The wife and I have been talking and planning a lot more future road trips. So far my D2 has performed flawlessly on our tips. I have to be honest I do fear a random engine failure the entire time. Every noise or hiccup I cringe. I am constantly checking oil and coolant levels. Fearing the CPS failure or the like. Plus the horrendous MPG is a bit of a downer. So far the truck has been great. I'm fanatic with maintenance and repairs so I'm sure it's ok to drive.

But I have thought about having a stock ride for our trips. Keeping my D2 for off roading and short trips (-500 miles). I was thinking the XC90. I love the looks. The AWD. The better gas milage. Then was considering a clean P38 because I really love them. I don't think that's the practical way to go. I really do like the looks of the LR3 and LR4. How is the ownership of these? Same maintenance as the D2? More powerful or at least more economical? Major flaws or issues that should be dealt with right away? Would you do it again? Reliable enough that you'd take a cross country road trip with babies and dogs? Idle in hot traffic with out having to constantly watch the temp gauge? Would you delete the air suspension?

 

I am in the same place as Shiftonthfly1. Love my truck. Extremely well maintained, runs great.

I am waiting for the crap sandwich to be served right in the middle of a road trip however and so must consider options.

 

This is exactly what we did, wife has stock lr3 I bought for trips due to way more power way more comfort

Around town still crap mileage like 13/14 on super, hi way 18/21

Biggest issues
Clogged sunroof drains that flood passenger floor and shorts the wire harness reaking havoc till fixed and dryed

Next issue is you have to keep up on maintenance, buy one with a paper trail showing dealer maintenance or reputable Indy shop because fluid changes are important! You can do them yourself I have

Suspension bushings are only good for about 50k , I rebuilt with poly lots of work but should be worth in long run

Ball joints cheap and easy same with brake pads all sourced on amazon

Get a dealer inspection worth the money also carfax, my carfax reflected dealer maintenance

The air rides great, ability to drop for old person or pregnant wife's priceless, and if you want to off road it works with the terrain ****

Diffs go bad, not hard to replace, in fact the lr3 looks scary to work on but it is actually pretty straight forward, I have lots of stuff in lr3 tech section you can review

Go for 18" rims I just bought new a/t tires cost wholesale was $99.99 each

Try to get one with 2 key/remotes be sure they work it will cost $400 +/- at dealer for one its a dealer item unless you are a ran who found a work around lol

The nav is OK can be helpful on suspension and it does a lot that I have yet to use or know how to use, it updates with a disc and a member here figured out how to get new maps since rover stopped making them

Ask questions , be sure everything works, 05 seems the worst and I have the 05 but by now if maintained even the 05 should have bugs worked out

I have not drove a coil sprung lr3 but my dealer tech buddy has and he said its not nice, no idea spring brand

The throttle body needs to be kept clean

Engine is pressurized when running so if you get a oil leak it needs to be addressed, ie you can t run engine with oil cap off runs rough, engine is modular jaguar v8 4 overhead cams

You can get console fridge lol

Lucky 8 can get parts , alignment is dealer, I ended up buying a hawk eye pro type scanner to work on both rovers

 

There are 2 style second row seat one is like d1/2 sucks other is fold flat for huge cargo, cargo screen is nice also heavy rover rubber matts

The hse HD model has licking rear diff, you need to look under at diff for big electric motor usually also has matching aluminum spare instead of cheap steel rim, down side is more expensive to replace that diff if its bad
That rear locker requires you to look to verify its there, do not go by the pad lock on the nav screen, mine shows on screen but I don't have it, I know cause I swapped the diff

 

Love mine, bought 2 and never looked back. My dad just got one and sold his D2, hands down a huge upgrade in Comfort, Power, and Refinement.

Go for it, prices are dropping.

 

Hahahahhahah. Couldn't have said it better myself. I have the longest towing option on AAA for that exact reason.

Thanks for the replies. Tom thanks for all the information. I'll start sniffing around. You think the LR3/4 is a better option than the Rang Rover?

 

No idea ask in the range rover section, I do know the rr is insane expensive, like caddy vs kia

I think the biggest thing I hate is the tow hitch adapter b.s. never seen such a stupid design, I may redesign my bumper eventually

 

Range Rover sport has same drivetrain unless you get the supercharged. Still same Trans, transfer case, and diffs. Also same suspension.

RRS is a SWB, LR3 is LWB. I've driven the sport and it's well... Sportier. But I prefer the LR3.

 

I have to be honest I don't prefer the looks of the sport. The Range Rovers tend to scare me a little bit but I love how they resemble the classics. And obviously the lr3 LR4 resemble the Disco. I'm probably going to test drive some just to see. Going to be some pissed-off sales people around I think

 

The LR4 is a superb truck particularly the diesel whereas the LR3 had 'issues' with suspension and electronics. IMO the LR4 is the one to go for and retain the D2 for fun. The LR4 is somewhat more powerful and more economical also. Like all 4x4's the LR4 will need regular services and maintenance but should be far more reliable than the D2.