If Estoril is on the fence, than so am I!


Over the 4th of July, I took my wife and my 2 kids on a trek from Wichita to near LA - over mountains, through deserts and even a little 4 wheeling, courtesy iphone navigations detour around traffic on I-70.


The trip was not without it's hiccups, but overall I was impressed with my '08 LR3 with 120k on the odometer.


What hiccups, you ask? The first and most consistent was a nagging suspension fault. The second was the infamous L319, telling me that I had underperforming fuel (something) - Bank 2. I don't remember exactly what the fault read (I have the BT gap tool), but it only happened twice - both times when I was climbing out of valleys at about 4k rpm for long periods of time.
The suspension fault was lost comms with the Ride Level Control module - and lost comms with the instrument cluster. These are being addressed, but witht he GAP tool I was able to clear the faults and flog on!


The comfort on the trip was perfect - plenty of room for all of us and the enormous amount of crap (my wife is a notorious overpacker) we were carrying.
Fuel mileage was better than I expected - the best being 19.7 mpg, the worst around 15 mpg.


There are things that need to be addressed as well - the normal wear and tear stuff that comes with age and miles. Rear wheel bearings need replaced, a new compressor should clear up the suspension issues (accordong to Abran, who I was privelaged enough to meet while I was in CA - thanks again!), the windshield cowl is starting to warp - I am not going to give that time to get worse, and a few other persnickity things that I am probable being too **** about.


I really cant say enough good things about these vehicles though. I thoroughly enjoy driving it. And, when things do go wrong, this forum is a great source of info, parts are readily available from a number of places and they just are not that hard to work on.


Full disclosure though - I also own a 1988 FJ62 Landcruiser which I love almost as much as my LR3 - but you cant compare the two. One is a glorified tractor, the other a very versatile (albiet technologically complicated) luxary-type SUV.

 

I will be wheeling whatever I buy. If I go LR3 I would immediately add a lucky 8 SYA lift and probably like a 265/70/18 tire. As I have been doing more Rover reading it seems the LR3 loses some of that refined drivability you spoke of with a tire in the 32" range. We are moving to a mountain town so everyday driving will be very hilly at elevation. There's no doubt which vehicle is superior, it's hard to believe that they are only one generation apart. My struggle is that for a given budget I can buy the LR3 OR a D2, do loads of preventative maintenance and get a big headstart on mods. Off road items are more plentiful for the D2 at a better price. I am currently leaning towards a D2, but it all depends on the right truck at the right time.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but in a hilly area, wouldn't taller tires reduce the low end torque needed for those climbs?

 

Lars you don't need the SYA lift. You'll want the IIDTool anyway, and with that you can have settings for taller EAS as needed if you hit the trail.

I run a 32" tire with a completely stock EAS configuration. I don't rub when just driving around town, even in Normal Height. When I go off-road to trails that will invoke full articulation, I plug in the IIDTool and select the "new off-road height" which affords me an extra 1.5" or so. Again no rubbing.

The LR3 is definitely better with stock sized tires...but it's still pretty sweet with larger tires, too...and off-road it's unstoppable.

 

YES YES and YES.

I threw the stock 19's (30") back on (had 32's) when I got the travel trailer, mostly because of the obvious performance hit just daily driving. So glad I did - when not towing, it really brings the LR3 "back to life" - it's not just a power thing, the gear ratios simply aren't designed for those tire diameters, the power band is all wrong and the trans ends up having to try to figure it all out.

It's not a huge issue, as the OP doesn't seem too interested in towing.

Anyways as far as a D2 vs. LR3 and you "being willing to put money into preventative maintenance" eh. I've owned a DII for almost 10 years now, and that's not really how it works. The types of things that malfunction or fail on the LR3 are NORMAL. The stuff you're going to deal with on the DII isn't really normal, and I think over time (ESPECIALLY if it's your daily driver) they'll start to drive you crazy and impact your confidence level a little bit.

Then again I still have the EAS on my DII (heavily modified with an air tank and new components I threw together, but still) that doesn't help.

Even IF you could get the reliability between the two to be identical (trust me, difficult task..) you get a LOT MORE vehicle with the LR3.

Just the transmission alone is frustrating. I want my DII to last forever, and chugging along down the road at 2500rpm just to keep up with traffic is NOT FUN. You get a 6 speed with variable lock-up in all gears in the LR3, vs. old school 4spd. Braking and handling are entire worlds apart. You really need to consider things like that, the LR3 brakes and turns like a sports car compared to the disco.

As I mentioned before, it's FAR safer as well (not just the bagillion airbags) but the stability controls, integrated body frame (IBF) frame design (basically unibody sitting on a ladder frame). Watch this... (RRS, but same body/frame/safety features).
I'm not really biased as I own both vehicles and love them in their own ways - but if I had to pick one or the other, it isn't even really a contest (sorry disco!!)

Also totally random, but if you're tall - you probably won't like the DII. I'm 6' and I have no clue what the Brits were thinking, my knees are basically in my lap with the seat all the way back. The DII seats are VERY comfortable, but ergonomics in the LR3 are much better.

 

This to me is the argument against anything larger than 32" tires. Even at 32s it does affect the LR3's performance as Estoril points out above, but it's not that noticeable (unless towing, apparently). For me....my LR3 is on stock-sized tires for half the year and 32s the other half. While I very much appreciate the off-road performance of the larger MT/Rs...and get kinda used to the handling...when I swap back to the 30 inchers I get reminded of just how much better that size of tire is, on the street (at least).

Could also be the tread pattern....I've never run a street-biased large tire and likewise I've never run an off-road tire at the stock size.

 

I have an 88 FJ62 - same 3FE engine (a Toyota tractor engine - literally) and auto transmission. To call it a dog is a compliment. But off road, it is unstoppable. My Cruiser is not small, and not nimble, but it sets the bar on reliability...
It is after all, a Toyota!

 

I've owned an '04 Discovery so I am familiar with them. For example, any plastic under the hood, or anywhere for that matter, will break if you look at it funny so don't touch that coolant line. And that the throttle body WILL freeze open if you happen to temporarily bypass the throttle body heater line because you broke that nipple. The preventative maintenance was not meant to be the main takeaway in that sentence, but oh well.

Your comments about the transmission not liking larger tires concern me. My current rig does that and it drives me crazy. I'm sure it's less noticeable with the 6spd over my 4, but still. It doesn't appear there's an option for different gearing for the LR3? I haven't dug too deep, but a cursory search didn't yield anything.

I certainly appreciate the input.

 

You really don't need different gearing unless you go larger than 32" tires and that is not very feasible for other reasons. Best choice is an LR3 with near-stock sized tires (let's say 30" OD or 31") and make sure to have an IIDTool.

 

I have just moved from a modded 1998 TDI D1 to an MY08 TDV6 D3, they are like chalk and cheese. The D1 is extremely capable, economical and reliable but the D3 is riding on a cloud. Economy is very similar despite the weight and double the power of the D3's TDV6, D1 is a very simple car mechanically and easy/cheap to work on.
I love both but unfortunately the D1 will have to find a new home.