Discovery 3 felt very fast. Buying one with high miles?

[Piepiepie]

Also posted on the LR board, but that boards hardly moves fast at all. Anyway, copied and pasted:

I was the passenger today in a 2009 2.7 Disco3, the tdV6.

Goodness me it was great fun. It sounded beautiful, a gorgeous engine noise, and it felt very damn quick. It was the auto and just felt lovely and smooth.

I've always loved these cars, but never been in one before. How come it felt so fast? It's 0-60 is 11+ seconds according to the figures. It was 100% not the petrol v8. Was it just because i was a bit higher up or something? I cant figure it out at all.

Either way, i really want one. However, im looking for my budget, at something with over 100k on, maybe 110k at best. Is this a wise move or not? Im guessing it isn't cheap if something does go wrong on one of these.

Can someone also confirm if the engine is belt or chain? I believe it's chain, and if so, is there a recommended time to change this?

Very rarely have i fallen in love with a vehicle straight away, but this was just lovely.

[justtourin1]

Its a belt, changed every 7 years or 105k miles, which ever comes first. Not cheap to change if you go through a main dealer.
Check out www.disco3.co.uk

[300bhp/ton]

Piepiepie said:

Also posted on the LR board, but that boards hardly moves fast at all. Anyway, copied and pasted:

I was the passenger today in a 2009 2.7 Disco3, the tdV6.

Goodness me it was great fun. It sounded beautiful, a gorgeous engine noise, and it felt very damn quick. It was the auto and just felt lovely and smooth.

I've always loved these cars, but never been in one before. How come it felt so fast? It's 0-60 is 11+ seconds according to the figures. It was 100% not the petrol v8. Was it just because i was a bit higher up or something? I cant figure it out at all.

I've driven a few and always thought they felt good to drive, will certainly shoot up to 95-100mph no probs.

I wonder if the 11 sec to 60 is either conservative, or is due to being slow for the turbo to spool off the line. Once moving they are no slouch and can easily be remapped too.

Piepiepie said:

Either way, i really want one. However, im looking for my budget, at something with over 100k on, maybe 110k at best. Is this a wise move or not? Im guessing it isn't cheap if something does go wrong on one of these.

They suffer niggles, silly little things going wrong. But fairly tough overall. If you want perfection then they probably aren't for you, however if you can accept a few foibles, they are fantastic vehicles.

There's quite a variance in spec, not all come with air suspension or Terrain Response. But depending on what you want it for, these might be better.

Piepiepie said:

Very rarely have i fallen in love with a vehicle straight away, but this was just lovely.

LR's have a habit of this.

[anonymous-user]

Can i suggest the OP never gets a lift in say, oh, a GT3 RS or similar. I suspect they may actually die of a heart attack.......... ;-)

[HowMuchLonger]

Not fast at all.

You have to be very cautious when pulling out at roundabouts due to the sluggish acceleration.

Lots of wind noise above 90mph.

Otherwise fantastic, spacious, and capable car.

[john banks]

I was in a TDV8 RR late model recently and that also made an impressive noise and accelerated well considering its size.

My daily driver does 0-100 in about 7 but this still felt fast.

There is something nice about the sensation of torque moving something large

[AndyT77]

I know someone who has a newish one, looks so much more classy then the RRS. I think if i needed or desired some sort of huge 4x4, one of these would be at the top of the list.

[tr7v8]

The belt thing, it is actually 2 belTs cam and HP pump. Each is arround 3.x hours on an S-type and both @ 105k

[margerison]

I always thought it a pity that they've never put the V8 diesel lumps in any of the Discos. The 2.7 V6 really is underpowered for such a hefty barge.

[sjc]

margerison said:

I always thought it a pity that they've never put the V8 diesel lumps in any of the Discos. The 2.7 V6 really is underpowered for such a hefty barge.

Not underpowered at all.Some need the gearbox software re-booted to learn another driving style which might affect some. It's the most complete allrounder, and plenty quick enough in the mid range to keep up with everyday pace and more.Ours is now at 70K miles and would only be changed for another one, if at all.

[Nurburgsingh]

+1
Truely the most complete car you can buy, I flipping live mine it just does everything.... Brilliantly

[littleredrooster]

We've had several on the fleet with over 200,000 miles on them without any serious failures, unlike the Nissans, Toyotas and Mitsubishis.
The only thing they seem prone to is occasional handbrake faults when the damn thing won't release electronically.
Truly the best 4x4xFar IMO, and the only one I would have if I were in the market.

[anonymous-user]

The 2.7 was barely adequate in the S-Type Jaguar, so I imagine it's really quite sedate in the Disco. As you say, lovely noise for a diesel.

Do Land Rovers have the same gearbox problems that seem to affect Jaguars at 100K? It's the same ZF6 gearbox, but Jaguar seemed to have sprinkled some British Leyland fairy dust on it to make it extra specially problematic.

[sjc]

dme123 said:

The 2.7 was barely adequate in the S-Type Jaguar, so I imagine it's really quite sedate in the Disco. As you say, lovely noise for a diesel.

You imagine wrong. It's tuned fo more torque I believe in the Disco, and never(to me)feels underpowered in normal driving, even jumping in it after a drive in the Noble.

[tr7v8]

dme123 said:

The 2.7 was barely adequate in the S-Type Jaguar, so I imagine it's really quite sedate in the Disco. As you say, lovely noise for a diesel.

Do Land Rovers have the same gearbox problems that seem to affect Jaguars at 100K? It's the same ZF6 gearbox, but Jaguar seemed to have sprinkled some British Leyland fairy dust on it to make it extra specially problematic.

The 2.7 in the S was more than adequate & one of the reasons mine went is because I was going to get nicked for serious speeding. Also the box is used in the equivalent BMWs & Mercs & has the same issues. Change the fluid & not treat it as sealed for life and it is fine.

[300bhp/ton]

dme123 said:

The 2.7 was barely adequate in the S-Type Jaguar

Really?