Do any of you guys have experience with any of these vehicles? My wife and I went to look at them tonight but we don't know much about them. We looked at the Discovery and were impressed with it. It has a lot of room inside. We have been considering a Durango but discovered that my wife can get a deal on the LR through her employer. Any advice would be appreciated on either vehicle. Thanks.

Brian

My wife had a discovery for the briefest of moments, (well, ok, about 8 months) it was a great truck, only problem is it did not want to start at all in cold weather.  Land Rover went over it every way they could and could not find out why.

We traded it in on a Range Rover for her and she has been *really* happy since.

Go with the rover...You'll be real happy if you ever go to sell it..UNLIKE THE DODGE...

I say go with the Land Rover, especially if you can get a good deal on one. I don't think you'll be sorry. These things have lot's of power, and handle like a sports car instead of an SUV. The ride alone is worth it.

And while we haven't had it off road or in the snow yet, I have complete faith in it. The Land Rover has been proven all over the world.

My wife got a great deal on one a couple of months ago (better than she could have done on a comparable Durango) and has completely fallen in love. The leather seats don't hurt.

Seriously, take the Rover out for a spin, I think you'll see what I mean. Good luck either way.

Drake, go for the Rover. I've owned almost every model and still have a Range Rover and Ser.II 90 and they are very, very hard to beat. They will take you anywhere you want to go and get you home with no trouble. The ex-wife had a Durango and that thing would get stuck in wet leaves.

We were looking at a 2001 DiscoveryII for just under $30K. It was loaded up with everything. The 2002 Durango that we looked at was going for $2K under invoice. I know the reputation of the LR and its high resale value but I have not heard any "testimonials" about them. How are the repair costs on them as they age? I heard it is pretty high? Thanks for the info and keep it coming!

Brian

I have never owned either.  However, there is a thing called 'The Camel Challenge' (I think's that's right) that they do every few years where teams in off-road vehicles go trekking through the jungles and they test several SUV type vehicles every time to see which is best and they always use the Range Rover/Land Rover/Discovery line of vehicles.  If you could watch the challenge, it gives you a great idea of what those things will do.

I have two older LR's (60's/70's) and have been involved in a couple of clubs that had plenty of newer Rangies and Discos. Had a good friend owned a 98 Series I, had about 6 non scheduled trips during its first year. Leaks and annoying electrical stuff, never left him stranded though. Although somewhat reservedly, I'd recommend the Disco.

Perform great off road, though the Series II is more road oriented than the Series I. Spotty build quality still, even though Solihull was taken over by Ford. They will get it straight, as they did Jag, but still not 100% there. Still much better reliability than 3 years ago.

Chryslers build quality is nothing special either. I'd say even, or slight edge to Disco.

Cost of ownership for LR's is high, especially in higher mileage vehicles. Call and get quotes for 30k and 60k maintenance. You might be shocked. Think 30k was nearing $1000. 60k was more. Long term durability aint the best. Series I seals tend to leak, dashboards peeled, engines had trouble with timing belts (TDI200 diesel not available in US); this in units with less than 100k miles. Id hope these things have been fixed with the intro of the series II.

No idea on Durango.

Resale? LR's hold their value. My low mileage Series III has appreciated - I see them selling for $10-$15k. They’ve actually doubled in value in the last 10 years. So there’s a strong enthusiast market.  Current models? Specifically Ive no idea, could always check bluebooks.

I enjoy my Rovers, but, to admit my bias, Ive had great luck with Toyota. I looked at the Rovers in late 99, ended up buying a Land Cruiser for my wife. If Rover had the diesel available here in the US, I might have bit.  I just wasn’t impressed with the 3.5 V8.

As noted above, if you have specific questions, be happy to answer.

Luck
Alac

If you just want a grocery getter get the Durango,it is easier to get serviced,cheaper to buy and faster on the road but if you want an actual off road vehicle the landrover is the ticket,you can't compare the solid axle/loacting arm suspension of a Disco to the beefed up sedan suspension of a Durango with any seriousness.The newer Discos are better than the older ones due to a higher axle spline count and improved engine computer.Another nice thing about the Disco is that the engine can be retrofit with military 101fc engine parts that will get rid of fragile electronics and imrpove your water fording ability in the event of SHTF for about $300.You will lose a tiny bit of HP,a lot of fuel economy and you might gain a little low end torque(most important for offroading)while making you rig EM proof.The Disco is simple to work on but getting someone who will even take a look at it seems difficult.I got my racecar mechanic finally to look at it after a year of hime telling me he didn't want anything to do with it and he was totally surprized to find simple American truck technology under the hood.I had a Range Rover County SE for over ten years and I loved it.I hated paying for those expensive parts but once I joined the rover club and found out how many American parts could be adapted to it I saved a lot of money.I never had to replace a single "hard part" on that vehicle even after 8-10 years of hard core off-roading,I only got rid of it because I needed a pickup for my work.

Another thing,buy a stick shift model not an automatic.Automatics these days are electronically controlled and are more prone to breakage than they were in ages past and anything with a bunch of electronic solenoids in it should be avoided like a disease.My RAM Cummins diesel is proof of that.Get a stick in anything you plan to use hard(unless it's an old American 1 ton made before 1986)and you will be happier about it 10 years from now.



