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ontheridge
Member Since: 12 Oct 2005
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 59
  
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Hi all, my first post, its great to see a forum full of useful disco3 info.
I am considering a new TDV6 SE, this will be my first deisel and first disco. I have test driven both petrol and deisel SE a number of times now.
My questions relate to fuel economy, servicing costs and reliability.
Obviously another question mark hangs over the build quality of the new model considering the issue of years gone past.
So I'm looking for feedback from any disco3 owners, especially the Aussies.
I have to say that my impressions from the 3 test drives are exceptional and I'm keen to sign on the dotted line, but need some outside comments to get me across the line.
Thanks in advance,
Shaun
Currently driving a Subaru Forester XS Luxury, soon to be the MRS.
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 12th Oct 2005 11:06 am |
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brian
Member Since: 17 Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 13
 
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| Don't Consider... Just do it |
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First off this will be our fourth discovery, we've had every model thus far. We've now had the D3 about two months now and i still love to drive it, so much so that even with the price of fuel we just go out for a drive in the evening, its just a real pleasure to drive. Its got loads of power and just does whatever you ask of it. After we bought it, i fitted dvd player and screens in the rear (for the little ones), the first thing i noticed is that when you start looking closely at it / under it you realise how well its put together (unlike some of the previous models) with this one it all fits very well indeed. Just on this it can go against it at times, i tried to check a fuse and lost skin in the process.
One of the reasons we upgraded was the third row of seats, which work really, really well. Also we are planning on some big trips towing our caravan, which when we towed it for the first time it almost didn't realise it was towing over 2t of van.
Not sure about servicing costs as we've not had anything done yet, but from what i can gather the minor services at 12k are just oil.
Don't let the fact its deisel worry you, trust me its not like a deisel when you drive it, but then from your test drives you should have figured that out.
I could go on, but lets just say the wife gets to drive it most of the time  and i don't think we will be trading it in the near future.
ps. Don't let the MRS drive it, you won't get it back !
Brian
TDV6 SE
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| 12th Oct 2005 11:48 am |
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ontheridge
Member Since: 12 Oct 2005
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 59
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Thanks Brian, I too love the 3rd row rear seat set-up, although 1st child is yet to arrive, but only 7 weeks to go, can see the space will be handy with plans for a couple more kids and my love for the outback and camping. Have missed getting out of the city for last 10yrs running a small business, but the time has come to get back to the great outdoors.
How is your fuel economy?
Did you add any option & accesories at time of purchase?
Are you happy with the standard sound system?
Did you get rear air conditioning?
Sorry for all the questions, just great to hear from the horses mouth, not just a sales manager.
I have become more interested because the 2006 MY now has leather standard.
Thanks
Shaun
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| 12th Oct 2005 12:26 pm |
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David & Maureen Price
Member Since: 08 Jun 2005
Location: Adelaide South Australia
Posts: 16
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go ahead sign on the dotted line you will not regret your purchase and your wife will be very grateful to you.We ordered ours in April 2004 with a promised delivery date November 2004 which finally ended up with delivery date first week of April 2005.We have been Landrover customers for many years currently have a Series 2 Disco and a Defender Extreme,my wife commandeered the LR3 when it was delivered and now refers to it as her car.
We ordered the following extras rear air con ( Superb),Electronic rear Diff lock,expedition Roof rack,Nudge Bar.have covered 12,000kms up to now,with one mishap as recorded previously which meant six weeks at crash repairers waiting for parts to be flown out from the UK,I would not recommend the Nudge bar as even our repairer was not impressed with its mountings and was not surprised by it having fallen off in the sand.Most of the damage was to the Plastic bits behind the front bumper and the radiator and intercooler total repair cost $6000.
Other than that the vehicle has performed fantastically in all areas and we have covered most of the off road tracks in SA up to now.It is especially great at towing the caravan with remarkable fuel efficiency for such a heavy vehicle,with that extra bit of power to keep up with other traffic when on the freeway.
The local dealer (Prestige) have had the vehicle back this week to fix some minor problems such as broken clips for the floor mats,they have quoted about $300.00 for the service but we will do this in our own workshop as we carry spares and the correct oil to do the job. Owner of Defender 110 Extreme 1999 with Expedition mods,Series 2 Disco 2001& Series3 TDV6
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| 13th Oct 2005 2:57 am |
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PCH
Member Since: 12 Jan 2005
Location: Anywhere but work
Posts: 812
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Shaun,
Like everyone else said. Sign up and get one. TDV6 that is. Petrol is going to be too expensive to run in my opinion.
