DISCOVERY
WHAT’S AVAILABLE?
There have been five generations of Discovery and for £10,000 you can invest in all but the very latest model, which was only launched last year.
Of the rest, the Tdi-engined original Discovery is the cheapest. You could buy two of the very best for £10k and still have enough change to treat them to a full service. Like the Range Rover Classic, with which they share the same 100 inch ladder chassis and underpinnings, they suffer from body rust, but the chassis tend to last.
Good Discovery 2s also come cheap and few if any will have an asking price of £10,000. That’s because unlike the Discovery 1s, they have chassis that rust very badly indeed. But the body panels are usually corrosion-free and the Td5 engine is very reliable.
But most punters clutching a £10k bundle of notes will be looking for a good Discovery 3 or 4. I’m lumping them together for the purposes of this article because they are very similar vehicles (at least outwardly). Early Disco 3s had a reputation for unreliable electrics, largely because some of those electrics were placed in locations where water could get in and wreak havoc. But Land Rover soon put that right and we have no hesitation in recommending both models. The big V6 diesel engines are reliable, powerful and reasonably economical. The V8 petrols less so.
Rust isn’t an issue on these well-made cars and, because they only went out of production earlier this year, they look as modern and stylish as ever. They are probably the most versatile Land Rover ever built, converting easily from a seven-seat people carrier to a capacious van, as the seats fold flat into the floor. As an added bonus, they’re unrivalled as tow cars.
PRICES
The options for £10,000 are a brace of his-andhers Discovery 1s, or maybe £5000 for a very low-mileage Disco 2, plus £5000 to have it rebuilt on a galvanised chassis. That would be £10,000 well spent, as the D2 is an excellent car let down only by its rust-prone frame.
But you’re really looking for a Disco 3 or 4, aren’t you? In which case you’re in luck, and can expect either a very good Discovery 3 or an average-to-good D4. And what a wise investment either would be.