wicked cool.
12) The air conditioning system works well. In the Disco and in my former RRS, I could turn the rear AC system off, but I don’t think you can turn the rear system off (or at least I have not figured out how yet). I did figure out how to turn off the 3rd row AC though in the Defender.
13) The button on the door handles to unlock them is on the far right. In the Disco, it is on the far left--which makes it much easier/natural for right-handed people. If you are right-handed, you have to twist your palm up to unlock and open; however, you get used to it after a few days. So the Defender is a total win for lefties.
14) Usable storage: It is superior in the Disco. The door pockets are much bigger in the Disco and many more storage spaces in the Disco. I do like the shelf on the Defender though in the front but there are more storage compartments/areas in the Disco. The cargo area is a bit better in the Disco because the seats go totally flat. I have the 7 seat Defender, and they don't go fully flat (like the Range Rover Sport); if they do, I can't figure out how....but I don't think they do in the 7 seat Defender. When you read the manual of the Defender, it sounds like only the 5 seat Defender seats go fully flat. In the Disco, you can fold the seats on your iPhone or with the press of a button in the vehicle. In the Defender, folding the 2nd and 3rd row is manual.
15) In terms of size, the Defender is about 4 inches longer than the Disco and the Defender is not as wide. They feel like the same size when driving. The Disco is a legit 7 seater; the Defender is not.
16) The recommended service interval is very different between the 2 vehicles: The owners manual recommends that the 2020 Disco be serviced every 1 yr or 16,000 miles (which ever comes first) vs. the Defender manual recommends that the vehicle be serviced every 2 years or 21,000 miles (which ever comes first). I did not realize you could go 21,000 miles between oil changes with these new engines and synthetic oils. The 2 year interval is being recommended on more and more Land Rover vehicles (ie, new Disco Sport, new Evoque, Velar 2.0L, RRS 3.0L, RR & RRS 2.0L PHEV, RR & RRS 3.0L).
17) The headlights in the Defender are designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle; not sure about the Discovery 5.
18) With the Discovery 5, I feel it doesn't have a family resemblance to the prior Discos. With the Defender, I think the family resemblance is totally there--which I like.
In summary, I do like both vehicles; the HSE Luxury Discovery is definitely more luxurious with many more features than the Defender. I got the Discovery in its 4th model year--so honestly all the hiccups were totally ironed out by then. I know it is always a gamble getting a first-year model because of all the glitches and hiccups that need to be worked out, so I did purchase an extended warranty with the Defender to boost my confidence (and because I plan on keeping the vehicle beyond the standard warranty period). I also like the fact they state they will do over-the-air updates to fix the electronic gremlins. I consider all my various complaints/issues on the Defender to be minor (and frankly I expected them) but know that many of you like these types of details. Hope this feedback helps.
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#8
10-26-2020 | 09:23 AM
Mudding
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 132
Likes: 39
From: Phoenix/AC
I have an ‘00 Disco 2 and an ‘08 LR3 HSE and jumped into a 2019 D5 Which I ended up having only three months. I felt like I was driving a glorified Ford Explorer and was very disappointed compared to the LR3. Ended up selling it for $350 more than I paid, which was lucky! I am now trying to downsize a bit, and have passed the LR3 onto a girlfriend and selling the D2. I am going to opt for the D 90 in late 21 or 22 whenever they start to hit the shores. If I don’t have any luck getting one… I’m going to start my search for an older D 90.
This new 110 is just too big for me. I never have anybody else in my car anymore except for maybe a golf game. All my off-road travel seems to have friends riding in their own LR 4x4’s or Toyotas. But I am looking forward to the switch. The technology is what is attracting me… And I do like the new looks. I am honestly hoping these can last 30+ years so I really don’t have to start doing this swapping anymore…
This new 110 is just too big for me. I never have anybody else in my car anymore except for maybe a golf game. All my off-road travel seems to have friends riding in their own LR 4x4’s or Toyotas. But I am looking forward to the switch. The technology is what is attracting me… And I do like the new looks. I am honestly hoping these can last 30+ years so I really don’t have to start doing this swapping anymore…
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angelboing (10-26-2020)
#10
10-26-2020 | 10:12 PM
Mudding
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 145
Likes: 78
I think that the light output on both the Defender and the Discovery 5 is very good. I think the high beams in the Disco seems a touch better, but I think the light output is good in both vehicles. In the Defender, if you opt for "Premium LED Headlights", you get twice as many LEDs as the standard unit (which increases light output).