Disco 1 verses 2
Discussion
This must have been done before, but can't find it with the wonderful search tools on this site...
I'm looking to buy a disco as the family car, but also plan some green laning etc. I guess the budget is something like 3-7k. Previously had a 110 and a late Classic.
Seems the pros of a 1 are:
- simpler (I usually do all my own maintenance)
- better departure angle
- cheaper
- cheaper to mod for off road
pros of 2 are:
- less rust problems
- better on road handling
- interior a better place to be be
- the 6/7th seat (if present) are better.
Anything else I should be aware of? Happy if anybody knows an existing thread...
then all I have to decide is whether to buy with the head (and get my first ever diesel) or my heart (and stick with a v8).
Although I will offroad it, I plan to be a little more circumspect than I was in the 110..
I'm looking to buy a disco as the family car, but also plan some green laning etc. I guess the budget is something like 3-7k. Previously had a 110 and a late Classic.
Seems the pros of a 1 are:
- simpler (I usually do all my own maintenance)
- better departure angle
- cheaper
- cheaper to mod for off road
pros of 2 are:
- less rust problems
- better on road handling
- interior a better place to be be
- the 6/7th seat (if present) are better.
Anything else I should be aware of? Happy if anybody knows an existing thread...
then all I have to decide is whether to buy with the head (and get my first ever diesel) or my heart (and stick with a v8).
Although I will offroad it, I plan to be a little more circumspect than I was in the 110..
I'd went for a sorted D1. Was actually a Jap reimport so no rust.
D2 will suffer from corrosion as much as a d1. Also not all D2s have centre diff lock. There is more kit available for the D1. If you go for a diesel get one with out edc (ie not a late auto) and they are very tweekable with an intercooler upgrade.
With your budget you can send some cash tarting it up, such as new carpets and headlining and a better radio. New coils and dampers and tyres and a good service.
You'd have change out of 4k which gives you a pot for upgrades and repairs.
D2 will suffer from corrosion as much as a d1. Also not all D2s have centre diff lock. There is more kit available for the D1. If you go for a diesel get one with out edc (ie not a late auto) and they are very tweekable with an intercooler upgrade.
With your budget you can send some cash tarting it up, such as new carpets and headlining and a better radio. New coils and dampers and tyres and a good service.
You'd have change out of 4k which gives you a pot for upgrades and repairs.
Cheers.
word is that the diesel can cope with high miles. One advantage of the V8 is that there seems plenty with low miles whereas for the same money a diesel generally will have done double the miles.
I expect to do about 5k miles a year, so I think a V8 will cost about an extra £1k fuel per year. Given they are cheaper to buy, I think I could cope with that.
I'd prefer a manual.
word is that the diesel can cope with high miles. One advantage of the V8 is that there seems plenty with low miles whereas for the same money a diesel generally will have done double the miles.
I expect to do about 5k miles a year, so I think a V8 will cost about an extra £1k fuel per year. Given they are cheaper to buy, I think I could cope with that.
I'd prefer a manual.
Edited by balls-out on Friday 13th April 12:39
Again, having had both:
V8s dont like water unless you prep them well where as diesels are amphibious.
The diesels will do star ship mileage with normal maintenance. If things do go wrong parts are cheap.
V8s will start to need a bit of work once they get to 80-90K with camshaft wear etc.
A lot of v8s have been LPG which can be ok but depending on the installation the ignition system can be tempremental and the tanks can hinder clearance
V8s dont like water unless you prep them well where as diesels are amphibious.
The diesels will do star ship mileage with normal maintenance. If things do go wrong parts are cheap.
V8s will start to need a bit of work once they get to 80-90K with camshaft wear etc.
A lot of v8s have been LPG which can be ok but depending on the installation the ignition system can be tempremental and the tanks can hinder clearance
Like many on here, I've had both as well;
My D1 V8 Auto was simply stunning, always felt it could go anywhere, sold it with 120,000 miles and still gong strong but serviced it well.
Followed that with a D2 TD5 which was a much better 'car' but was bigger and at times more cumbersome than the earlier one. Cost more to fix as loads of gizmos.
For fun, I'd go D1, for everyday use, D2
My D1 V8 Auto was simply stunning, always felt it could go anywhere, sold it with 120,000 miles and still gong strong but serviced it well.
Followed that with a D2 TD5 which was a much better 'car' but was bigger and at times more cumbersome than the earlier one. Cost more to fix as loads of gizmos.
For fun, I'd go D1, for everyday use, D2
Agreed. We own 3 Discos, I'd have a 2 all day long for daily use (prefer to 3 or 4) and a 1 for playing in. We also work on Landies, make off road protection for them etc. Yes most D1s would have had some welding or need some by now but if you're playing off road a D2 is too nice to bash a lot. We're currently preparing a D2 for expeditions, it'll be used off road going to Spain but nothing excessive. A D2 you'll usually have traction control but then you'll end up wanting to fit difflock (most don't have one) they do corrode/rot as much as a D1, I've seen some in astonishingly bad condition
Edited by NEAM on Sunday 15th April 23:51
balls-out said:
Cheers.
word is that the diesel can cope with high miles. One advantage of the V8 is that there seems plenty with low miles whereas for the same money a diesel generally will have done double the miles.
I expect to do about 5k miles a year, so I think a V8 will cost about an extra £1k fuel per year. Given they are cheaper to buy, I think I could cope with that.
I'd prefer a manual.