Economy in the TDV6 - city 11.3lt/100km driving carefully and highway 10 lt/100km.
This is without any load or trailer.
Get the rear diff lock as a mandatory option (remember it must be ordered with the new vehicle - it's not dealer fitted). I have a HSE so it came with 7 seats and rear a/c but I optioned the premium sound system (ie 13 speakers) and I'm happy with the quality. I don't have SATNAV as it is too expensive and I would only use the off-road screen to see the wheel positions and diff locks as a bit of a gimmick. Front wheel angle is shown in the driver's display and that is what you need but diff locks would have been nice to view engaging. I have adaptive head lights but I don't see the great benefit of them but cornering lights are useful in the dark streets. Front PDC is very helpful as well.
If you are after a roof rack get a Oval Tradesman Engineering one, it will be cheaper than the LR one and far stonger. If you want oval aluminum tube you can have that as well -it is about half the weight. You have options on the rack just call them and discuss your requirements. They are a great bunch of guys.
My dealer has fixed price servicing for the the life of the vehicle. Obviously if you need parts not part of a schedule service it would cost more. They showed me the scheduled pricing and it wasn't anymore than what I would have paid for my Subaru servicing every 6 months.
Chris 2011 Discovery 4 (MY12) SDV6 HSE with General Grabber AT's, Traxide Aux Battery system, custom rear drawers and Autosafe half height cargo barrier
Gone - 2005 Discovery 3 TDV6 HSE
ARB Bull Bar, Warn 9.5XP Winch, IPF D/Lights, Cooper STT's, LR Raised Air Intake, Traxide aux battery system, custom drawers and half height Autosafe cargo barrier, Mitchell Bros 4x4 tow hitch
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| 13th Oct 2005 11:56 am |
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ontheridge
Member Since: 12 Oct 2005
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 59
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Thanks guys, comments are great and now its time to see what sort of deal the dealer can do, he has looked at the wifes trade-in today so i'm sure we'll here from him soon, 4WD show this weekend so will have another chance to look around and ask more questions.
Interesting thing will be how long I'll have to wait.
Thanks again
Shaun
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| 13th Oct 2005 12:15 pm |
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ontheridge
Member Since: 12 Oct 2005
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 59
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Another question,
I have read alot about the suggestion of down sizing the wheels to 17" rather than 18" for a number of reasons, these being, cost and availability of 18" tyres and lack of balloon effect from 18" when deflating for sand driving.
What do you think, is it an option, do we stick with 18" on the SE, 18" look good and 19" even better. But 17" is a better offroad size.
Shaun
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| 13th Oct 2005 12:30 pm |
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PCH
Member Since: 12 Jan 2005
Location: Anywhere but work
Posts: 812
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ontheridge wrote:Another question,
I have read alot about the suggestion of down sizing the wheels to 17" rather than 18" for a number of reasons, these being, cost and availability of 18" tyres and lack of balloon effect from 18" when deflating for sand driving.
What do you think, is it an option, do we stick with 18" on the SE, 18" look good and 19" even better. But 17" is a better offroad size.
Shaun
My opinion is that if you get an SE or HSE with 18" leave these as stock wheels for driving around town. When you want to sell the vehicle down the track you can sell it as original. Don't try to trade your 18" for 17" even though they are LR wheels and it is a way to get 17" without paying for another set of wheels. Buy a set of 17" aftermarket wheels. You can find posts in theis forum of the 17*8" wheels available from Performance Wheels - about $300 ea.
The reasons for going this way are:
1. The D3 is beautifully quite on the road. If you only have one set of wheels and these have off-road tyres they will be noisy on the road. Also the off-road tyres aren't as good as road tyres on bitumen and give you a harsher ride.
2. Cooper have a LT245/70R17 that fits nicely on the 17*8" Performance Rim.
3. Your original wheels won't get damaged off-roading
4. You can't get an AT or MT in an 18" which is close to the original size at the moment. Some guys O/S have fitted the Nitto Terra Graplers which in my opinion is too big but it does fit (just).
Chris 2011 Discovery 4 (MY12) SDV6 HSE with General Grabber AT's, Traxide Aux Battery system, custom rear drawers and Autosafe half height cargo barrier
Gone - 2005 Discovery 3 TDV6 HSE
ARB Bull Bar, Warn 9.5XP Winch, IPF D/Lights, Cooper STT's, LR Raised Air Intake, Traxide aux battery system, custom drawers and half height Autosafe cargo barrier, Mitchell Bros 4x4 tow hitch
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| 13th Oct 2005 1:02 pm |
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brian
Member Since: 17 Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 13
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ontheridge wrote:
How is your fuel economy?
