Well, as pathetic as this sounds I have been looking for a land rover to buy for about a year now and have come across a disco that I think would be good. My only issue is fuel economy, of course. My current car gets anywhere between 20 and 25mpg and the discos are only rated for about 12 to 16...I've considered getting an older rover as an additional car but it probably wouldn't be an "Ideal" one. If considered an Lr3 or a 2004 discovery which in either case don't get the best fuel economy (which is understandable because, thats not what they were designed for). What I want to ask is, if you were in my shoes and your current car was paid off but you wanted a rover REALLY badly and could buy an 04 discovery outright or make payments on an lr3, OR get an older rover as additional car but, still not your "ideal" one... what would you do?...once again this is kinda pathetic but, any sort of guidance and advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Personally I'd go for the 04 Rover. It's my favorite year out of the DIIs, and they are nice and cheap due to the fuel economy. Don't let the gas mileage deter you. It's well worth the money. And it's actually really not that bad. Premium is down to 2.50ish in my area so I'm only looking at about $60/tank, almost 300 miles to a tank.

 

hehe, well its down now but im concerned it will go back up[:'(]. I am leaning towards an lr3... but the 04 disco for its price has me really looking at it.

 

if you want a real rover and plan on going off-road get the '04...if not, get the LR3 or a minivan..they're about the same.

 

lol, yeah the Lr3 I will admit probably is not as good as the discovery when it comes to offroad... but, it is still a very good offroader in comparision to many of the other "4x4s" on the road.

 

I'd get the LR3 much more modern, more reliable if you go with 2006 and up, and better fuel economy. They gave me one for 3 days while they were doing my head gasket job and it is nice. You do however feel like you're driving a minivan. The Disco's seating position is by far more pleasant in my opinion. but I would still go with the LR3.

 

I would get the older one for an additional car, if I could afford it. My 02 is my everyday vehicle. I wish I had something else for everyday and my Rover for leisure. I have had my Rover for about 3 weeks now. I like it, but wish I had a different everyday vehicle

 

I did test drive a 2003 disco and found it felt like a much larger car (cause it was) but seemed nimble enough. The only thing I did not care for was the turn radius... which would make it a bit hard to drive in tight spots. I have not however drive an LR3 and need to, to form my own opinion because anyone can say a car looks nice and feels comfortable by just sitting in and looking at it but, the real magic is on the road, or off in some cases. The Lr3 seems like it would be a good vehicle but when compared to an 04 discovery there is about a 7 to 10k price difference... Its a huge delima for me lol.

 

If i were to get one as an additional car it would probably be a Discovery I or II... the DI is the most practical and getting a DII might break the bank a little. Some disagree with me on an additional car let alone getting a land rover for a primary vehicle. If I did get a land rover as an additional car it might have to be "newer" to be accepted because the mistress doesn't like old cars even though it wouldn't matter to me... (isn't that how it always goes?)

 

If you go the Disco II route I would without a doubt go for the 2004 model. Most people you ask will tell you the 2004 is the best year for the Disco. For off road cases it has CDL and most everything is prefected (for the most part..). The LR3 is more capable off road than most people think, just throw some nice A/T tires on it and its pretty amazing. But from a looks standpoint I think the Disco II wins by a landslide. Both are great trucks, it just depends how much you wanna spend and if you really want an older or newer....

(EDIT: Just to make sure there is no confusion, the LR3 is NOT as capable off road as the Disco, but it will do some pretty awesome stuff.)