A Disco 1 is really a classic Range Rover with some Defender bits. This means it really is pretty much a Defender with more elbow room, a nicer interior and more refined. And that's the crux of it. Sadly lots and lots of people don't realise this and then buy a D90 and moan about the interior and elbow room word is that the diesel can cope with high miles. One advantage of the V8 is that there seems plenty with low miles whereas for the same money a diesel generally will have done double the miles.
I expect to do about 5k miles a year, so I think a V8 will cost about an extra £1k fuel per year. Given they are cheaper to buy, I think I could cope with that.
I'd prefer a manual.
Edited by balls-out on Friday 13th April 12:39
The biggest issue with the D1 is going to be rust. That said it's mostly fixable and if you are prepared to look around there are still some good ones. Personally I prefer the 200 Series Discovery's and IMO they have the best interior of the lot (D1 and D2). You can also get a 3 door version, which I suspect in time will become more collectible.
Buying older will also give you more money to sort out the vehicle and modify it.
In terms of engines, the 200 Series had the 111bhp 200Tdi, this is the same output as the 300Tdi and only marginally less refined IMO. Many also claim the 200Tdi as the superior engine.
V8 wise, the early ones 3.5's with about 165hp in EFI state. That said these vehicles are so easily tunable that you could easily fit a cammed 4.6 into any of them if you wanted too, and for very little hassle.
The Disco2 looks very similar and follows a similar idea in design and construction, but it is a totally different vehicle in reality.
I'm sure they do suffer rust, but certainly not to the same extent and it hasn't been as apparent an issue with them.
The Td5 motor is lovely and in every measurable way it's better than the old Tdi' units. That said a tweaked 200Tdi will out perform a stock TD5. I'm also not keen on the stock tune/map on the Td5's which make the throttle pedal feel very digital, i.e. huge response from using only 20% of the pedal travel and almost nothing else if you use WOT.
D2's use different axles, these are more costly to mod/repair.
Lack of diff lock might be an issue, but mild off roading will not pose a problem. The TCS makes a HUGE difference. You can buy a kit to re-attach the centre diff lock, but I think there are a few years you can't do this on, so it's worth looking up.
In terms of ride and road holding, only the ACE (Active Cornering Enhancement) vehicles will handle better. ACE is a great concept, but make sure it's working and has been looked after.
Same goes for the air rear suspension on some models. The setup is fairly simply but seems to confuse the f
k out of dealers and independent specialists, so often people pay well over the odds to replace items that don't need fixing. The rear air bags/springs will leak and degrade over time, as can the pipe work. This then causes the compressor to run at full tilt to try and keep it all inflated which can knacker the pump.Personally I'm not overly keen on the D2 interior, it mostly looks cheap to me. But it's at least on par with the 300 Series D1's.
Overall a tidy D2 is probably a nicer road car, less wind noise, better wipers, heater. But for your budget you could have a truly sorted and bad ass D1 if you wanted too.
I'm running a D1 300tdi as a daily, we have 4 of them in the family and the only one that goes wrong is the auto box one!
Apart from that the other 3 run flawless, i choose the D1 over the D2 for many reasons but mainly it is a lot cheaper to fix and a lot easier to work on than the D2 and with the fuel pump tweak and a couple of little bits like de-cat, egr blanking it not the worst thing to drive
Rust... well everything rust eventually its just land rovers do it quicker!
If you do go for a D2 the best advice i was given was take a obd fault reader with you, i did read on another forum about a D2 that had problems so the new owner got a local garage to to run reader check on and it had a list of faults which didn't show when the ignition was on, so they took the clocks out and found the leds covered with tin foil!
Apart from that the other 3 run flawless, i choose the D1 over the D2 for many reasons but mainly it is a lot cheaper to fix and a lot easier to work on than the D2 and with the fuel pump tweak and a couple of little bits like de-cat, egr blanking it not the worst thing to drive
Rust... well everything rust eventually its just land rovers do it quicker!
If you do go for a D2 the best advice i was given was take a obd fault reader with you, i did read on another forum about a D2 that had problems so the new owner got a local garage to to run reader check on and it had a list of faults which didn't show when the ignition was on, so they took the clocks out and found the leds covered with tin foil!
issey23 said:
I'm running a D1 300tdi as a daily, we have 4 of them in the family and the only one that goes wrong is the auto box one!
Apart from that the other 3 run flawless, i choose the D1 over the D2 for many reasons but mainly it is a lot cheaper to fix and a lot easier to work on than the D2 and with the fuel pump tweak and a couple of little bits like de-cat, egr blanking it not the worst thing to drive
Rust... well everything rust eventually its just land rovers do it quicker!
If you do go for a D2 the best advice i was given was take a obd fault reader with you, i did read on another forum about a D2 that had problems so the new owner got a local garage to to run reader check on and it had a list of faults which didn't show when the ignition was on, so they took the clocks out and found the leds covered with tin foil!
auto box Apart from that the other 3 run flawless, i choose the D1 over the D2 for many reasons but mainly it is a lot cheaper to fix and a lot easier to work on than the D2 and with the fuel pump tweak and a couple of little bits like de-cat, egr blanking it not the worst thing to drive
Rust... well everything rust eventually its just land rovers do it quicker!
If you do go for a D2 the best advice i was given was take a obd fault reader with you, i did read on another forum about a D2 that had problems so the new owner got a local garage to to run reader check on and it had a list of faults which didn't show when the ignition was on, so they took the clocks out and found the leds covered with tin foil!
Tis the spawn of Satan. Giving a man free use of his other hand will just encourage self abuse - better he has a firm hard gear lever to grasp firmly... 
I like that.
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