Many people believe the D2 is suitable for their kids, it's not unless they can understand complex 4x4 machinery, turn spanners or they have someone constantly on hand who can, whoever, they need to be competent at repairing older vehicles not modern vehicles. You need to understand and have plenty of electronic diagnostic equipment and garage equipment OR be extremely rich and pay others to do whatever work or servicing is needed.

Many people also believe the D2 and many older 4x4's are safer than cars, they are not, if you take a T bone in the side at speed you will be injured if not dead. Many 4x4's are exactly what they say and not ram vehicles or super protected.

Many believe it's 'cool' to own an old D2, it's not, it's a working cheapo vehicle these days like all 4x4's which is expensive to run, heavy and designed for offroad and towing, nothing more.

Many believe a 4x4 can, in severe weather or road conditions, corner faster, stop faster and accelerate faster than other vehicles, they are often very wrong, the only thing is they can accelerate due to 4x4 grip, they cannot corner or stop any faster.

Having owned a lot of Landrover's over many years, around 50 years now, there is a 'myth' built up around them, at the end of the day they are a tin or alu box on wheels with limited capabilities and certainly not cool or sporty and if not repaired or serviced correctly and on time they can be an expensive death trap. I hope this helps when some consider buying these trucks for themselves or their children.

 

, at the end of the day they are a tin or alu box on wheels with limited capabilities and certainly not cool or sporty and if not repaired or serviced correctly and on time they can be an expensive death trap. I hope this helps when some consider buying these trucks for themselves or their children.[/QUOTE]



well.

they are kinda cool.




and i'll probably continue to let my kids drive them.

 

 

My friend who is 16 has a DII. I helped him choose it, it's what I'd call a "cream puff". 2 Owner, dealer maintained its entire life. It had 180,000 miles. We bought it for $2700, with understanding that we will be working on it constantly with a huge learning curve, he had no mechanical knowledge. You'd show him a brake booster and that was the coolant reservoir.

I decided because he will be driving a good bit, and no history of a head gasket replacement, that we should do some preventative maintenance. I gave him an extra head gasket kit I had, from LK8 I believe, and had him order a few other parts ie spark plugs, injector o rings, low temp stat, and coil packs. Also educated him on which coolant to use. It had brand new hoses. We did the transmission fluid and filter before this job.

We started tearing it apart, again he had no mechanical knowhow. I had him read the owner's manual and gave him a workshop manual. 2 months later, the engine is running again and I did minimal reassembly, he managed to learn to wrench, properly, with my toolbox. All I did was some disassembly, a paint correction and interior detail. Even the original headliner was still in place without sagging. The head gasket was original at 180k. No ridge line in the cylinders, nice golden colour in the engine. Nice engine.

Everyone says he has the coolest truck. We plan to go offroading this summer up north..it's saved him in the winter. He's placed a tool set, and a very comprehensive first aid kit in the back hatch. It's the ultimate truck to him. Unique, interesting, quirky to everyone.

 

I totally agree with you about the drive-ability in severe weather and the abysmal crash safety. If you watch some crash tests on the D1 and D2 it'll make your knees cringe.

The "cool" factor though, especially where I am, means a lot. Pickup trucks are a dime a dozen around here and having a 4x4 that's different is something I appreciate.

Your warning should definitely be heeded by anyone wanting to purchase a disco, but if you're willing to accept the quirks and inconveniences of owning one...

 

Dunno about the “drive-ability” in different parts of the world, but in TX hell yes a RRC/D1/D2 is safer to drive. We have rather large deer that love to jump thru windshields in say a Honda Accord at the last second... The deer will have a much harder time doing that to a LR. We also get flash floods/hurricanes/heavy rain and a car is pathetic in any of those conditions.

An SUV is not a sports car, it does not handle like one (warnings are all over the sunvisors & in the owners manual....). If you drive it like one well you’ll get rewarded real quick.

They are not hard to work & they aren’t always broken. I’m not what I’d call rich, but I do currently own 7 LR’s and all minus the parts truck run/drive with no flaws.

I wouldn’t drive anything else. My wife loves the LR3, and so do my kids. My D2’s are unique & beautiful to look at vs modern day bubble shaped blobs.

 

I have seen plenty of Land Rover 's, D2&LR3, that have come in after an accident. Minimal damage to them and the other vehicle is totaled.

In fact, we bought a 99' D2 that was jackknifed by a double bus(see pic). The passenger side was pushed in about a foot, both occupants were unscathed.

I wish I still had pictures of that D2. I drove it home from Hollywood to Huntington Beach over 50 miles on the freeway going 70 plus. Frame was still straight.

 

I have to agree with both Best4x4 and Offroadfrance.

Offroadfrance

The Disco's are 14 year old ex-luxury 4x4's that need maintenance just like any other 14 year old vehicle. Their needs are a little unique but not terribly so. 14 year old jeeps often need as much work, and lots of 17 year olds drive those rust buckets, so that is a wash.

