Back when I was in my early 20’s I’d always wanted a D1 ever since I saw it at the 1994 LR Party at the dealership when the 94 D90 & 94 D1 came out. Well I finally had one (a 97 D1 SE). Well I used to always drive 2.5hr thru the hill country in TX to see my folks. One night I came across a buck in the middle of an S curve with an 8ft game fence on both sides of the country road. I thought I’d just go around it (looked like grass on the shoulder). So at 45MPH I attempted to go around the buck...... well thats when I found out there was actually a 4ft deep ditch just off the shoulder... I flew off the ground, did two 360 turns, then I went face first into the fence. I then rolled 3-4 times taking out the fence, and when it finally stopped going down the fence it landed on it’s wheels and then I hit a massive oak tree head on and rolled over on it’s side coming to a stop just off the side of the road.

I was untouched, not a single side window had cracked or blown out (minus the sunroof that blew out when a fence post blew it out as I was rolling. All 5 doors opened like nothing had happened (once it was rolled over by the tow truck). The frame was pushed down badly at the front and the radiator was just hanging there, but not a single fluid was leaking. Had it towed 2 miles to my parents place & that was it for my 97 D1.

My air bags never deployed, but I didn’t have a single cut or bruise. That D1 gave it’s life for me. 3 of 4 tires were completely popped off the bead which is very hard as LR wheels have double bead rims!

LR’s aren’t perfect, but had I been in say a Prius I’d probably be dead in a box right now!

 

Everyone has a 'lucky escape' story to tell. IMHO accidents don't just 'happen' they are more often human error on someone's part. The statistics bear this out. IMHO I believe the driving age on public highways internationally should be raised to 20 or 21 years old as the largest percentage of accidents and deaths is in the 16-19 year old category.
Landrovers aside, many treat them as invincible transport.

https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafe...factsheet.html

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/te...teenagers/2016

 

I’d rather have a lucky story vs no story at all.

My wreck was 100% my fault. But honestly I now equip my LR’s with ARB/Steel bumpers & I just hit the darn deer head on vs try to avoid em. Most I’ve had broken was an Aux light, or a bent tie rod due to the deer hitting it. Can’t slap an ARB on a car.

LR’s were like mentioned earlier equal or better than the same year counterparts. Comparing them to a 2018 vehicle safety wise isn’t a fair comparison IMHO. Of coarse new vehicles are safer, but they also cost 2 times as much new, tons of computers/air bags which D1/D2’s don’t have.

I don’t drive em like I’m untouchable, but they do perform better in the snow/rain vs a car. My work van is front wheel drive, 2WD, and in heavy rain the TC is engaged the whole time, and I can’t leave a stop light without it spinning a tire and going ABS/TC nuts. In a LR it acts like it’s just another typical day out on the road without any fuss.

My other LR story was 2 years ago in my 98 LSE. F250 rear ended me at 45 MPH. The pic’s speak for themselves.





2014 Super Duty, I think not..... more like 2014 Wimpy Duty, frame was way widened, and bent down, AC freon was pissing out, engine oil was gushing from a broken cooler, along with transmission fluid. He couldn’t even steer as the bumper was pushed deeply into the tires.

My bumper was bent, rear bumper lights busted, tire carrier pushed in a bit, cargo door handle cover exploded, but the glass was intact, rear wiper still worked, zero frame damage, and the door opened perfectly. I drove home, he rode home in a tow truck!

I got a new bumper, rear lights, cargo door latch cover, and pulled out the spare tire carrier vs he got a new truck.

You can’t see it in the pic’s but his hood flew up & smacked his windshield and it was all busted up.

When the guy hit me the first thing he said to himself was OMG I just killed those people. Then he said once his airbag smoke cleared he saw my flashers on and I drove up & pulled off the road... He said what in the heck is this SUV? It’s like I hit a concrete wall... When he saw the back door still opened he was speechless.

Every accident is different, but his newer truck did absorb the impact more. I got the 45MPH from him as his speedo gauge cluster was all messed up and stuck at 45MPH.

