Out with the Cruiser in with the Rover

[jdlobb]

After many months of deliberation and shopping and soul searching I gave my 1998 Toyota Land Cruiser to my brother, and purchases for myself a 2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport.

Obviously not expecting it to be the beast that the Cruiser was, but so far I have been nothing but impressed with my little Disco Sport.

I needed something smaller, more fuel efficient, and more suitable for daily driving than the big old Land Cruiser, and the new Disco Sport fit the bill perfectly.

In fact, less than 12 hours after putting pen to paper at the dealership I was in backwoods Oklahoma bouncing through ruts, up gravel hills, and fording a little river above a waterfall. The little Disco Sport performed perfectly, and was a great companion for an impromptu weekend camping trip in the backcountry.

Space is at a premium though, giving up my big Cruiser with it's rear box and ample cargo space wasn't easy. But I managed to tetris everything i needed for the weekend into the little Rover. A Front Runner roof rack is coming literally as soon as they're back in stock somewhere though. New A/T tires are going on in the next week or 2 as well.

Here's to a few years of softroading and light overlanding.

But so far, I'm in love with my new Rover.

 

[vasily]

We sold our 2013 4Runner limited V8 when we bought the a2013 LR4 HD. No regrets either.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[krick3tt]

I sold my 1973 Pinzgauer 710M and bought a 2007 LR3 HSE. Love the Rover but still miss the Pinz on occasion.

 

[naks]

Yeah, the DS is surprisingly capable off-road.

I think LR missed a chance there by not equipping it with a Low Range box, it could have been a starter off-roader for small families looking to get into off-roading/overlanding!

 

[soflorovers]

Yeah, the DS is surprisingly capable off-road.

I think LR missed a chance there by not equipping it with a Low Range box, it could have been a starter off-roader for small families looking to get into off-roading/overlanding!

The Disco Sport has a very low first gear. Frankly, I think the DS' biggest flaw isn't the lack of a low range box, but rather the fact that it uses (or rather used) a Haldex AWD system.

 

[jdlobb]

The Disco Sport has a very low first gear. Frankly, I think the DS' biggest flaw isn't the lack of a low range box, but rather the fact that it uses (or rather used) a Haldex AWD system.

I noticed this as well. The parking garage in my apartment has very steep circular ramps, my Land Cruiser goes up them in 1st gear, the DS does them in 2nd.

 

[jdlobb]

order placed for:

265/60/R18 General Grabber APT tires
Front Runner Slimline II Roof Rack + axe bracket & shovel bracket

wasting no time

 

[Carson G]

The Disco Sport has a very low first gear. Frankly, I think the DS' biggest flaw isn't the lack of a low range box, but rather the fact that it uses (or rather used) a Haldex AWD system.

Yeah I really wish it had a true permanent 4wd system.

 

[jdlobb]

Yeah I really wish it had a true permanent 4wd system.

yeah, would be nice, but it doesn't seem to hurt because of it. The Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk is an almost perfectly comparable vehicle, except that the Jeep has a true permanent 4WD system and a real real locker, and I haven't found a video yet where the Jeep was proved to be any more capable than the DS, and I watched a TON of those videos before making my decision to get the DS instead of the Jeep. (my 2 finalists)

 

[TexasTJ]

Enjoy Land Rover make a vary comfortable vehicle. You will like it.

 

[morrisdl]

WOW - didnt know that Disco5 didnt have low range and has a clutched AWD. Yikes.

 

[Todd780]

WOW - didnt know that Disco5 didnt have low range and has a clutched AWD. Yikes.

I believe they are referring to the Disco Sport (DS) Not Disco 5 (D5). Pretty sure the D5 has a low range option.

 

[morrisdl]

Thanks! Yes - confirmed with Google that d5 does have optional 2 speed TC and up to 2 locking diffs:

The Off-Road Tech that makes The 2017 Land Rover Discovery So Good

Combining software & hardware together for glory

www.topspeed.com

 

[jdlobb]

Thanks! Yes - confirmed with Google that d5 does have optional 2 speed TC and up to 2 locking diffs:

The Off-Road Tech that makes The 2017 Land Rover Discovery So Good

Combining software & hardware together for glory

www.topspeed.com

Yeah, the D5 is an impressive vehicle. My little DS is my "bridge" to one. I'm expecting to keep this for 2-3 years and then upgrading to a D5. I have a few more years of financial and lifestyle changes to make before I can do serious overlanding anyways, and the DS is much more suited to my current adventures and finances.

 

[jdlobb]

Well. My order for the Front Runner rack fell through. Nobody I can find has one on hand, and Front Runner is saying it will be 3-4 weeks before any are available. But I'm leaving for 2 weeks in the Colorado Rockies in just under 3 weeks, and need a rooftop storage solution.

Fortunately, my DS already has factory roof rails, so I've placed an order for RhinoRack Vortex crossbars and the large XTray, which is only 2 inches shorter than the FR platform, but 12 inches narrower. It's a less than ideal solution, I don't really like roof baskets. But all total it came in a LOT cheaper than the Front Runner system, and I can repurpose the basket onto another vehicle after Colorado.



I debated going with the Rhino-Rack Pioneer platform, but when I spoke with the tech representative they pointed out that because it mounts to the factory rails it only has a load capacity of barely over 100 pounds. Clearly not an acceptable long-term solution. The Pioneer rack also almost completely covers the pano sunroof, and had much less open space between slats than the Front Runner platform.