DISCO TECH

WELL DONE Ed Evans and LRM for being brave enough to speak the truth about the much-maligned Discovery 3 (LRM, July). I agree that it is the most reliable and affordable of modern Land Rover models – and I’m fed up with the moaners who keep trying to destroy the reputation of this great model.

I blame the internet forums for creating this situation. A tiny minority of dissatisfied Discovery 3 owners have made a lot of noise and suddenly everybody accepts as considered wisdom that the car is rubbish. It is a fact that folk who are happy with their purchases tend to keep quiet and enjoy them, while the moaners shout the loudest.

This is probably good news for people thinking of buying a Discovery 3, because prices are lower than they would be because of this ill-deserved bad reputation. But it’s unfair and as I like to see fair play I’m happy to put my head above the parapet and declare that I am a very content Discovery 3 fan. I have owned three of them and they have all behaved impeccably.

The only issue that ever gave them a poor reputation in the first place was water ingress into some of the wiring. This was quickly identified and put right.

The Discovery 3 is every Land Rover owner’s dream car. It is a great performer, utterly reliable and doesn’t rust. What more do you want?

The irony is that most of the internet grizzlers who slag off D3s don’t actually own them. Defender owners are particularly guilty in this respect. It amazes me that they can sit at their keyboards typing vitriol about Discovery 3s while parked outside their Defenders are leaking oil on their driveways and slowly rusting away.

I would hate to see the Discovery 3 receive the same fate as the poor old Range Rover P38 – another Land Rover model with a reputation much worse than the reality.