I have owned 2 FJ80's and an XJ. My buddy across the street has owned 8 Disco's and says they are a love hate relationship. First thing you need to know about a disco is they all leak oil. The head gasket needs to be replaced every 80K miles or so. Over the last 15 years all but one of his disco's has left him stranded at one time or an other and he is not a heavy off-roader. He usually gets stranded on the freeway. The head lets go with out any warning. He has also had electrical, transmission and a catastrophic tcase failure on the freeway. A few months ago he sold his last disco and he is happy to be disco free. It was an amazing one of a kind 2 door with a pickup bed. This was the only disco that never failed him. This rig had an amazing custom built roof top tent.
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It's easiest easiest for me to compare the FJ80 to the Montero. I have owned 2 of each. Both of my FJ80 were 1996 model years. the second one had the lockers, 3" OME lift, 33" tires, Safari snorkel and several other goodies. While it was very capable offroad I had several complaints. Fuel mileage is 13-14mpg and it does not matter if you are in the city or on the open road. The rig is very under powered and the tranny is not very refined when compared to the Montero. The other major complaint I had was with leg room. The Montero has lots more leg room and head room in all 3 rows. I am about 6'8" and I can sit comfortable in the second row of a Montero with the front seats all the way back. My 7 year old struggled to sit comfortable in the second row of our FJ80 with the front seats all the way back. As far as cargo space is concerned, I think the Montero has a bit more room inside, but I could be wrong. Another thing to consider is while the Montero is an IFS, it is more robust than the Toyota solid axle. I would not hesitate to run 37" tires and a front locker on the Montero's IFS. It is a very stout and over built IFS. The Montero's 9.5 rear is much stronger than the 8" rear found on the FJ80. The other thing that annoyed my about the FJ80 is there are no cup holders, not one in the entire vehicle. Heated leather was never offered, it only has one power outlet, while the Montero has 3 power outlets. The FJ80's spare is mounted under the rig and acts like a huge anchor when offroading. So plan on having to pay an addition $2000 to address this issue on the FJ80. THe Montero's spare just mounts to the rear door and oversized spares fit just fine on the Monteros rear door. The other major difference between the two is the tcase. The Montero offers a 2wd, AWD, 4hi and 4lo. The FJ80 only offers AWD, 4hi and 4lo. The FJ80 does not offer 2wd high and the 1994-1997 model years while the larger engine and lockers can not be modified for a 2wd mode. Don't get me wrong, the FJ80's are great rigs, and they can be modified to to overcome most of there short comings, but it would be much cheaper to do an SAS to a montero, than modify an FJ80 to over come all it deficiencies and the Montero would still get 6-7 better mpg. Those mods to the FJ80 would include a rear bumper and tire carrier, gearing solutions for both front and rear axles, a custom built tranny and torque converter, aftermarket heated seats, etc. All of this can easily add up to $8-10K. Don't get me wrong, I think the FJ80 is a great platform, but if you can get past the idea that the Montero has IFS you will be shocked how great these rigs are. Here is a pic of my last FJ80, it's kinda hiding behind my truck.
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The XJ is kind of a difficult comparison. The XJ is not very refined, it's parts like the axles are only big enough for mild mods, it squeaks, rattles and rides rough. The doors are paper thin, the engine is powerful, yet noisy. The tranny shifts rough, the AWD mode is worthless because of torque steer. The three great and redeeming qualities are the 4.0L, the coil sprung solid front axle, and there durability. Out of the box a Montero with a rear locker will run circles around the XJ.