I'm new to the forum, I created this account for this very question: Land Rover Disco 1 or 2 vs. 2004 Jeep Wrangler LJ. I realize that you guys are probably going to be a bit biased toward the Land Rover so I'm also going to post this in the Wrangler Forum as well.

It will be my first car so I want something that is pretty cheap, I also want to customize it down the road from now. My hobbies are golfing and skiing, I will need it to fit a golf bag or two in the back and be able to climb up an icy road to the ski hill and not have to worry about if its going to start or not when I'm done skiing. I commute 45 minutes to school and 45 minutes back everyday so the road noise and ride is also very important. I am also very curious about which vehicle is safer for me to drive in. Thanks for helping out!

 

You will hear that the Rover is by far our favorite.

That said, unless you are a fairly competent mechanic, willing to spend time performing preventative maintenance, and willing to spend the extra money it takes to buy the parts for a European vehicle, or willing to pay a specialty shop for labor to work on it, you'd be far better off buying the Jeep.

Parts are less expensive and more readily available, and there are more local service options with it being American made.

 

A wrangler is more fun as a rock crawler. A rover is better for long term camping/expedition trips .

I've found both to be a pain in the *** to maintain and expensive because anything that goes off road is going to get torn to pieces eventually.

Either way you go I wish you the best and hope to see you on the trails!

 

i am thinking a Mini Cooper, but stay away from the Prius. Prius's look like **** when you lift them 4 inches.

 

I've owned 2 of the 3, so here's my take:

TJs: PROs = short wheel base makes for good rock crawling. Easy to modify, cheap to fix, and any shop will work on them. Open top option is great fun. 4.0L is a Wonderful bullet prooc engine but weighs more than a Checy 350. CONs = hard or soft top, the road noise is deafening. Also, in the dead of winter or heat of summer, couldn't get the cabin liveable because 1 top is a tin sauna and the other leaks like a sock. Short wheel base means really bad on snow/ice...you can easily find yourself with the rear end going forwards without any warning. Cheap (not sparse, which you expect) interior...door and dash plastics cracked in winter. Seat bracket rusted so bad rear passengers couldn't egress. MPG not nearly as good as you'd expect from a compact SUV.Side note: I bought a 99 Cherokee (XJ) which had some of the TJs strengths but not weaknesses...it's the ONLY rig I look longingly at from my DII seat but I wouldn't trade it.

DII: PROs = All the capability + all the luxury. Hard, but not complicated to work on yourself. Truck frame = great towing capability. 7 seat option. These just get better with age. Loads if torque. CONs = Not all mechanics will work on them and the one's that will generally charge more. Parts are expensive and harder to find. Sluggish and your options to add more power are VERY limited. Gas-yardage (I get 15.6 avg and that's on the high end of what you'll find). 03-04s have the 4.6 but reliability seems worse. 99-02 4.0L are slightly better IMHO but have less power.

DI (I haven't owned one, but here's what I've gathered): Think of it as the inbetween...they have fewer amenities of course but are easier & cheaper to work on. Can pick one up for dirt cheap! Still get poor MPG and the 3.9L is whatever is below sluggish, but it still has loads of torque.

 

This will probably sound strange:

From someone who LOVES his '03 Land Rover DII, go with the Jeep. It's a smarter option. I don't love it more, just smarter.

 

I'll be the first to admit Rover ownership is not for everyone. If you can imagine yourself enjoying life from the seat of a Jeep, you should probably go that route...safer! I'd recommend you consider the XJ, but to each his own. I wanted a DII for 14 years and nothing else would do, so I'm willing to pay the piper.

 

+1, that's where I'm coming from. I drove Jaguar before the Discovery and wanted to keep some of that British Luxury in a 4x4. Have loved Land Rover ever since the commercial of the guy pounding on the drive train with a sledge hammer. It will cost me eventually though. So far, I've been lucky, but I know my time is coming (Head Gaskets, or worse). I bet if these guys hadn't pounded on them at the factory, we would have fewer leaks.

 

My Discovery 2 was my first car, I love the thing. My entire family hated me for getting an "unreliable gas-guzzling truck", then not a year later I have three Discovery 2's sitting on our driveway, my brother and dad bought one too because they loved mine, in spite of them trashing me. Its super fun to drive, comfortable, its way different from all other Suv's, and they are very capable off road. As for reliability, treat it like a high maintenance girlfriend, if your good to her, she'll be good to you... for the most part.