I just love driving it. It isn't perfect, but it is the best winter bad weather care I have ever driven.

 

I just took the old rusty but trusty XD out to survey the damage from Hurricane Delta, and when I stopped at a gas station I got 2 guys drooling over it almost instantly while pumping gas. One guy was like sick truck dude & the other guy was very curious about the wires going from my roof rack to the brush guard. Her paint is faded, she's rusty, but I still get compliments!!!

I'm keeping my eyes out for a rust free SD body, and one day when I have nothing to do I plan on fully restoring the XD with a new body transplant. Until then I'm going to enjoy it, and wheel it

 

Agreed with @Best4x4, they have a lot of charm. Having owned two Alfa Romeos and a lot of German cars I can tell you that 1) Disco’s aren’t really as “high maintenance” as we make them seem (relative to Italian cars!) and they’re very very simple (especially relative to German cars.

So they have charm and simplicity.

Also - tons of interior storage space relative to the size of the vehicle.

 

The driving position is the best, maybe not quite as good as a p38 but close. Less hassle than a p38 and classic styling that gets lots of compliments. For the money they are impossible to beat if your mechanically inclined.
i’m into off-roading and have a family of 5, a 4door jk would cost at least 5times as much to purchase initially and the build up cost is the same. Plus you have a v8 and loads of heritage.
as a kid I used to watch the camel trophy and it cemented Land Rover as “The adventure/expedition vehicle of choice”.
they ride very well and maintain speed perfectly on the highway with lifts and bigger tires. A 6cyl Jeep on the highway with a lift and tires sucks.
I bough my wife a new generation Toyota 4Runner, similar size and class as a discovery. It does get way better fuel economy and should be hassle free for many years (perfect for the wife) but I’d take my 20year old truck any day over it.

 

Yeah both my 05 Jeep Wrangler's (TJ Rubicon & LJ Sport) sucked on the highway once I got them where I wanted them to perform off road. It didn't help that both had the awful and very unreliable 4Spd Auto which had no clue what it was doing! I could barely reach 65MPH with a tailwind, minimal cargo, and me driving it solo. Sure the D1/D2 isn't a rocket off the line, but it will eventually get you up to highway speeds and maintain it unless you hit a massive headwind which will cause em to just downshift for a bit. I would certainly not call either of my 05 Wranglers reliable either. From the 4spd, OPDA issue on 05-06 models, plastic brake caliper pistons which once hot would expand and stick (leaving you on the side of the road....), cheap as dirt steering/suspension hardware, poor welds, and just a cheap overall vehicle until you dump say another 10k into it.

I consider the newer 4Runners what LR should have gone with vs that Jellybean looking D5. However I priced a TRD 4Runner and nah no way I could truly enjoy it. I wouldn't take it seriously off roading until it was paid off, and I'm honestly not a fan of all the computer stuff packed into newer vehicles today. That battery goes flat & heck you don't even have an instrument cluster to look at!!!!

I enjoyed my 97 RR Vitesse 4.6L HSE in AA Yellow back in the day, but I wouldn't honestly touch a P38 today. Way to many things act up on them from $$$ HVAC blowers, under the hood fuse block, HVAC control head, EAS valve bodies, EAS Pump, EAS Airbags, and the BECM. Now if I found my old 97 RR Vitesse for sale in decent shape I'd be tempted, but a lot of the P38's out there today are just to abused and beat up to even consider buying.

 

I would agree 100% with Collie on this one!

 

you haven’t driven a Subaru then

 

I was getting 15 mpg on mostly highway with my 03. My neighbour just spent nearly 100 k on a 2019 Ford 6.7 diesel
to my surprise they get about the same mpg as a disco. Lol
when I get more financially stable I will be getting back into a disco in a heart beat.
Cant be the looks style appearance and off-road plus parts are cheap

 

To get to a store (not happening in this pandemic) i drive a 2020 Kia Soul GT Line Turbo with all extras. To get to the waste collection site i drive my 2002 Toyota Tacoma 2.7 L 4x4 XCab with manual transmission. both are parked inside. On my driveway i see MY!!! 2001 Land rover Discovery II series.parked ... look out of the window and i see it there, that is my Land Rover .... for people around me it does not seem to make sense but that is my!!! Land Rover Discovery II series
I have driven a Jeep Sahara, Dodge Dakota, 2016 Ram 1500 Laramie = it broke down after 4 miles.... , a 2008 Kia Sorento 3.8 L V6 -Not one vehicle gave me a feeling of enjoyable driving. When i want to enjoy a drive i get into my Land Rover ( her name is Priscilla)

That just reminded me that i have a new steering pump and i need to install it, steering was getting a bit harder...

 

drove subarus for years and the d2 is far far superior imo. Plus odds of high centering when exiting highway when it's dumping is almost impossible in a disco. When it nukes in Denver the merge lanes and exit lanes get a mountain of snow built up and routinely see crossovers of all kinds and sometimes suburbans stuck on the little ice mountains...