Good Luck

I have a 2001 Durango 2x4 with the 5.9L (360 cid), and I love it.(The 5.9 is not really common in 2 wheel drive, most of the new ones I saw have the 4.9)
Anyway, it hauls ass (more or less for an suv) it has 3 rows of seats, two of which fold down for a nice amount of cargo space.
it rides nice IMHO, and it looks good IMHO.
I didn't buy it to go smashing through the woods, or mud with though.
Before I became a firemedic, I worked as a mechanic in a busy transmission shop located in a town where there were alot of 4 wheel drive "enthusiasts", so I have worked on more mud covered, busted up 4x4s than I care to remember. And (IMHO) I just can't condone spending 30 grand on a nice vehicle, and then beating the shit out of it [stick]
If I wanted an offroad vehicle, Id buy an old K5 Blazer, or an old Bronco, and keep the Land Rover, or Durango, or other nice "luxury suv" on the pavement.
If you are shopping for the family ride,...I like my Durango, and Land Rovers are Damn nice as well,...get what turns your crank (I personally would go with a new Trans Am, with the six speed tranny, and the WS6 350hp performance package!)[:)]

personally, i hate the dodge, but objectively, their is no camparison between the two. the dodge is a "sport utility" and the LR is a pure badass. get the rover

Go with the Disco!
In regards to the shipment of Defenders into the US, don't hold your breath. Land Rover is "inflexible" in their desire to put the US mandated safetyfeatures (ie. airbags) into the Defender line, saying that it would defeat the soul of the beast and render in unsafe for true offroading because of the possibility of airbag deployment if the vehicle were to impact with a rock or terrain at rockcrawling speed. I have a '94 and a '95 hardtop and I love them both. good deals can be had on all Land Rover models over at www.lrx.com,or Rovers North out in Vermont usually have a few for sale. Rovers north also usually has some pretty cool conversions, superchargers, TDI's for the 90 and 4.6 HSE engines shoehorned into the front of some guys beloved 90's. Their is tale of a guy that is importing 90's and 110's in parts and assembling them into brand new gray market vehicles. price-75,000+. Good luck, but beware, hardcore offroading WILL siphon off of the gun funds in a big way!
-Chopperdave

Having been in the automotive field since '72, I can emphatically say "GO WITH THE DODGE" !!! I have a Dodge Ramcharger (old Blazer type Dodge Sport Utility, 1989, with over 300K miles! It still has the original engine, never had a valve job, original trans, and only normal maintenance(2 water pumps,2 radiators,2 plug wire sets, and normal oil changes and brake jobs. I was working in a dealership last year and saw a Discovery blow up its transfer case trying to get a state inspection sticker !!!! Mostly yuppie types buy these here in Massachusetts, and most of them are broken more than they are running. Labor rates: Land Rover $90/hr------ Dodge $55/hr. Last year on vacation in AZ, I rented a Durango. You wouldn't believe where I took that thing. My wife couldn't believe that a vehicle could get some of the places I took it while elk hunting, and I only put it in 4 wheel drive once.  Ultimately, it's up to you, but for me, I'd personally take the Dodge.

bowhuntr

Neither. Get a Pinzgauer, or a Unimog..(Laughs)

How do you say "Daimler/Chrysler"in German?

The "Chrysler" is silent.

Meplat-

OK, Dodge may not be 100% American, but the plant where the Durango is made is 100% AMERICAN.  I don't know where the Land Yacht is manufacturered, and don't really care.

I own a 2000 Durango 5.9 R/T with full time 4 wheel drive and man this thing scoots.  Third seat in the back folds down for a large cargo area.  Second seat [b]also[/b] folds down for an even [b][i]larger cargo area!![/b][/i]

Went through last years's Michigan winter with no problems.  The only thing that has gone wrong was a 5 cent spring that became mis-aligned in the remote steering wheel controls (radio and cruise) which was replaced free of charge in 15 minutes.

Just take a listen at the back end of both vehicles, you'll buy the Durango.  

HoldHard
Dodge - The New Mayor of TruckTown

The only thing that I can find wrong with the Land Rover is gas mileage, you ought to get a Suburban with the 496 if you want better gas mileage.

They are designed to be used and abused offroad, get an SE and see how it is, take it for a test drive and go up over some curbs.

Thrash it like you stole it,
Ice

Hunter223:

Hola:

(1) Take the engine out
(2) Ship me the Chassis assembly sans Engine
(3) Ship me the Engine separately
(4) both are importable as they are parts and not a vehicle
(5) Ill split the $70k with you, see above

Seriously, Ive seen 110's go for idiotic prices, same with allegedly pristine examples of 88's and 109's ($30-35k). But always ways to separate a fool from his money.

Hunter223 - what engine? 200TDI or the V8, curious.

Luck
Alac

Get a Durango, there is no comparison in off road ability to the Land Rover.

The Military Land Rovers, and the Discoveries you see used in the Camel Trophy, are NOT stock and are NOT legal in the United States. They have the Perkins diesel that is not federalized for sale in the US. The Camel Trophy Discovreies have Land Rover front and rear ends and suspensions and wheel/tire packages.

See this is why the 75th Rangers have the Land Rovers and not Jeeps, Jeep doesnt have a diesel and they wouldnt accept gasoline. Sadly at the time the Army put out the contract Daimler didnt own Chrysler yet, if it happend now there are several Mercades diesels that would fit in the Wrangler engine bay.

Durangos have no air suspension to blow out or get electrical gremilins, higher ground clearance, and greater wheel travel than the Range Rover. And if you dont intend to go off road, don't get a suv.  For the same money you can get a nice Audi station wagon with Quattro that can handle any weather condition on pavement you can find.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread, it will be a tough decision between the two. The guys at work seem as divided as you all do but mostly their opinion is followed by the
"Buy American" phrase. They don't have any practical experience with these vehicles. Any good web links to off road events that might feature these SUV's in action? I did a search but came up mostly empty handed. I don't intend to do any intense off roading but some of the places that I drive to for hunting season are not the most friendly environments. My Wrangler never had a problem getting in these places but now that I am married with a couple of dogs I need the extra room of a SUV.

Brian