The '04 is the best year for the DII, so if you go DII get the '04.
DI's are cheap right now, you could save some serious coin and have money left over to fix it up, and it wont be long before its a classic, and who doesnt want to drive a classic car?
Most people cannot tell that a DI is as old as it is just by looking at it standing alone in the parking lot at the mall. People have thought that my '97 was a 2002.
The LR3 is a Ford Explorer, well almost. The V6 LR3 has the exact same engine as the Explorer, the V8 LR3 has a Jag engine. In my opinion the LR3 has WAY to many electronics, and electronics although reliable they are VERY expensive to repair, mostly because youhave to replace them, you cant fix them.
That nice info screen in the middle of the dash, its like 8 billion dollars to replace when your kid throws his firetruck from the back seat because hes mad and it smash's the screen.
Spill your Pepsi on the niffty little terrain selector on the console...you get my point.
DI's are way easier to work on, DII's ride nicer, LR3's...well, almost a Rover.
Dont spend more than you can afford, it does you no good to buy the newest truck if you cant afford gas to drive it.
Call your insurance agent, get a ball park quote for all three trucks, that will make up your mind.

 

Just found another reason not to get a LR3.
http://www.navigation.com/is-bin/INT...mpTo=OfferList
SAT/NAV is nice but man...

 

How nice, you got a lr3 when they did your head gaskets? a mounth ago when bergstrom preimer land rover did my gaskets, it took them 9 days, and i had a base model pontiac grand prix. (most uncorfotable car ever, no lumbar controls).

 

i was in the same boat as you. i have been researching and looking into rovers for about 6 months.

i test drove several LR3's and a variety of D 2's. in the end i went with my heart and what i really loved which were the discovery line. the lr3 is a nice rig, but IMO its TOO contemporary in the sense that is looks very similar to newer ford explorers and a few other SUV's. with a disco, nothing looks like it. it is its own animal. adn what makes it better is that you can save $10k over a LR3.

my 04 disco is a secondary rig to my work truck, so the gas is a issue but not a major one. i searched out the rig i wanted and am happy with my purchase

 

yeah, that is not a mandatory update but, it helps when you rover knows what streets are one way lol and it also updates for back country roads... 200 aint so bad hehe especially considering micorosoft office costs about 300. I'm still torn between the 2 vehicles really the only thing enticing me towards and lr3 is the extended warranty just because its nice to cover my a**. It also seems silly to give a car up that has a year left on its warranty for a vehicle that does not have one... not that I wouldn't trust a discovery but, it'd suck if something when wrong the first month that cost over 1k to fix lol and me sitting there kicking myself in the butt for getting rid of a car with a warranty.I do drive about 1k miles a month.. which isn't a whole heck of a lot but, the bill adds up exponentially when the price offuelrises... luckily its been going down and hopefully it stays that way because that is almost the only reasonI am holding off on a disco or an lr3. I have not taken an lr3 for a test drive and that can cause my decision to go either way. I've been in instances where I love the look of a vehicle and think it is the best thing, until I test drove it and then hated it hehe. I did get to test drive a 2003 discovery and thought it handled very good and felt very solid... although it wasn't the most agile thing on the road i did enjoy the view and feeling of security it provided. Another thing I think about is safety(DUH, lol)... although i think the discovery would fair very well in almost any crash... its still uncertain due to the fact they only test the II series once and it was just the frontal. Im not concerened that I am going torear endsomeone at 40mph... I'm just worried someone is going to tbone me going 50 through an intersection and during that instance it sure would be nice to have side and curtain airbags whereas the disco has neither... I have the feeling that the disco would do just fine in a side impact but, i only make my judgements when it is tested or... i see it happen in a video, and so farI haven't. I tend to drive late at night which is when the drunks are out... and with this economy going down, there have been more than usual. These are just a few of many variables i consider in my purchase... i know im CRAZY lol but, the price between the 2 vehicles and depending on what happens in the future will ulitimatley decide what I do... Thanks everyone foryour input and keep posting as anyadvice is appreciated.

 

Go drive a LR3, call your insurance agent and get a quote for the LR3 and the DII.
I have driven all LR's, DI, DII, LR3, the P38 Range Rover, the Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover and a Freelander.
The RR's drive better than the others, the Freelander drives like a car. I felt safest is a DII, it sits higher than the others, DI excluded, same hieght.
A DII sits higher than most other cars, so if you are t-boned you should fair pretty well.
As for updating the SAT/NAV...I dont think my cars should need updating. My TomTomk updates for free once a year. The SAT/NAV should do the same in my opinion.

Drive both trucks on the same road, park them both in your garage, park them at the mall, call your insurance agent.
If you cant get a factory warrenty then dont waste your money on a extended warrenty. Put that money into a Money Market Account and then pay for major repairs out of that.
I ALWAYS check the crash test rating's on cars before I buy one, that is ALWAYS part of my research.
http://www.iihs.org/default.html

 

I did get a quote for a 2003 disco and it was about 170 a month lol... of course that was the first one... I hope someone else can do better.

 

gas mileage be damned. at my house i hafta get up 15 minutes early to get to the rover keys before my wife does. THATS how much we love our rover! no lie...

the loser has to drive the toyota all day.

my $0.02