LR Discovery - 200 or 300 TDi. which is best?

[eltax91]

Hi folks. I've been looking at some off readers to get into as a cheap hobby and amongst others have been looking at the LR Discovery. Just read and ad in the 'trader which, in part said "this is a 200 TDi, not a 300 as in ad title, but every enthusiast knows it's better running gear"

So, is there anything in this or is this just drivel from a seller trying to get more hits by putting 300 TDi in the title? Were there any major differences in the two cars? Parker's indicates 300 was marginally more powerful, not enough to make any difference to me. I'm hoping to get SWMBO involved in this hobby too - and someone else told me the clutch on the 200 was significantly heavier than a 300 too.

So, any LR enthusiats or owners of both put me straight please?

[Gray_101]

Hi, Ive a 200 tdi and my dads got a 300 tdi, i drive them both alot and on short trips theres nothing in them,,,,,,,

But if i have to do a long journey say 50 miles or more, i always take the 300 tdi.

i think the 300 tdi is just that little better to live with, its overall a slightly better engine

Edited by Gray_101 on Sunday 11th April 22:18

[al1991]

300. Fair bit quieter, smoother and I seem to remember they're more frugal? My mum had a 300tdi Disco, great car.

Stats wise they're exactly the same BHP/torque.

[dome]

Get yourself over to www.landrovernet.com-loads of info and a good friendly forum. I'd be more concerned about getting a solid disco to start with-they can get mighty rusty!

[pugwash4x4]

there's not really a huge amount in it- a lot of the parts are interchangeable!

agree with pregious poster that a 300tdi is a bit quieter, a touch more powerful, and a bit more frugal.

Biggest problwem is making sure that you don't buy a car which will fall apart around your ears though!

[Fish981]

What other's have said, there's not a lot in it. Worry about the rust before anything mechanical.

[jbi]

I prefer the 200tdi myself but in all honesty you can't go wrong with either of them,

As previously mentioned, rust is a bigger concern.

It's almost impossible to find a good example these days

[300bhp/ton]

eltax91 said:

Hi folks. I've been looking at some off readers to get into as a cheap hobby and amongst others have been looking at the LR Discovery. Just read and ad in the 'trader which, in part said "this is a 200 TDi, not a 300 as in ad title, but every enthusiast knows it's better running gear"

So, is there anything in this or is this just drivel from a seller trying to get more hits by putting 300 TDi in the title? Were there any major differences in the two cars? Parker's indicates 300 was marginally more powerful, not enough to make any difference to me. I'm hoping to get SWMBO involved in this hobby too - and someone else told me the clutch on the 200 was significantly heavier than a 300 too.

So, any LR enthusiats or owners of both put me straight please?

Ok, a few pointers on 200 and 300Tdi engines.

Essentially they are very similar engines, same block and both hail from a much older Land Rover engine.
Power in the Discovery is the same for both, the 200Tdi Defender was slightly less powerful, hence the discrepancy often quoted.
The main difference with the 300Tdi is they tried to make it slightly more refined. I believe this had a slight trade off in mpg though. It is quieter, but not by an amount I’d worry about tbh. It also runs slightly more boost (but you can tweak a 200Tdi to the same).

All 300TDI’s on a Disco will have a CAT and EGR and very late examples have a dumb ECU setup on the injector pump, making them less tuneable.

Both 200 and 300 can be tuned to the same level. Normal tuning involves a bigger intercooler and tweaking the injector pump. Both engines will see around 150hp and be very different to drive over stock.

Other vehicle changes:

Interior

300Tdi has a different interior. Personally I think it’s a down grade from the original Discovery interior. Cheaper looking and feeling parts and a much more enclosed design, whereas the 200Tdi’s always feel very airy and roomy.

Exterior

Subtle changes on the outside. Different grill, headlights and indicators. Also bigger and better door mirrors (early Disco’s used Range Rover mirrors). And different door handles.
I think there 3 door body was still available in the 300Tdi, but much rarer than the 200Tdi 3 door.

Drivetrain

Big difference here is the R380 gearbox instead of the LT77 in the 200Tdi. Essentially an R380 is a redesigned LT77 and has the reverse selector in a different part of the H. Not really anything else to worry about, they are similar enough in strength and use that most would never know.

Axles, at some point the Disco went to using 24 spline axles instead of the earlier 10 spline ones. The 24’s are slightly stronger, but again I wouldn’t worry too much about it as they are very similar.


Personally I’d buy on condition more than anything. And if you only plan to do low miles maybe look at a V8 also. Most V8’s are autos but there are a few manuals about. And most diesels are manual but again there are a few autos. Early V8’s are 3.5 EFI with around 165hp and latter V8’s are 3.9 EFI with around 180hp.


In terms of off road ability – what do you want to do with it?

The Disco is a capable off roader, very capable in stock trim and lots of upgrade parts. It’s quite comfy, can carry people and stuff and fairly good on the road. However it is reasonably big, so off road will feel clumsy and large compared to other off roaders.

So depending on budget something like a Suzuki Jimny, Jeep Wrangler or even a Series Land Rover might be a better bet.

[Fish981]

300bhp/ton said:

All 300TDI’s on a Disco will have a CAT and EGR and very late examples have a dumb ECU setup on the injector pump, making them less tuneable.

Wasn't the ECU only on autos? The EGR and Cat are easily removed though.

[300bhp/ton]

Fish981 said:

300bhp/ton said:

All 300TDI’s on a Disco will have a CAT and EGR and very late examples have a dumb ECU setup on the injector pump, making them less tuneable.

Wasn't the ECU only on autos? The EGR and Cat are easily removed though.

Might be right about the ECU. And yes mods can do anything