Replying to a thread from 2013 to bash on the D2?

The almost dozen posts before you didn't say what you did?

 

Talking about the "Discovery" name changing to LR3 is funny since the LR3's name changed to LR4......

I have owned LR models from 1994 to 2006 and sorry my D1/D2's vs my LR3 are much easier to work on, easier to get parts locally, and the LR3 electronics are extremely complicated to diagnose without the proper scanner & lets not forget that Ford/Land Rover thought of such a brilliant location for the beer can enclosure aka TCM mounted outside of the interior with non water resistant harnesses or PCB protection of any kind....

The LR3 look has grown on me vs newer LR's but it is still very boxy to me. The D1/D2 have beautiful lines and an interior that still looks modern.

 

good catch on the date! My mistake. I read the forums on my phone while putting kids to bed. For some reason this thread popped up as being a "new post".

I still love my D2 for it's character but 4 years of daily driving my 04 leaves me under no illusions of how ill suited they are for the task in most respects.

 

I don't know what everyone is arguing about - especially in the wake of the first new generation of "discovery" we've seen in 12+ years last week.

I think the new disco should humble us all, and allow us to realize just how far our vehicles have come.

The core design of these vehicles has changes VASTLY! People are just touting opinions left and right, but let's talk real-world for a second.

The Discovery II was a (fairly) refined live-axle vehicle on a ladder-frame chassis.

The Discovery 3 (ahem, another pet peeve on previous posts - it's the same name obviously, since it carried such overseas) has a FULLY INDEPENDENT double wishbone suspension built into a world-first hybrid ladder-frame/unibody "Integrated-Body-Frame / IBF" system LR designed.

INSTANTLY you're incapable of comparing the two. You're talking two entirely different generations of vehicle design. The ZF servotronic variable-ratio power steering is another example of vastly improved road dynamics.

I could keep going on, but mechnically-speaking the LR3+ is vastly superior in all aspects, especially the net result in driving dynamics and feel.

I love my DII still, but today it only "wins" battles due to its strengths, which is a timeless design, a (nearly) antique hora, its value (free now, only a few thousand bucks when I bought it 7+ years ago) and the fact that it's my LR3's baby brother. It's earned its' stripes though - I've towed boats hundreds of miles, driven through hurricane flood waters, etc etc.. always been amazing.

It was just dragged through a generation it didn't belong in at the end - probably stuck around 2-3 years longer than it should have. Meanwhile the LR3 was introducing things that wouldn't be seen by anyone else for 4-5 years. Fiberoptic multi-media networks? Terrain response? Factory four-corner air suspension? TWELVE years ago.

It's as ridiculous as trying to compare the new 2018 Discovery to the LR3 or LR4. Okay same engines, same 4 corner air suspension right? But new materials science and design has allowed a weight savings of almost a thousand pounds!!!!! Instantly they're non-comparable and in different leagues. You retain (and gain) some off-road capabilities, yet now you're competing with the Euro sport SUV segment (X5, Touareg, etc). Somehow they increased the stock wading depth by nearly a foot also!#@$%

That's just how it goes. You've gotta respect and honor the things your older vehicles stand for. It sure as hell isn't going to be winning a head-to-head battle with its own replacement - that's just kinda stupid. There are plenty of reasons why it remains special and valuable in its own way though...

 

EstorilM , man they really got you riled up about this.

 

IMO without a doubt the old D2 is more workable and more fun. I own both the D2 and the LR4 (D4) and both are diesels. The LR4 is a huge improvement over the LR3 which has many issues albeit superior to the D2 mechanically but I avoided being tempted into an LR3 (D3) having read many others ownership disasters. I am satisfied now with my 'stable' of cars and trucks which appear the best money can buy on my limited budget.

 

When I buy a new to me vehicle there is no "should I buy this or should I buy that instead"... I follow my heart. I do ALOT of research on the vehicle make/model that Im most interested in. Then I familiarize myself with trim levels, special packages, recalls and known mechanical issues. Then when I find a vehicle make/model that has everything Im looking for I take it for a test drive. How does the car feel? How does it make me feel when I drive it? Does it make me smile? When I exit the vehicle do I turn around and give the vehicle another look and smile? If so then I found the right vehicle.

Its not about what anyone else thinks you should do. Your an American. An individual. Buy something that trully speaks to you. Buy something that has everything you want and need in a vehicle. Stay true, take care of it and you will be a happy owner. If you buy something you may not be entirly happy with simply because everyone else told you to then your not going to be as happy with your investment.

I try to treat my vehicle lile I treat a special women I like. Good luck