The car has been unbelievably unreliable, and on 2 occasions whilst travelling abroad we experienced major problems, resulting on both occasions having to leave the car behind and return in a small hire car, thus leaving the trailer we had taken with us, stranded there too. Consequently this has involved another round-trip of having to collect the trailer, all at our own cost, which on both occasions the mileage has been 975km for each trip, so it wasn’t cheap! We also feel that it should be bought to everybody’s attention that Land Rover do not want to honour their warranty obligations, and fabricate lies to avoid paying out for genuine repairs, (please read the article “Battery & Transmission” for further details).

We just feel that potential customers of Land Rover should be aware of the fact that the Land Rover Discovery is not a reliable car, and after the sale care is non existent and is particularly bad from Head Office. The supplying dealer was a nightmare, (no longer a main Land Rover dealer) However the current servicing dealer Autonautica in Benidorm has been fantastic and always very helpful, the roadside assistance have been terrific too, (invaluable on the Land Rover Discovery) but in the long run it is Head Office that hold the key to providing the long-term solution, and thus it is with them we have the problem.

Hopefully, this forum will enlighten customers about our bad experiences, and also let other Land Rover Discover owners list there problems and grievances, so that prospective purchases of Land Rover products can see what they could be letting themselves in for, and subsequently that Land Rover realise the discontent of its customers and thus improve the reliability of the cars they manufacture and the after-car they provide for their customers, without whom, they would be out of business.

We feel that the product is fantastic in theory, but the practicalities of owning the car make the purchase of a Land Rover Discover a really bad and costly mistake, please feel free to comment on current articles, and add your own. We have an extensive Search Engine Optimisation and marketing campaigns and plan to make this website the major forum for all Land Rover models, we look forward to your help in achieving this.

For you Toyota lovers, that’s how you do it in the oh so practical Prius as well…

Of all the people beating this car up raise your hand…that’s what I thought. RAV4, Highlander, Escape; yadda yadda! this car may be a lot of things but it is not a flop, bomb, or a telephone booth. Yes I own one, but that does not mean I wont be honest; yes it has a bit of roll-over, and does not have the power of the X3 (not that’s a telephone booth). What it does have is alot of class, and luxury, with a bit of off road comfort and respect, yes respect!!

In my opinion if the Germans like it then Americans should love it, because I live in Germany I get questions all the time about our 2008 LR2 SE, and they are usually ones of admiration, or simply compliments. Oh and yes they still make the defender 90, 110 for Europeans only. As I was saying complimnets, such as the time I drove to Austria, with my wife, bother, and two children (5months and 3), for a ski trip. Naturally we packed EVERTHING into the “Landy” and had a great time; that’s 3sets of skis, skis clothes, toys, the baby stuff for a 5 day stay in the alps. The snowy switch backs, and ice were no worries. Still not sold, well on the autobahn it can hold its own at approx 120+ fully loaded, and yes you can still hear the 5.1 dolby surround sound alpine stereo the comes STANDARD (not to mention the other amenities that come standard)! Ford Escape Pha!
Yes it is $30K vehicle but for those who are looking in that price range it is very good choice, oh wait that gas mileage, I knew I forgot something; so what I can afford it. SO to the nancies that rip it apart jump in your plastic windowed jeep and try to keep up, chances are you wont last long!!!

A Land Rover feels more substantial, is more comfortable (rides better, is quieter), is , of course, way better off road, more luxurious (more ’stuff’). If these extra benefits are not worth it to you, then of course it’s not a better buy for you. But, if you care about these things, then it is.

For my wife and I, we both value a solid, heavy feeling to a car. While we’ve considered a new sedan to replace our 1994 MB e420, we haven’t. Most cars we’ve driven (newer Mercedes, Lexus, etc.) just don’t feel any better to us and usually worse – not as solid/vault like, no more comfortable or better riding, no more quiet, not much faster, etc.

Are they a bit faster, do they handle better, do they have more gadgets? Yes, but for us that solid feeling is paramount.

Lastly, regarding the LR vs Toyota thing. Please don’t write me off as some ‘extravagent yuppy’ – our current ‘SUV’ of choice is our 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser with manual windows and a 5spd ‘on the floor’. Now that’s a vehicle!

I read this vehicle is manufactured at the award-winning Ford plant in Halewood, rather than Solihull, which says to me they are making significant moves to stop the bleeding, so to speak. Why not, the company would be enormously and blatantly ignorant, and so would we, if we assumed they haven’t read the latest JD Power numbers.

So we’re waiting for Rover to make a modern vehicle that’s dead reliable; maybe this is it. Could be, couldn’t it? So far there is no evidence that this vehicle isn’t the trend-bucker. Owners reviewing this vehicle at Edmunds give it a 4.5 out of 5 rating, with mostly 5 out of 5 scores, most reporting no problems, and the 4-star categories are most often in fuel economy. So what. You’re not paying for their fuel, why do some of you sound so bitter about it?

