1997 Land Rover Discovery Tdi ES review from UK and Ireland
"Potentially superb vehicle ruined by poor manufacturing quality"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Very high rate of wear of brake discs.
Oil leaks on delivery.
Oil leaks down transmission shaft making hand brake ineffective.
Severe galvanic corrosion of "rust proof" aluminium panels where bolted to steel wheel arch. Land Rover refuse to accept this is a manufacturing fault.
Poor paint quality - lots of bubbles even before end of warranty which Land Rover refused to accept as their problem!
Electric sunroof sticks open.
Security wheel nut on alloy wheel sheared when changing a tyre. At least I was in Kettering rather than the Kalahari.
2 replacement CD players. Third has just failed.
In-car entertainment controls on steering column stopped working long ago.
(The camshaft disintegrated on my first Tdi (1994) at around 70,000 miles so now I am starting to get nervous as my current vehicle approaches this mileage).
General comments?
Phenomenal off road performance.
Very practical option of 7 seats or large load carrying area.
Plenty of driver space and great visibility for comfortable long-distance driving.
Unbeatable for towing a trailer.
A bit tight for rear seat passengers and wheel arches intrude into hip space. Also body roll is unpleasant on B roads for rear seat passengers with any susceptibility to motion sickness.
If you want to overtake you need to start planning one week in advance.
Very disappointing build quality for a car of this high reputation, specification and purchase price. Far inferior to BMW X5 or Mercedes M series.
Land Rover Customer "Service" are totally disinterested in valid complaints about vehicle build quality.
Unless I am convinced Land Rover (aka Ford/Jaguar) have improved their build quality, I will regretfully replace my Discovery with a German or Swedish equivalent, sacrificing absolute off road performance (not so important in UK) for superior build quality and on road performance.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Year of manufacture | 1997 |
| First year of ownership | 1997 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.5 turbo diesel Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 6 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 8 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 30 miles |
| Most recent distance | 67000 miles |
| Previous car | Land Rover Discovery |
| Date of Entry | 25th July, 2003 |