I've got a white 99 that I bought for about $3,500 and have put about $6,500 into it.

Its a great truck. Drives well, capable, comfortable, etc. It also is a little old and dated and gets horrible fuel mileage.

Are the LR3's or LR4's going to be that much of a difference in terms of being modern and fuel consumption?

I currently have an older model BMW as my daily driver and a Disco II for snow & hauling. Reality is I will almost never go "real" off roading in this vehicle. I am simply looking to upgrade my older 3-series BMW to a new 535 and considering taking the LR up to a 3 or 4 - but only if they are worth it.

Thoughts?

 

take on for a ride the LR4's are crazy will do everything, but the price is also just as crazy. and if your the type that does there own work good luck.

 

The long and the short of this us YES. The LR3 gives you more horsepower and better milage by about 30%. the upgrade to a LR4 is going to be REAL pricey. If you were not worried about the money so much I would say go for the 4. If you are looking for a good deal I would look at a well placed 3. Good buddy of mine in Colorado last year finally gave in on his 04 and went LR3 made a few mods to it and could not be happier loved the extra power and the gas milage. my 2 cents.

 

see attached for the LR3. Compare that to what you have under the Disco. The newer vehicles are much more complex from a DIY repair standpoint, so much so that you'll be a good custmer for the dealer. Also, this advanced silliness of 150,000 mile diff oil changes and such will mean that used ones with high miles have never had the diffs serviced, etc. Sorry, just not a fan of high interval fluid changes.

Lots of electronics, always need to have a fresh battery.

 

 

amazing video seems they some improvements over the last 15 years

 

I had the money for either and went with the DII. I just pulled the trigger on a $6K engine, which easily puts the price over the LR3 level. BUT, I move every few years to other states/countries and never know if ther'll be a land rover specialist within 1K mi, so I opted for the only model I could fix myself. So, it depends on your situation, but if you're set on ditching the disco, go all in for the LR4 IMO. It's only money

 

A big thing for me was ease of working on the vehicle.

Here is a DII thermostat.

Here is an LR3 thermostat.

 

Worth 1,000 words!

 

Nope, that is the LR3 thermosat housing, the replaceable stat is inside right hand end of item. Here's a page for the LR3.

Now on the D2, the housing contains the stat also, but that stat alone can't be easily swapped. But easy to change to 180F model.