I should add that reviewers who say they “hate” or “despise” all SUVs, in a review about an SUV, have really lost their credibility. The bottom line is, even with the issues, which are hopefully in the past, Land Rover owners are tenaciously loyal and love their Land Rovers. Obviously some other folks don’t appreciate this. I’m not sure that’s a reason to bash it. If you don’t get it, then don’t buy one. For me, it’s the best car on the road, period.

By the way, isn’t the name of the website “The Truth About Cars,” a bit arrogant? It’s not really supposed to be about truth, is it? As if all the other sites are “off” a bit, but you can feel good that if you come here, you’ll get the truth. Ya. It’s outlandish … I think I like it!

As for the reliability of the LR2, I’m looking forward to having a trouble free experience! I purchased one yesterday, and was happy to pay the asking price with all options available. It’s an amazing vehicle. This will be my fourth Land Rover in about twelve years, and based on the test drive, definitely the best one yet. What a great niche; the car is the perfect size, and they have really come around with the technical offerings!

Land Rover is not losing money for Ford. Land Rover is highly profitable. Jaguar is losing money and is in an enormous sales slump. Land Rover has had record sales in both North American and the world for the past two years and is on track to do it again for 2007.

I drive both and love both (except the horrid Fj Cruiser). I am restoring a sweet 1971 Fj40 Toyo Land Cruiser with the original i-6 and 3 speed.
I love it but I wouldn’t hesitate to trade for an old LR Series II 88 or a bronco of same vintage.
I’ve owned a Fj60 as well as FJZ80 Landcruiser. For some reason, they don’t inspire me as much as Land Rovers. Yet, I still buy them, wheel them then sell them when I get tired of them. In my lifetime, I will probably own every different models of the Toyota Land Cruiser and different models from Land Rover.

I wish they have the option for ‘technical fabric’ which is found on their G4 expedition vehicles. My old Freelander had it and I love that material. It is rubbery but breathes and never gets hot or cold.

As for the LR2. I like the fact that it has an upgraded engine. I only wish it had a low-range box.

And those who say these are based of the escape have no idea what they’re talking about. The LR2 lineage traces back to as far as 1994 (long before the Honda CR-V and Rav4). This platform is based of the extend EUCD (Euro Ford Focus/Volvo) platform and has a haldex awd system. Even though my last Freelander was AWD, there were places where the electronics were better than the traditional 4X4 systems. This works great in sand and snow. I reckon this performs better in sand than my Range Rover Sport (due to weight). It can’t rock-crawl but how many owners of RDX, X3s? go to the rubicon?

Welcome to this century. If the HMMVW, Dakar racers, rally cars, and Range Rover all have independent suspension, that means something. Solid axles are no longer the be-all end-all of offroad design.

That’s classic. I am getting too old to push though. I would gladly pay a premium for a defender, just not the insane premium that they go for now. Seriously, a defender with 100k goes for more than a new jeep.

YO, FORD!

Two words – DEFENDER! BRONCO!

Better to push a Brit car than be bored to tears with a Toyota. In my case, real world finances assures that the above dream will never happen. Therefore, I keep a garage full of Triumphs and BSAs.

WOW, that’s a triple garage full of Fords. From my point of view, in terms of late models, Porsche > Aston, Lexus > Jaguar, Land Cruiser > any Land Rover. And save lots of cash. Of course, yeah, I know, making the wise purchase may not seem cool to some. There is style and drama to be found in bursted hopes.

I love British cars, too. I have seven of them, and two bikes.

Check it out: http://www.landrover.co.uk/

According to a manufacturing survey in Europe, a “clean” diesel (mmeting US tier5bin2 specs) will cost at least $2k or more than a conventional gas engine. Think stronger internals, super-high pressure injection, turbo, intercooler, and the very complex particle filtering/NOX cat/urea injection. It’s almos the same cost premium as a full-hybrid over a conventional gas engine.

The other issue is whether the manufacturers will bring enough additional money to justify the costs of US-izing the engines, advertising them specifically, and supplying parts and training service technicians.

Does it really cost that much more? Maybe NICKNICK will chime in here since I know he knows about manufacturing costs, but aside from the fact that a Diesel engine needs to have a heaver block and stronger rods, there can’t be that much different. Sure they need more material to make the heaver block and stronger rods, but material costs can’t be the biggest cost, the biggest cost has got to be the machining and I can’t see the machining costing that much more on a diesel than a gasser.

My feeling is that the motors are very similar in manufacturing costs. I can’t think of a really good reason why (other than the stupid EPA) we don’t get small diesels over here.

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

/British is Beautiful

That’s all I have to say.

Better to push a Brit car than be bored to tears with a Toyota. In my case, real world finances assures that the above dream will never happen. Therefore, I keep a garage full of Triumphs and BSAs.