Intrigued by the LR3...currently have an 06 Montero

[2to4wheels]

I don't know why (I'm sure you guys do!), but over the past week or two I've been really intrigued by the LR3...don't tell my buddies a page over! I will first say that I love my Gen 3 Montero with 150K miles and it's been good to me. Very capable, family friendly, and ride quality is excellent. But with 2 kids and a dog, I feel like I desire a little more cargo room with I believe the LR3 has little more of. Honestly, I don't really know much about the LR3 or Land Rover in general other than the normal "reliability" challenges.

So...any of you have experience with a Montero want to chime in? Or what makes the LR3 great. I do understand that reliability has been better than everyone thought but what are the known major issues? Prices just seem really attractive and before I really start a committed build, I want to make sure I've got a rig that works for me. I will say, that this would be a weekend warrior rig and double as a light daily driver...I work from home.

 

[cornfarmer]

I had a Gen 1 and Gen 2.5 Monty. Each were solid, but there was a lot of deferred maintenance I had to deal with on both, more so on the 2.5. Gen 1 was my favorite by far, it ran great because almost everything on it was rebuilt.

I wasn't even looking at LR3's seriously until I went and checked one out on a whim. It was much easier to find a nice one that had been taken care of compared to all the trashed and neglected Monty's out there. Super comfortable inside, and the 4WD is really good. I found a good deal on a basic/stripped trim level 2006 V6 from a well-to-do family that maintained it properly. It's been over a year now and it's been 100% solid. All it needed was new tires. The tow hitch was a little painful, as the OEM hitch wasn't included and it's $200-300 on the used market.

I loved that Gen 1 but can't say that I miss it compared to how good the LR3 is.

 

[2to4wheels]

I had a Gen 1 and Gen 2.5 Monty. Each were solid, but there was a lot of deferred maintenance I had to deal with on both, more so on the 2.5. Gen 1 was my favorite by far, it ran great because almost everything on it was rebuilt.

I wasn't even looking at LR3's seriously until I went and checked one out on a whim. It was much easier to find a nice one that had been taken care of compared to all the trashed and neglected Monty's out there. Super comfortable inside, and the 4WD is really good. I found a good deal on a basic/stripped trim level 2006 V6 from a well-to-do family that maintained it properly. It's been over a year now and it's been 100% solid. All it needed was new tires. The tow hitch was a little painful, as the OEM hitch wasn't included and it's $200-300 on the used market.

I loved that Gen 1 but can't say that I miss it compared to how good the LR3 is.

The Gen 3 is nice truck...and mine has services records from day 1 so I really don't have any issues with it. I wouldn't mind finding one with lower mileage but as you said, there aren't that many out that haven't been trashed and since they stopped bringing to the US in 2006, it's a tough find. I think I may wonder out to drive and LR3 and see what my experience is. The nice thing is given the maintenance history and condition of my Monty, and the beauty of supply and demand, I think I could get $7K for my truck on here or another forum. So we'll see...

 

[454]

All of the issues are well-documented here and over on nas-row.com. Do some searching and then settle in for a good bit of reading.

 

[DiscoDavis]

They are fantastic cars. Their 4x4 computers are magic and are pretty much point and shoot right up until the bog point on the vehicle. Great ground clearance. Strong recovery points built into the frame, instead of the older cars having only transport tie downs. Routine maintenance is still DIY friendly, suspension and drivetrain more complicated and harder to service, expensive. Lots and lots of electrics, both good and not so good. Simple interior for the range but excellently laid out inside. Huge cargo space, good seats, good stereo, great driving position. So much nicer to drive than the Defender or Discovery 1, 2. The 4.4 AJV8 motor (2005-2009) is one of the best engines they ever fitted to a Land Rover. Discovery 3 is made to eat up miles, and will sit happily at 5mph in dirt or 85mph on asphalt. Ford V6 is nice too, but almost same fuel economy, bit down on power, and so few people have them they can be difficult to get advice on maintenance.

The better forums for the Discovery 3 line are Disco3.uk and the landroverforums.com section on the D3/LR3. Tons and tons of threads with very good technical insight. Nas-Row is good..., more defender specific. Very good technical manuals available for download in several places.

 

[2to4wheels]

any model years preferable over others?

 

[JackW]

I had a 2007 until two weeks ago - put over 50,000 relatively trouble free miles on it in four years and liked it so much that I decided to buy a 2017 Discovery 5 diesel. It really is a world of difference between the previous Discoverys.
The 4.4 V-8 is a great engine - 300 HP and better fuel mileage than a D1 or D2 will ever see. Its a great road trip car and can tow up to 8000 lbs. I towed a 22' enclosed car trailer with a 356 Porsche inside to Amelia Island twice with mine.
One of the guys at Uwharrie who has a shop in Charlotte says they have never had to replace an engine on one - even on customers cars with over 300,000 miles on them.

 

[cornfarmer]

Re: the Ford V6, if you find one with this engine, don't let that deter you too much. IIRC it's the SOHC 4.0L that's been around since the late '90s and what was used in Rangers/Explorers/Mustangs, but the engine itself has been around for many years. So, more than likely, easy to fix or get fixed if anything should happen, but I think their track record is fine. It's not a neck-snapper, but that doesn't bother me, the exhaust note is actually pleasing when I stomp on it.

 

[DiscoDavis]

Re: the Ford V6, if you find one with this engine, don't let that deter you too much. IIRC it's the SOHC 4.0L that's been around since the late '90s and what was used in Rangers/Explorers/Mustangs, but the engine itself has been around for many years. So, more than likely, easy to fix or get fixed if anything should happen, but I think their track record is fine. It's not a neck-snapper, but that doesn't bother me, the exhaust note is actually pleasing when I stomp on it.

Nothing wrong with their track record. Main gripe is nobody on the forums can help as much as the hundreds who maintain the jag motor. Every single 4.0L thread devolves into a guessing game. That and the mileage is the same as the V8.

 

[JackW]

Plus the 300 HP of the V-8 makes it feel like a hot rod compared to anything but a supercharged Range Rover in typical Land Rover experiences. Get the V-8.

 

[454]

Plus the 300 HP of the V-8 makes it feel like a hot rod compared to anything but a supercharged Range Rover in typical Land Rover experiences. Get the V-8.

Agreed. Going from a D1 to the 3 was eye-opening. Better mpg's, twice the power, lots of cargo space, drastically improved road manners.