 

I disagree, I am 17 with a 99 d2. I have done all preventative maintenance as well as anything that's been needed. I have built and welded custom parts for my car. I paid for the D2 and for my insurance as well as the gas and parts. At 155k everything is still mechanically as good as it can get. To assume that all "kids" don't know what they are driving is just false. Where I live, 4wd is a requirement rovers jeeps and trucks are all you will see up here. I have one of the only D2's in this immaculate condition. However, I also know kids with Discos that have no knowledge of them but still check fluids and take them to me when they break. D2's with the price they are at right now for people who need 4wd. Also with running the issue of smashing into a bull moose or elk at any given time a honda civic or whatever type of car that would be "good" for a kid, would kill the driver. Just because you think that all kids are incompetent and cant drive "your" car like you can or work on "your" car like you can isn't true.

 

True that Discos aren't invincible! However, 4WD gives kids options and stability that 2WD doesn't.

Disco 2 traction control is top notch, as well. And they have workable anti-lock brakes.

Discos are not the "cab forward" design of many modern sports cars that place the motor quite near the driver and the driver much closer to any "action" in a wreck.

The height of the Disco provides superior visibility *for* the driver and *by* other traffic, as well.

A lot of cars are so short and small that they barely exceed the visibility profile of a motorcycle.





The biggest road danger is cell phone use/distraction. Adults have that problem as much as kids these days.

 

I love the idiots that hold a phone in front of them while driving & are either using Facetime or think it’s safer to hold it out in front of them & talk vs holding it up to their ear.

I’ll never own a car as I’ve had many friends have nasty wrecks in them (vs friends with SUV/Trucks) got flooded out, or stuck in wet grass on the side of the road.

The MPG isn’t great, but I’d rather be safer overall vs animals, mother nature, and some accidents. If I lived purely in a city and never got out on interstates with 18 wheelers, or farm to market/country roads with large animals, then sure a car would make sense, but for my needs in TX an SUV that is 4x4 is a must.

I’ve had Mitsubishi’s, Nissans, and Jeep’s before. The Mitsubishi’s were bulletproof, but lacked any aftermarket support in the USA, and honestly they got boring when you didn’t need to give em any TLC. Nissan I had was the only Lemon I’ve ever owned & I won’t touch another one. Jeep’s had tons of upgrades, but all my Jeeps were maybe 2 years old before things started to fall apart at an alarming rate. Window regulator on my WJ was nearly 350.00 at the time for example.

LR’s have never treated me bad so I’m sticking with them.

 

Personally I think they're great beginner vehicles. Like best mentioned, big game is an issue in a LOT of the US. Sure, most accidents are due to human error, but you can't prevent or predict a deer juming out onto your hood.

Also, while they do require more maintenence, I see that as a benefit for a new driver. I got mine at 17 and I didn't even know how to change spark plugs. It was a great learning tool. Fairly simple to work on, parts weren't insanely expensive.

And while it might not be the safest in moderate accidents, in extreme accidents there's not much else I would choose first (see: the lady who took her D1 off a 100 foot cliff in Hawaii, landed on her roof, and survived).

Furthermore, handling in inclement weather is unrivalled by anything else I've ever driven, and I've driven a lot.

Pack all that in a $1500 package, and if you ask me you've got a winner.

 

I don't know.. I get the impression that this myth you're trying to kill off isn't a myth.

 

 

I have to disagree, I saved and bought my rover when I turned 16 and have had it ever since.

When I bought it, I hardly knew how to change my own oil. Since then, I've operated on it entirely by myself. head gaskets, lift springs, etc. Preventative maintenance is now a habit. I've even rebuilt the entire front end after my dumbass friend hit a tree with it. Rover has been turning drivers into mechanics since 1948.

I've been through the thick of it with my rover and have a pretty strong emotional connection to it now, Its taken me places off road that I could have never imagined a vehicle traversing. A rover will take you to some of the most untouched and most beautiful places nature has to offer.

As for safety, it's not a Porsche, rovers have numb steering, poor brakes, are top heavy and slow. As a young driver, I believe my car does a better job of teaching me important defensive driving tactics. And, when rovers are involved in extreme accidents they hold up much better than any other car short of modern SUV's (Volvo, Mercedes, Volkswagen). I had a friend in a G4 go off of a 200-foot embankment, barrel roll in the air and nose dive straight into a massive rock next to a creek and walked away with a scrape on his arm. Try that in a Honda Civic, or whatever parents buy their kids nowadays.

As for the cool factor, these things are about as cool as it gets when it comes to people my age. Its got a V8, it will drive over anything and looks awesome while doing it, and from a guys perspective, girls loooooove them.

As for me, I am pretty satisfied and wouldn't want to drive anything else. If only it got better gas mileage...

Friends totaled G4: