Land Rover Discovery 4 Landmark | PH Private Area
Everyone's favourite Disco, in lavish run-out spec, with barely any miles - get in line, people
Amazing though it seems, the Land Rover Discovery will soon celebrate its 35th anniversary. Those very first three-door models were launched in 1989 - good luck finding one of those today - and the fifth generation still ranks as one of the best family SUVs out there. Perhaps the Disco isn’t thought of as a Land Rover icon (or not to the same extent as the Defender or the Range Rover, at any rate) but it has established quite a legacy for itself regardless. Especially as its maker veers towards a more 'lifestyle' approach as electrification looms...
Like every long-standing nameplate out there, fans will have their favourite Discovery era. Except unlike those others, there’s sort of one clear favourite for everybody who cares about Discos: the 4. Improved in every regard compared to the 3, and more effortlessly stylish than the 5 which followed it, the 2009-2016 Discovery has carved out a nice little niche for itself as The One To Have.
This looks like being one of the very best. Because the Discovery was so well suited to pretty much any task it faced, from motorway mile munching to mud plugging and seven-up family trips to school runs, they were used - and used pretty hard. Yet here’s a 2016 SDV6, one of the last versions of the more powerful diesel made (on a 66-plate, no less), with just 22,000 miles. That really doesn’t happen very often. Adding miles to a Disco will never be a cheap endeavour, but such is its all-round aptitude that many deem it a price worth paying.
This particular Disco 4 is also a Landmark model, a run-out edition loaded up with equipment and offered at a discounted price. Perhaps hard to justify when these sorts of things are new (because it’s still a lot of money for an old car) it becomes more appealing a few years down the line for used buyers. To top-of-the-range HSE Luxury spec (and for £4,000 less), the Landmark added black accents, extended leather and shiny silver roof rails of all things. It wasn’t a ritzy special edition, which wouldn’t have been right anyway. Cool, classy and understated was always the Disco 4 way.
Still is today, this one gleaming in Waitomo Grey and looking every inch the cherished, low-mileage Land Rover. Bought as an approved used car earlier this year by just its second owner, the Discovery has had Land Rover servicing all its life and a factory warranty that runs until January 2024. A cambelt was done with the MOT just last month, with some Land Rover accessories added in 2023 also.
It’s hard to imagine many, if any, Disco 4s remaining like this one: last of the line, barely 3k a year, and presented just about flawlessly. Perhaps Discovery die-hards aren't clamouring for such a recent model just yet, but the reputation and enthusiasm for this era of Land Rover is only likely to head in one direction. It’s being sold to fund a commercial vehicle purchase, and is for sale at £37k. The most you’ll pay for a Disco 4 then, but with good reason.
SPECIFICATION | LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SDV6 LANDMARK
Engine: 2,993cc, V6 diesel
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 256@4,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 443@2,000rpm
MPG: 36.7
CO2: 203g/km
Recorded mileage: 21,600
Year registered: 2016
Price new: £55,995
Yours for: £37,000
I know people who could easily have a newer car, but they seem to cling onto their 4s as the load area even of the new Defender, while being probably a better drive, just doesn't seem to match the practicality in their view.
3 babies went through that, thousands of miles, swallowed everything, I would say it’s the best car we’ve ever owned. Never even hinted at breaking down.
We bought a 5, still have that, it’s a ‘better car’ the 5, but the 4 is the car we would still have and want so badly, that 4 shape - was superb tbh.
I think £37k for this is aok.
Disco 4 - one of the all time greats imho.
All outside of my budget and needs though, but if I needed such a beast, these are the ones I would want and this one looks particularly nice.
A friend of mine repairs and services them and told me there is one particular sensor that's a body off chassis job to replace - that was it for me!
....lovely though and I would have liked liked to have owned one.
The price seems bonkers but doubtless someone will pay that as where else could you find one with this spec and mileage?
These run out ones do look good, although I slightly prefer the slightly more discrete HSE luxury version. Bit s
t that the one in the ad needed a new propshaft at 14,000 miles!! (The centre bearing rubbers do wear, as the mot history, but the accepted fix is a whole new shaft - a bit more money for the part but less labour). It replaced a Disco 3, which was a moneypit!
The 4 was a great car and we replaced it with an Evoque with the kids all out of child seats, and then subsequently replaced by an XC60. Now we have a dog the thought is to go back to a Disco 4, as they are such great all rounders, the later ones are also cheaper on the road tax.
£37k is strong money and I would rather have a £20k one and worry less about it than this one.
I also personally prefer the 'other' Landmark alloys....
You still see a lot of the old money lot around here driving them and they still look so, so good.
All us new money types have moved onto the defender in murdered out spec obviously!
I Love my D4 and just cant replace it, the D5 is a great (less practical) car but a decent SDV6 is still strong money and the new defender has a laughably small boot as well as being very expensive and underpowered with the 4cly diesel.
Reliability wise ive been really happy with mine over 70,000 miles in 3 years, prop shaft and a few suspension bits but otherwise spot on. Talking to friends who had them it seems the ones that get 'babied' around all the time don't like it, mine gets a thrash almost every day!
Cue it blowing up on the way home from work now ive said that!
I had a Discovery 2, also a Landmark, for 11 years and loved it. When it came to change I seriously considered one of these but the horror stories and potential for wallet emptying problems saw my head over rule my heart and I bought a late Freelander 2 instead. I don't need the 7 seats and 90% of the time it's me on my own in the car so the smaller size and slightly better fuel economy makes sense. I still look enviously at late high spec Disco 4s though.
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