So, Why did you buy a Land Rover?

[grasshopper104]

I had always been a Jeep guy - and still have my 1983 CJ7. But, when a buddy of mine was moving here from Hawaii, he had all sorts of stuff shipped from Atlantic British and Expedition Exchange to my house. He rolled up here in his Disco that was shipped to the port in LA and I had the pleasure of helping him put on his Hannibal roof rack and a few other things. I took it for a drive and fell in love w/ thing. The search began after that. Then I found my 2004 Disco with 24k on it. Couldn't pass it up.

 

[matt marquardt]

Boxed frame, four coils, four disc brake,cross over steering,comfy ride with good radio, solid axles,best veiw out the windows. Not perfect but like it better than the jeep. I like my jeep but I like my d2 better.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

For me it was largely the brand, or rather, what the brand used to be. Combined with the fact the Disco was the smallest modern SUV with SFA. And, it's the only truck I actually enjoy driving. Great seats, great visibility, good ergonomics, styling, etc.

 

[revor]

I had Dodge' Military 4x4's FJ40's, Toy pickups, Series trucks and Jeeps.. My wife married me for my Jeep (it was very competent) She wanted to go wheeling too..
My Series friends convinced me that we needed an RRC. But Karen didn't like the looks, we took a look at a 97 SD and she loved it.. Being a tinkerer I messed with it a lot and thus began a long and in depth relationship with Land Rovers.. I've gone through quite a few of them now.
The wifes current favorite (aside from her 97 XD w/TD5) was the White 95 RRC LWB, funny how things turn out..

 

[110user]

This kind of sums it up.

 

[revor]

Yes it does!

 

[Navman]

For me it was largely the brand, or rather, what the brand used to be. Combined with the fact the Disco was the smallest modern SUV with SFA. And, it's the only truck I actually enjoy driving. Great seats, great visibility, good ergonomics, styling, etc.

The horrible seats and ergonomics are the only reason I sold my Disco. I guess we're all built a little different. I do miss it though. I find myself staring at every disco I see on the streets now.

I guess that's the real reason I bought a Land Rover, in addition to all of the other specific reasons. They just pull at your heart. I never look twice at a Taco even though they are great vehicles. LRs get me dreaming and wishing I was crossing the Andes, driving in Mongolia, etc.

Well, all that and my wife really wanted them.

 

[michaels]

The horrible seats and ergonomics are the only reason I sold my Disco. I guess we're all built a little different. I do miss it though. I find myself staring at every disco I see on the streets now.

I guess that's the real reason I bought a Land Rover, in addition to all of the other specific reasons. They just pull at your heart. I never look twice at a Taco even though they are great vehicles. LRs get me dreaming and wishing I was crossing the Andes, driving in Mongolia, etc.

Well, all that and my wife really wanted them.

he has a DII.

 

[High Center]

We are all made so different. The seats in my D1 are better than anything else I have ever owned- Not the basis for my purchase but...it helped.

The horrible seats and ergonomics are the only reason I sold my Disco. I guess we're all built a little different. I do miss it though. I find myself staring at every disco I see on the streets now.

I guess that's the real reason I bought a Land Rover, in addition to all of the other specific reasons. They just pull at your heart. I never look twice at a Taco even though they are great vehicles. LRs get me dreaming and wishing I was crossing the Andes, driving in Mongolia, etc.

Well, all that and my wife really wanted them.

 

[michaels]

a buddy of mine had a 95 classic. i got into them after that. he later sold it for a g35, got too amny tickets, and is now in an 04 G4. they're addicting. i've gotten out of "off-roading" per se, and just generally use mine for transportation to go climbing and mountain biking, but i wouldn't trade it for anything. i'll get back into wheeling when i have time.

 

[clalor]

I've always liked Land Rovers. It's mainly been the Series trucks that had my attention, but Discos and RRCs have always caught my eye. So when I was looking for my first off-road vehicle last year, I gravitated toward the Disco. It didn't help that a friend of mine had owned an '03 Disco that he loved. I did some research, priced competing vehicles, and ended up pulling the trigger on my '04 Disco.

But part of the reason I ended up with a Rover was due to lack of interest in the competition. The Jeep TJ is too small and the LJ was out of my price range. The only Land Cruisers I like are the round-light 60 series and they were older than I wanted to deal with at the time. Nissan hasn't had anything that I've cared for in a long time.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

The horrible seats and ergonomics are the only reason I sold my Disco. I guess we're all built a little different. I do miss it though. I find myself staring at every disco I see on the streets now.

Well yeah... we're all a little different. Most Americans like American seats and ergonomics. I'm more of a "European Build" myself. I like the firm foam, upright seating, high "H point", snug side bolsters, lumbar support and a good headrest.

