RE: Discovery kaufberatung!

Hello Jacques,

this is René from the Netherlands, and I am a proud owner of a Disco 3 S including air suspension system and Comfort-package (e.g. cruise control).
Since I have driven a Volvo XC90 for 1.5 years before, I think I can give you a quilified and reliable comment on your issues, at least to a certain extend.

I completely, 100%, totally disagree regarding the quality aspect ! I would say that JD Powers is lying !

The quality is as good as in an XC90 at least. This is mainly due to the solidiness of the interior - there is no queecking or rumbling at all. This might result from the fact that the car was designed to be used in heavy terrain, so it would be quite annoying when things would "loosen up" in time.

The interior is not as smooth as in the XC90, and this of course applies to the outside also. However, I do not think that it is the standard offroader with down-to-earth functionality either. I would say it is inbetween: smooth enough to be representative, but also brave enough to see that it does what it stands for. I like this idea, and it certainly distinguishes the care from other, smoother SUV, who partly are convincing by there power engines, but do not by their offroad qualities.

The differences when compared to an XC90:
- smoother engine because more powerfull
- more suitable for cruising
- better on highway (cruising)
- not as fast
- excellent and easy driving in terrain
- less aggressive, less suitable for fundriving
- more silent inside
- more functional, but beautifull designed interior
- driver seat is not as good, but better as in most cars
- solid outside appearance
- less easy handling (weight)
- feels bigger and heavier (but not as a small van !)
- quite good sound quality from standard radio/cd

When compared to the other cars which you take into perspective: I would say that is a question of the need for offroad capacities and preference for design. If you like the best of both world (on- and offroad): the LR3 is your car.

By the way: I know about a number of buyers here in the Netherlands, who came io the dealer to by a LR Range Rover, and who decided for the LR Disco3 because of the very good engine.

I hope this is of some help.

Question: where can i find that lying article of JP Powers ?

Regards,

René.

RE: Discovery kaufberatung!

J D Power interviewed thousands of car owners (100.000 or so) and concluded, based on this very large sample size, that Land Rovers have the worst quality of all cars. The best ones are were Lexus, Toyota, followed by Americans. European cars were, in general, the worst (except Jaguar, BMW, Porsche). The study is available, for fee, in J D Power website and was widely quoted in the world press just before the summer break.

I discussed with some car professionals who confirmed that LR is indeed very bad but is mainly due to the Freelander model, which is apparently a disaster. Ford has already decided to move its production to the same factory where Jaguar is produced (Jaguar was the best European brand in the J D Power study). LR was also effected by Discovery 2's quality, which is also bad.

There are also several websites dedicated to LR quality (such as this one: http://www.haveyoursay.com/).

There is a dealer in Trier selling new Discoverys at massive discount (15% or so). Does not sound too promising...

What about the residual value of this car? Does it keep its value better or worse than the competitors?

...who the hell is J D Power ?( ?( ?( ?( 8o 8o

@ 5480


@ rene 12 - I fully agree.

@ my friends in this community...

After more than one year driving and more than 30.000KM with the D3 TDV6 HSE, I frankly can tell you:

My Discovery III is a bloody fucki' brilliant car.
I can garantee - and I'm not yet old enough, driving a MB ML.
I would buy it again - immediately.

Please tell that to Mr. J.D. Power.

I desperately hope, that helps. ;-))

cheers - hank.

In my opinion, the "S"-model is a bit too naked, missing the automatic climate control and some other items. Also, the standard alloy wheels are a little poor.

If you don't want leather seats, I suggest taking the "SE"-model to upgrade it as far as you wish to.

Discovery sucks?

I agree; S is very naked. However, SE costs some 5000 euros more. And then we are only 5000 euros away from M/X5/Q7 category!!! As a result, I have not given serious thoughts to SE.

Any idea how are the sales volumes between S, SE and HSE?

I see that Discovery 3 is selling twice as much as f.ex. Jeep Commander but still less than Touareg or XC90. Does it indicate that the vehicle is not on high demand if I try to sell in couple of years?

I also see that LR has recently booked 50% less provisions to cover guarantee costs. Does it indicate that the quality has improved?

The JD Power survey could be found here:



LR is the 2nd worst brand, based on a survey of 14.000 people.

So what does LR say?

"...commenting to Auto Week magazine on Land Rover’s bottom placing in the survey, Al Kammerer, Land Rover/Jaguar director of product development, said Land Rover had fixed the problems detailed in the survey, which related in part to electronics involved in changing Range Rover engines from BMW-supplied units to Jaguar engines. Land Rover engineers did not account for all the different electronic connections that a Land Rover must mate to, compared with Jaguar, which triggered fault codes in the software that lit up the vehicles’ engine warning light.In addition to the engine warning light, J.D. Power survey respondents mentioned brake noise and difficulty closing the Range Rover Sport's tailgate...."

Finally, whatever model I decide to go ahead, what are the MUST options every Discovery must have? My current car (1999), for example, does not have A/C so it is close to improssible to sell it (except in Siberian market). So I keep it as a 2nd car.