Discovery Sport vs. Grand Cherokee Overland vs. 4Runner TRD

[nwoods]

Filson edition AEV Rubicon

 

[SDDiver5]

I just rode in a 15 T4R Limited and it was very luxurious and very nice but it sure did lack on power. My co worker driving really had to punch it to get any power/torque from it. And my head was about a half inch away from hitting the roof. I'm just over 6 feet tall so if that applies to you...

 

[KyleT]

Missed the towing requirement. The disco sport is out if you are towing anything. It is slooow and underpowered.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[toylandcruiser]

I just rode in a 15 T4R Limited and it was very luxurious and very nice but it sure did lack on power. My co worker driving really had to punch it to get any power/torque from it. And my head was about a half inch away from hitting the roof. I'm just over 6 feet tall so if that applies to you...

There's more to the story I have an 05 4runner and I never have to punch it to get any kind of power from it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sydneyman]

I can only speak to our '11 grand cherokee overland with the hemi. Black on black/tan interior
features:
quadralift(air suspension with the turn dial terrain response thingy. snow, sport, rocks etc.)
hemi v8 with that multiple displacement thingy. dont seem to notice when it changes to 4 cylinders.
air conditioned seats
front and rear heated seats
blind spot assistance
rear view camera
adaptive cruise control
auto bi-xenon headlights
auto high beams
rain sensing wipers
braking assist(it alerts you that something is in the way and will actually slam on the brakes. kind of disconcerting at first)
"trail rated" package with tow hooks, skid plates etc.
remote start
keyless entry/proximity door unlock/lock
rear seats recline (for some reason this is the most impressive to me... )
automatic lift gate with remote operation
full sat nav/bluetooth music/phone, sat radio etc.
the moon roof is the entire roof of the truck. kids love to see the whole thing open at night...
full tow package which includes the 4 prong and 8(?) prong trailer electric hook up. these with the air suspension are great for towing. probably its best ability
gets 22 highway which to me is hybrid levels of mpg compared to my rangies...

problems weve had:
lift gate shock hydraulics can fail
sat nav has trouble dimming at night time. have to do that manually for now
a/c went out because a cheap plastic fitting failed at a line connection. jeep covered this outside warranty
all the automatic stuff is just not quite there yet. great as gadgets but sometimes it tells you to brake when nothing is in the road, that kind of stuff.

Its been a great truck but i wouldn't want to own it much longer outside of warranty...

 

[sydneyman]

reading my post again it makes this truck sound terribly unreliable. thats not the case. ive had no issues whatsoever with powertrain stuff. in fact this is the easiest truck ive had to perform maintenance on. theres even this little metal flap that directs oil from the filter after you unscrew it so that it doesnt just drip all over the place. theres a flap in the underbody protection that allows access to the filter without taking off the whole panel. spark plugs are easy to get to (despite having 16...), that kind of stuff. i think the gadget unreliability/complexity has more to do with modern cars in general than this particular model. i qualify my last statement in the last post by saying i wouldn't want to own ANY modern vehicle very long outside warranty. hope this has helped.

 

[calicamper]

reading my post again it makes this truck sound terribly unreliable. thats not the case. ive had no issues whatsoever with powertrain stuff. in fact this is the easiest truck ive had to perform maintenance on. theres even this little metal flap that directs oil from the filter after you unscrew it so that it doesnt just drip all over the place. theres a flap in the underbody protection that allows access to the filter without taking off the whole panel. spark plugs are easy to get to (despite having 16...), that kind of stuff. i think the gadget unreliability/complexity has more to do with modern cars in general than this particular model. i qualify my last statement in the last post by saying i wouldn't want to own ANY modern vehicle very long outside warranty. hope this has helped.

Ive come to the same general conclusion regarding vehicle tech vs issues. Battery died in my 2010 OB dog hit the hatch light and it was on all night. Same general funky switch memory resets needed that I had to sort out on grandpas SLK 350 last month when he bumped the parking light switch and killed his battery.

I simply have decided google and a service book is needed if you plan on owning any modern car today and want the ability to self diagnose and fix. That and all computer crap will have wonky odd stuff happen at times so I just shrug and figure if it works 80% of the time its fine Ha!

You know its bad when Siri nails the cause on your first attempt asking Siri waht the problem is. LOL
She nailed our fuel pump failure before we even rolled to a stop on the shoulder outside of Elko NV. Damn Siri....

 

[Eric Edwards]

The way landrover is starting to badge some of its products is leading to some confusion , the discovery sport is not A discovery (LR4 in usa) It is more akin to the Freelander 2 which it is replacing . The same as a RRS is more a LR4 with a different body than a Range Rover ( we call FF (full fat) HTSH

Progression:

- Discovery Sport (LR2)
- Discovery (LR4)... yet to be released

- Range Rover Evoque
- Range Rover Sport
- Range Rover

You notice the Sports precede the full size and more expensive edition. E.g. The Range Rover Sport vs. the full size Range Rover.

 

[Fivespddisco]

Hi folks -

I need to buy a new SUV in the Madison, WI area and will use it most of the time on pavement, but for some play time I want to enjoy it also off-road.
Hence, I am looking at these to buy new.

2015 Discovery Sport:
- have not driven the sport, but the LR4 at an event by LR and I was very positively surprised by its capabilities (Drove the same route in a Defender and the LR4 was so much smoother
- I love the adaptive cruise control in general, but it seems it will not yet be available on the Sport for 2015
- does not have a diesel engine

2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee:
- all the luxury stuff I want
- has the adaptive cruise control
- has a diesel engine

2015 Toyota 4Runner TRD:
- reliability (?)
- TRD equipped
- not the luxury I seek
- no adaptive cruise control
- no diesel engine

Now - my questions:
- which one would you recommend? and why?
- which one is the better to pull an off-road trailer (like the Moby1 XTR :drool off-road?
- which one is the better one for the cold winters in WI?