The best seats I've ever had were my my 1983 VW GTI. A nice set of Recaros. Just about every GM seat I ever sat in was absolute torture.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Because, after almost 20 years of flogging my Jeep, I was tired of the EXTREME culture. Scott Brady and I used to go rock crawling in the Idaho desert, and for me the best part was seeing something new, not climbing over every rock we could find just for kicks. Exploration has always held a greater attraction for me. Granted, some of the terrain I've covered in the name of exploration could be considered EXTREME, I usually don't drive over something challenging if there's a better option. I enjoy a technical problem as much as the next guy, but I usually favor a winch and some creative thinking over a 1 ton drivetrain, monster tires, and the skinny pedal. I certainly could have gone on wheeling how I chose in any platform, but my CJ-5 is a tad small for my family of 5. As the years passed, I went out less and less.

Then a '73 Series III 88 fell into my lap when I wasn't even looking and before you could say "late utility bill" I had a rusting pile of Rover yard art littering my driveway. Several thousand dollars later, I have a rusting pile of yard art littering my driveway and a bunch of new, rebuilt, and galvanized parts filling my garage. One day my family won't have to take the minivan camping.

Sure, I could have gotten a ready-made Rover (or other vehicle), but when I really get to thinking about it nothing really reflected me like an old SWB Series. As mine is being built from the ground up, it will reflect me even more. What keeps me going is that perfect image that I guess most Series Rover owners have, of the vehicle traversing endless vistas (pith-helmeted driver optional) and having adventures reserved for only the hardiest of explorers.

 

[TexasTJ]

Because, after almost 20 years of flogging my Jeep, I was tired of the EXTREME culture. Scott Brady and I used to go rock crawling in the Idaho desert, and for me the best part was seeing something new, not climbing over every rock we could find just for kicks. Exploration has always held a greater attraction for me.

X2

I use to help trail guide for Jeep Jambo in Texas, at SW4WD events and other local trial rides for AJE. Well after 4 years of the I really got sick of what Jeep culture is becoming "Make it, break it, or roll it over!".

I liked the Idea of Simple Back country travel, and I wanted bigger load ability than my TJ or JK (2door) had, so in came the Rover. In the end I was looking at Fj 80's and Discos. I liked both trucks a lot and the culture that exist around them. However in the end I didn't want to hand over 8 grand for a 96 Land Cruiser when I could get the 99 Rover for half.

Even with a couple of bugs I'm happy over all. It kind of makes you feel like you're on Safari all the time, even driving through downtown Austin in rush hour! Just the most fun you can have in a close top truck!

I even have the Series itch now!

Nate

 

[Sean VHA #60013]

I got into Land Rovers in 2006 right after I got out of RN school. I was looking for a Jeep, had a wife & 2 kids at the time (now have the same wife & 3 kids :victory: ) and needed something 4x4 to get me through our 3 mile private farm road, & 32 miles to my job in the Emergency Room through any weather (when you are the EMS system, you cannot call in due to weather etc).

I had looked at a lot of YJ & XJ stuff, a few Toyota Landcruisers etc, but everything I saw was two or three times the $$$ for less stock capability than the Land Rover Discoverys I had run across.

I finally found a 96 Disco with a Rovertym lift & other extras, for $3500 bucks, and bought it on the spot. I later put a full Rovertym brushguard on & drove that truck all through 2006.

Then, in 2007, an old lady pulled out in front of me while I was on the way to ski at Wintergreen mountain with two of my fellow nurses on board. The impact with her car did not do much damage to us, but it forced us into a very large hardwood that brought us to an abrupt stop, bent the frame (hard to do on the Disco) & mangled the front guard (I am convinced this absorbed a great deal of the damage for our benefit) We all survived the accident with minimal injury due to the solid construction of the truck, airbags, etc, meanwhile the driver & passengers of the other vehicle had to be airlifted out.

After that accident, I was sold on the solid & safe design of the land Rover Discovery (& Range Rover Classic etc) and bought 2 1997 replacements, a black one with a 3" OME spring lift & 2" Rovertym body lift, full Rovertym brushguard with some small Hellas, etc, and a Bergundy 1997 with 5" Rovertym suspension lift, Safari Guard front & rear bumpers, Safety Devices roofrack, 900lb Superwinch, front & rear ARB lockers, etc.

I know the Rovers have their share of mechanical issues, but so do the Jeeps, Toyotas, Domestic trucks, etc. There is something basically solid about the Land Rover construction that lends itself to the type of 4x4 wheeling I do that makes them particularly suitable. We also have a 3 mile private driveway that is (seriously) worse than most logging roads (was paved long ago, & is now a mixture of half-paved pott-holed areas with others that have washouts & deep ruts/ravines etc) and it is absolute murder on the suspensions etc of even 1/2 ton domestic full sized 4x4s.

Only our LR stuff (I drive the two 1997 Discos, the wife has an 88 Range Rover Classic, and my mother who lifes a half mile further in, has a 95 LWB Range Rover Classic), my 78 fullsize Bronco (with mods) & my 1-ton Dodge W250 4x4 Cummins have held up to this road in terms of suspension componants on the daily, year round grind up & down the driveway :coffeedrink: