Stepping up to a Disco 4
Trevor’s search for a new towing workhorse sees a new car in the yard
MY Land Rover Discovery 2 was sold last year for a number of reasons. It had been SORN’D (declared off the road) for quite a while because I wasn’t using it much at all. The main towing duties had been taken over by my VW Transporter van – which doubled up as a great vehicle for moving Defender body panels to and from the paint shop – and I no longer needed the seven-seat passenger carrying capacity of the D2.
I didn’t go looking for a buyer for the 2002 Discovery Td5, but when John Bowden of Gumtree 4x4 contacted me about a client who would pay good money for a well-sorted example, the timing was perfect, because I needed funds to commence the construction of a purpose-built workshop at my yard – a larger and more suitable paint shop for my Land Rover painting guru, Anthony O’neill. The VW Transporter served admirably in the role of general towing and load-lugging workhorse for almost two years, until the DVSA enlightened me on how close to the limit I was cruising.
I was on my way to the Cairnryan ferryport from Doncaster, with a full load of new Land Rover chassis, when the DVSA pulled me in for a routine weight check. While the GTW (Gross Train Weight) of the VW and contents with the trailer and the load, was indeed legal – and I was allowed to proceed on my way without fine or sanction – the combination was very close to the limit; certainly too close for my comfort!
Having realised that I really needed to switch back to the 3.5 tonnes towing capacity of a Defender, Discovery or similar, the VW Transporter has been booked in for a full camper conversion (something I had been considering for quite a while) and the search for an alternative towing vehicle commenced. Yes, I have a very good Defender 90 Td5 that would do the job – but for the long journeys to Doncaster for chassis collection, the Defender is not ideal.
What about another Discovery 2? The local market here had little to offer, unless I was happy with epic mileage and pretty tired bodywork. While I would be happy to fit a new chassis to the right candidate, I was seeing a few examples that required welding repairs to the body shell – inner front wings, sills, etc.
The Discovery 3 does not appeal to me. We have all heard of the expensive horror stories in general, but I have heard of quite a few close to home as well. As I write this a friend of mine is having his D3 assessed by BLRC Ltd in Co Down, following an unexpected breakdown – and this is a vehicle sworn (by him) to be the best-maintained Discovery 3 in Northern Ireland! For his sake, I sincerely hope that it is not the dreaded broken crankshaft!
In the absence of a clean Discovery 2, I decided to stretch myself to a Discovery 4 – contrary to the advice of Demand Engineering’s Dan Dew: “If you want reliability, buy a Toyota Hilux”. This coming from a man who is currently fixing his L322 Range Rover. As I mentioned, I don’t need much in the way of passenger-carrying capacity, so a Discovery 4 Commercial would be ideal. Instead of passenger capacity, I get a higher payload capability and the lower cost “Light Goods Vehicle” road tax.
A 2015 XS model was located with 85,000 miles on the clock and just within budget. The service history is excellent, as is the general condition. Time will tell if it was the right decision – or will I eventually need to search for Dan’s Toyota Hilux?