Any feedback is appreciated!

Thx,
Stefan

Stefan
I was able to spend some time with the Disco Sport and I think it would do fantastic for you in the WI winters and handle fire type roads with out a hick-up. But the other two vehicles you are comparing it to are much larger. To be apples to apples you would want to compare it to an LR4. The LR4 should be able to stand its ground with ease compared to the other two on road and be every bit as capable off-road if not more so.

 

[discotdi]

Missed the towing requirement. The disco sport is out if you are towing anything. It is slooow and

It's not the LR you need if you want to tow heavy loads, but it's far from underpowered. It has 58 more HP than the V8 Discovery and more torque, yet it weighs about 1000 pounds less. It has plenty of get up and go. The 9 speed tranny is great.

 

[KyleT]

After spending time with the disco sport, I would really discourage it for anything but mild fire roads and absolutely no towing. The transmission is terrible and the power is really lacking imo.

And comparing it to a v8 disco 1 or 2 is insane. Not even close.

The disco sport is aimed after the rx350 and apparently the Subaru Forester crowd.

For towing I would seriously consider a V8 lr4 or bite the bullet and buy a Range Rover or rr sport. But bear in mind the 5.0 has a bunch of issues with the timing chains and water pumps.

This doesn't answer any questions except don't by a disco sport...

Edit for the cost, look into the gx460 or 200 land cruiser/lx450. Both proven platforms.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[xray132]

Like my GC also

I can speak for the GC. I have a 2014 fully loaded Overland with the Eco diesel. I can appreciate the consistent 22mpg in town, last trip to the coast at 26.7mpg. I pull a fully loaded, with water and 4 cases of wood inside, 25ft travel trailer. Trailer runs my mpg down to 18. The diesel Overland comes standard with a posi rear end. Off road it needs the exact needs of my LR3. Lift rods, a real set of tires 32.5 or it may take 33's. ARB even makes a winch bumper for it. I love the adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitor, rear camera, bumper sensors and approaching side traffic sensors. Diesel's cheaper than gas in the summer travel months. Nothing bad to say about it.

 

[Dalko43]

I agree with a lot of what has been said previously.

Limited test driving experience with the Grand Cherokee (V8). It certainly has much better on-road characteristics than the 4Runner, though I can't speak for the Discovery Sport.

I own a 2011 4Runner Trail. People are divided on the exterior looks, interior setup, ect. but this thing definitely performs its intended duties well. It has no problem dealing with snow/ice (with the right tires) and feels supremely confident going over rough roads, trails, uneven terrain, ect. The 4wd and transfer case though can only be used on slippery surfaces or when you expect wheels to come off the ground. There is no center differential per se, but the front and rear drive shafts essentially become locked together when engaging either 4wd HI or LO (for the SR5 and trail editions, the limited is different since it has an actual center diff). So this means you have to use discretion when you engage 4wd on those models.

Otherwise, I've had absolutely no complaints about my decision to buy a 4Runner.

I'd say your SUV choice should mirror your planned activities.

Do you plan on towing a lot and/or lots of highway driving and just want something that handle the snow/ice and the occasional dirt road? A Grand Cherokee or Discovery would probably make sense.

Do you plan on seeking out and driving lots of trails and unimproved roads? Do you have eventual plans to mod and make your SUV more off-road capable? The 4Runner would probably be a better bet for you.

 

[calicamper]

Stefan
I was able to spend some time with the Disco Sport and I think it would do fantastic for you in the WI winters and handle fire type roads with out a hick-up. But the other two vehicles you are comparing it to are much larger. To be apples to apples you would want to compare it to an LR4. The LR4 should be able to stand its ground with ease compared to the other two on road and be every bit as capable off-road if not more so.

The sport is in the small lux SUV market

Examples of the competition would be

2016 Mercedes GLC the former GLK
BMW X3
The little Jeep SUV thing that looks like a Hyundai SUV

Which case the only diesel competitor which has a very very respected Diesel would be the Mercedes which case the older version 2015 and older GLK's are said to be pretty decent towing rigs given their short wheel base. The twin turbo 2.1L 200hp 360lbft diesel seems to impress the diesel heads. But the US spec version of the GLK lacks the advanced off road logic they get over seas. Mercedes may get smart and include the fancy off road crawl logic stuff in the new redesigned version. I mean for gods sake Subaru offers Xmode in their upper trim models. These days all your doing is providing more advanced logic for challenging traction conditions so its not like these companies are spending considerable $$$ to include this in their soft roaders.

When it comes to the high price tag lux micro SUV's it seems there are only three players Range Rover, Mercedes and BMW. I wouldn't consider any of them to be hard core off roaders. They are more city slicker soft roaders for compact parking needs and city life etc.

 

[mpinco]

..... The 4wd and transfer case though can only be used on slippery surfaces or when you expect wheels to come off the ground. There is no center differential per se, but the front and rear drive shafts essentially become locked together when engaging either 4wd HI or LO (for the SR5 and trail editions, the limited is different since it has an actual center diff). So this means you have to use discretion when you engage 4wd on those models.........

In summary, the technology equivalent of my 70's Scout.

As for vehicle choice consider towing, snow/ice, 4WD trails and a platform to modify. Why immediately limit your capabilities?