Land Rover Review

The Land Rover Discovery 3 - you'll either love or hate this mammoth of a 4x4 tozw car. I know where my affection lies.

I have long been a fan of Land Rover despite some of the issues that surround these vehicles. I have owned a series of Land Rover Defenders which really are the workhorse of the 4x4 world and many years ago, I briefly owned a Land Rover Discovery as I fancied a little luxury. That experience put me off Land Rover Discoveries, I thought, forever. It was one of the worst cars I had ever owned, it leaked, it rolled all over the road and went rusty at an alarming rate. Despite this, you could see the potential in this vehicle if only Land Rover could have built them properly and applied a modicum of quality control. I sold the Land Rover Discovery after nine months of ownership after a hair-raising journey to casualty one evening with my eldest son.

The last of the Land Rover Discovery Series 2 models had significant improvements with extra roll stability and the advantages of the TD5 engine, however, under the skin was the old Disco and there was no escaping the problems that the later models had inherited. There soon came the launch of the Land Rover Discovery 3 with rave reviews from the motoring press and numerous awards. The shape was bold and aggressive and the new Discovery looked every ounce a mighty 4x4 off-roader. What was different this time was that Land Rover had created a vehicle that was unbeatable off-road but had lots and lots of on-road refinement. I was seriously tempted by this new leviathan and despite my better judgement took the plunge into Land Rover ownership once more. I needed a vehicle that would easily tow a 1.7 tonne twin axle caravan and could get me around in the depths of a Northern Scottish winter. After surveying the competition: Mercedes M Class, BMW X5 and VW Toureg, I purchased a new silver Land Rover Discovery SE TD6 2.7 diesel.