I am just out side Vancouver in BC, like Best4x4 large game animals are always a concern, Elk, Moose and free range Horses do not consider a vehicle much of a threat.

They will step right out in front of you, a tall vehicle gives you a better chance.

To give you an idea because unless you have seen one up close you really can not wrap your head around it this is a moose as compared to a typical car Elk are pretty much the same idea just a bit smaller

 

Personal choice. Everybody gets to choose their preference.

My analysis re: safety for beginner drivers:

• SUV's are slower than cars, a positive for young (aggressive) drivers
• SUV's position driver higher above ground in accident - in a side impact more likely the impact zone is located near the legs/hips and not at the head/neck.
• SUV's put driver higher with better visibility of surroundings.
• Disco has lower cg than competitive SUV's, less likelihood of rollover
  • Due to alum body
  • Due to alum engine
  • Due to heavy wheels/axles/frame/transfer case that are low in the chassis

Our personal experience:

Daughter wrecked Disco within first two months of driving - rearended a 2016 Acura - totaled the Acura. Cracked the Disco bumper cover, did not dent reinforcement - airbag did not deploy. Daughter not hurt.

Got her a 2008 Escape Hybrid last year for the fuel economy. Within 2 months she was on the highway, dropped a wheel off the shoulder, overcorrected coming back on the road. Escape did the usual Ford rollover (remember the 97 Explorer's?) - Escape totaled - side airbags deployed. Daughter unhurt. Daughter acknowledges Disco would never do that.

Look at the competitive SUV crash ratings from 99-2010. Disco performs about mid-pack in the luxury segment, better than Jeep/Chevy, not as good as Volvo/MB see here:2004 Land Rover Discovery Series II

My daughter is 5' 0". Disco was one of the few that the seat would move far enough forward that she could comfortably reach the pedals.

Reliability, sure it has its weak points, mostly associated with the lower cost elements like the hoses and plastics in the cooling system.

Sister had a Jeep Liberty - just as unreliable but related to the more expensive components like engine and transmission.

We had 04 Volvo XC90 T6 - reputation for auto trans, transfer case , turbos, other reliability issues. Personal experience was transfer case failure, transmission replacement, and timing belt failure.

4.4 Liter BMW X5's from early 2000's have known serious timing chain issues.

Son's 2000 Tahoe had head gasket/dexcool, transmission failure and AC fail.

We live in very hilly area now, wife prefers her Disco to the XC90 for the
ride height and associated visibility.

I could go on about Xterra's, Cherokee's, etc.

Personal preference, but I would have no problem recommending a Disco 2 for a first car, safer than a compact car, similar reliability to contemporary competitors. Not as reliable as Honda's or Toyota's, not as safe as modern full size SUV's, but that's obvious.

 

My 16 year old daughter started out wanting a Jeep wrangler. We've got an old one parked on the ranch that she gets to drive during the Summer and on vacations.

She gets to go off-roading. She can get the Jeep up to about 55 mph on the highway (it's a 1978 model). Yay for me I taught her how to drive a stick shift in it and the basics of safe off-roading.

But its doors and roof are vinyl. Its wheelbase is so short that going over 55 mph risks imminent fish-tailing or rollover.

...and she never puts the top down.

Then she discovered Discos! She describes them as Jeeps that have a real roof and real doors.

This Disco 2 is a *much* better off-road vehicle for her needs because of that roof and doors, and it is reasonable to drive her Disco 2 at 70 mph on the highway, as well.

I put shatterproof ballistic film on the windows and Kevlar panels inside the doors + rear hatch.

She can drive into the 'hood and still be safe from various nefarious elements. One of her girlfriends drives an up-armored Mercedes Gelandewagen. Performance and safety wise they are roughly equal, but her Disco 2 cost $500 (and I had to rebuild the motor for another $2,000) compared to her girlfriend's G-Wagon that cost 6 figures and her dad doesn't want her to off-road that thing (probably due to its price tag).

Her motor has all-metal cometic gaskets and ARP studs. It has a better cam than Rover made factory new and I had the crankshaft machined to tolerances that Rover could never achieve back in 2003.

You don't blow cometic gaskets! ARP studs are likewise vast upgrades to the Rover factory stretch+discard head bolts.

So her motor is superior to factory new.

She's got the Lucky8 front prop shaft which has 5 zerk points for greasing. Again, this is superior to the factory new OEM drive shaft.

I installed a double-DIN radio in her Disco 2's dash that has a color + infrared night vision reverse camera and bluetooth hands free connection for her phone and Spotify music streaming for her radio.

This is also superior to factory new. It just cost $140.

Her next big upgrade will be modern off-road tires, and rubber today is superior to tire designs+production back in 2003.

It just doesn't cost much to upgrade Disco 2s. Keep what works: frame, suspension, diffs, xfer, trans, A/C, interior, et al, and upgrade everything else such as motor, front driveshaft, radio, and windows.

There's only a fraction of the rest of the world that can spend enough to offer anything not listed above if they are going for a factory new option other than a Disco 2, such as the Tesla X or Mercedes G-Wagon.