ORIGINAL: kcabpilot

I'm not really qualified to answer this question as I have only owned my 2001 SE7 for one week but prior to buying it I did a lot of reading and research. If I were to base my decisions solely on Consumer Reports I'd be driving a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry right now. Most of the problems I've read about seem to relate to 'gizmos' and 'ammenities' and not so much to chassis or drivetrain stuff. I know a few people, including my brother, with 3 series BMW's that have more than their share of scary tales to tell. There are a lot of electronics in modern vehicles because people go to the showroom and they want to see wipers that turn on automatically and mirrors that adjust by themselves and navigation systems that tell you where to go. It's how manufacturers compete for customers these days. Well, take it from me - I've been an avionics tech for 30 years and electronics are fickle. There's no getting around it, especially in the hostile environment of an aircraft or road vehicle.

Anyway, the Discovery was something that I just had to have. I couldn't escape it and, as often is the case, I just had to throw practicality and pragmatism to the wind and make a leap of faith. I'm very, very happy with the vehicle so far. After reading all of the bad reviews I was astounded at how well this thing rides, handles and performs. Of course, I'm not typical as labor rates mean nothing to me because I'll be doing all of the maintenance myself. Parts may be expensive but probably not so much more than factory original parts from other manufacturers. I don't know how the aftermarket parts situation for Land Rovers is but from my experience with other vehicles - I have an old Alfa Romeo that I recently restored - the cheap aftermarket parts are usually (almost always) junk and so I have learned to stay away from them.

I see my Discovery, in it's current form, as somewhat of an enigma. It has true off road capabilities yet it's decked out with gorgeous leather interior and more gizmos than you can shake a stick at - plus I just spent about eighteen grand on it so obviously I'm not about to fit a snorkel and start fording muddy creeks. However, it's snowing up in the Sierra today and normally I wouldn't think of going up there at a time like this but now I'm actually thinking of just making a run up there for the heck of it, throw a few snowballs and come back home again. Eventually, when my Discovery gets a bit older and the paint has already gotten it's first few scratches I'll probably do some off roading with it. First off though, is my planned trip to Alaska!

So like I said, I can't really answer the question and I'm not sure anyone really can. In the end it's a personal decision that one has to make on one's own.