Did you add any option & accesories at time of purchase?
Are you happy with the standard sound system?
Did you get rear air conditioning?
Sorry for all the questions, just great to hear from the horses mouth, not just a sales manager.
I have become more interested because the 2006 MY now has leather standard.
Thanks
Shaun
Shaun,
To answer your questions;
I get around 11.3lt to 12lt per 100km in general driving around town mostly. I only had the caravan since last wednesday so haven't towed it anywhere yet, we've got a trip planned for the weekend so i'll let you know monday.
We bought the car as a demo, i didn't want to wait 6 or more months for one, it was a standard SE from what i can tell. We didn't want the leather or any of the HSE options so it was a good deal for us. The only things we had put on were front window wind reflectors, and the tow bar kit.
Trading up from the Disco2, the sound is fine we don't have an issue at all with it, and don't think the upgrade is worth the extra money (best off spending it on fuel !!)
Although we have three children and one normally ride in the very back we didn't think it a problem without the rear a/c, the cabin seams to get cool quickly and we've had the windows dark tinted to help, guess we'll have to wait to some real heat to see if we made the right choice on that.
If the dealer hasn't got one or can get one, then the worst part for you will be waiting for delivery (of the car that is)
Good luck to you and your wife in the coming weeks. Brian
TDV6 SE
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| 13th Oct 2005 1:26 pm |
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LRtuning
Member Since: 22 Feb 2005
Location: AUSTRALIA + UK
Posts: 468
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Consider the Turbochip upgrade for your Disco3 as we have seen a genuine 15% improvement over the standard TDV6 engine.
Fuel economy has risen from a 'mixed' 24 mpg to 28 mpg every day without fail...I even managed to get 33 mpg on a 'very careful' drive the other day  Money talks.Sex sells.Mud sticks.Time flys.  happens.People talk.Impressions last!
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| 13th Oct 2005 2:05 pm |
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Slimer
Site Moderator
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Last Exit to Nowhere
Posts: 16295
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Though 33mpg is easily achieveable on a standard engine on a long run. I average 28-30 on a daily 50 mile round trip with far too much time spent sitting in traffic The End
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| 13th Oct 2005 2:11 pm |
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LRtuning
Member Since: 22 Feb 2005
Location: AUSTRALIA + UK
Posts: 468
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Slimer...you must have a very gentle foot action
Seriously most of the cars we 'see' never return more than 24-26 mpg no matter what the owner does.
We are also running a standard RR Sport with the TDV6 engine and it never goes above 23 mpg.
Tips please Money talks.Sex sells.Mud sticks.Time flys. happens.People talk.Impressions last!
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| 13th Oct 2005 5:35 pm |
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Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
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I get 28mpg and mine is an auto. Follow Brians tips of changing up at around 2000 revs. I'm not known for a light right foot, but only by going 80 plus does it start to affect the economy. Mine has done 16500 miles though and this has certainly helped. DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
DS3 TDV6 HSE- Silver with Alpaca (new one) Gone
D4 HSE Lux - Montalcino Red Gone
Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel S
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| 13th Oct 2005 5:38 pm |
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BN
Member Since: 18 Mar 2005
Location: Here
Posts: 6463
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Landy's tend to get run in around the 12k mark, so I would expect the D3 to be similar.
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| 13th Oct 2005 5:40 pm |
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anthill
Member Since: 22 Jul 2005
Location: Busselton
Posts: 57
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The TDV6 SE is my third Disco, V8, TD5 and now the TDV6.
All have been very good to me so I hope that this is same.. I recently completed a 4500Km trip around the Pilbara in WA, 95% of the distance was towing a 2 tonne full height caravan and the average fuel consumption according to the computer was 15.6 litres/100K. When towing I prefer to use the command shift, feel like I have more control and can get it into sixth.
I have just had the first service done and it cost $280. The service came up on time (six months) rather than distance. The service indicator started counting down from 28 days.
The main purpose of the D3 is for towing as it was for my previous Disco's.
All in all a brilliant vehicle, there are now 2 TDV6's in our caravan club and a number of TD5's including my old one.
I have had no trouble apart from the rear PDC and although that will be fixed it did not bother me as I rarely used the auto brake release in reverse. TDV6 SE (Ausie Spec) COOOL Chawton White.
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| 14th Oct 2005 7:32 am |
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