Drove around in my boss's Disco 5 yesterday from SD to LAX to Ontario, and back around the loop and it was fabulous! Definitely nothing like a utility version like my LR3 but damn, it has every bell and whistle minus the Diesel and it is really fn nice!
ON that note, zero off-road time and don't think he's gonna let me try! lol
This chart tells me one thing: LR has priced the Discovery out of reach for the majority of buyers. The D1 and D2 were 40k trucks. I understand inflation, etc...but the reality is that its possible for manufacturers to build a vehicle and maintain a price point (The Corvette has remained a 45k car after incentives since the C5 - C7's are still 45k). There's no reason for LR to have made the D5 and later iterations of the LR4 so damn expensive, especially when you consider the LR3 started life as a 45k car and the LR4 was probably much cheaper to produce when you consider the vast amount of R&D expenses were absorbed by the LR3.Sales of the New Discovery (2017-present) aren't actually that bad. About even with where sales have been since 2010, but down from the initial couple years of the D3/LR3 redesign (2004). The bump in 2016 in the US is likely reflective of the incentives on the outgoing model and the people who weren't sure they wanted to wait to see what the new one could do...the spike from the LR4 final year in Europe to the first year of the D5 is interesting.
My 2010 T2 Touareg TDI was a beast off-road. My 2017 D5 Td6 is light-years better.
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This chart tells me one thing: LR has priced the Discovery out of reach for the majority of buyers. The D1 and D2 were 40k trucks. I understand inflation, etc...but the reality is that its possible for manufacturers to build a vehicle and maintain a price point (The Corvette has remained a 45k car after incentives since the C5 - C7's are still 45k). There's no reason for LR to have made the D5 and later iterations of the LR4 so damn expensive, especially when you consider the LR3 started life as a 45k car and the LR4 was probably much cheaper to produce when you consider the vast amount of R&D expenses were absorbed by the LR3.
Well hang on...you’re quoting prices in a vacuum here. Go look at real world prices. It’s impossible to find a base D5. Go on Autotrader and you’ll see what I mean. I checked this afternoon and there are maybe 40-50 sub 60k D5s in the entire nation. A Tahoe isn’t 53k. Sticker price may say one thing, but you have to be the world’s worst negotiator to not walk out the door for 10k under sticker. Most Chevy dealers offer 10-12k off; larger rebates apply for the Escalades. Oh and for the record, I live in Miami. I see tons of D5’s, but it’s nowhwre near the amount of D2’s, LR3s and LR4s. Lease programs have gone to ******** on the D5, and they’re now $700 a month cars. Remember, leasing programs matter for these vehicles. A comparable X5, despite the fact that it just came out this year is already cheaper to lease per month than the D5.I don’t think that’s the case at all. The 2008 LR3 was $49k-$59k, the LR4 was very similar, and the Disco 5 is $53-$60k. Not counting the LUX model since that didn’t exist in a similar manner on the prior models.
A 4wd Tahoe starts at $53k and you can’t swing a cat without hitting one here. Or an Expedition which starts at $55k. Or an X5 which starts at $61k. Or an Escalade which starts at an eye watering $79k. I see a minimum of a dozen of each model on a daily basis, and we aren’t in Los Angeles or Miami.
People are buying expensive luxury SUV’s, they just aren’t buying Disco 5’s. Land Rover buyers want something unique from everything else on the road, and that car isn’t it.
Don't forget to factor in inflation for the years the D3/LR3 was being sold...I think you'll find the price hasn't changed relative to today's D5 pricing. Same for the last year the Defender was offered in the US and the first year the D1 was offered here. The D1 was the equivalent of a $70k car today...about the middle of the road D5 before tax and title. They were never an Everyman vehicle like Jeeps and Blazers and Broncos were back in the day.Well hang on...you’re quoting prices in a vacuum here. Go look at real world prices. It’s impossible to find a base D5. Go on Autotrader and you’ll see what I mean. I checked this afternoon and there are maybe 40-50 sub 60k D5s in the entire nation. A Tahoe isn’t 53k. Sticker price may say one thing, but you have to be the world’s worst negotiator to not walk out the door for 10k under sticker. Most Chevy dealers offer 10-12k off; larger rebates apply for the Escalades. Oh and for the record, I live in Miami. I see tons of D5’s, but it’s nowhwre near the amount of D2’s, LR3s and LR4s. Lease programs have gone to **** on the D5, and they’re now $700 a month cars. Remember, leasing programs matter for these vehicles. A comparable X5, despite the fact that it just came out this year is already cheaper to lease per month than the D5.
To an extent you're correct. The LR3 came with much more equipment as standard (relative to the tech that was available for its time) when compared to the D5. The new D5 doesn't even come with a low-range or center locker in base trim. By the time you get a D5 to those levels, we see a price delta. Also, you're flat out wrong about the D1. Base MSRP in 1996 was $29,950, or around 46-47k today. Furthermore, the Bronco was 23k for a base truck or 28k for an Eddie Bauer, which is what you'd need to get if we're comparing the Bronco to a luxury SUV (one could argue that a base D1 SD wasn't that luxurious). Bottom line, I still believe the D5 is too expensive.Don't forget to factor in inflation for the years the D3/LR3 was being sold...I think you'll find the price hasn't changed relative to today's D5 pricing. Same for the last year the Defender was offered in the US and the first year the D1 was offered here. The D1 was the equivalent of a $70k car today...about the middle of the road D5 before tax and title. They were never an Everyman vehicle like Jeeps and Blazers and Broncos were back in the day.
GM and Ford can offer massive discounts on their vehicles because - and this is especially true for GM - they are basically lending institutions that offer their own cars, rather than the other way around - they make their money on the interest on their loans, not the straight profit on selling the car itself. There's a discussion in there on labor unions and their effects on production against supply and demand, but we won't go there now.
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This is a key point. I love the tech and capability of the D5, but it looks just like any number of crossovers. The LR3/4 was a distinctive looking vehicle.Maybe because it looks lot like a $35k SUV. Even the names (Explorer/Discovery) are similar.
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THIS^^^ Most people that I've personally spoken to have viewed the new Defender not as a proper Defender replacement, but rather what the D5 should have been. Frankly, I think the public's reception to the new Defender would be completely different if they had just called it the D5.The D5 is an odd one. It’s got a great interior but the outside looks are very marmite.
It’s the first LR model in a long time that I don’t really like.
It’s also rather expensive.
The outgoing D4 model was £45k for the graphite entry spec in 2016.
The D5 model is £57k for the entry model with the same 3.0 engine.
There is a 2.0 engine that’s cheaper but it’s a bit lacking for a car this size.
A lot of people aren’t happy paying an extra £12 grand for a car with questionable looks.
The amusing thing is, it’s the new Defender that’s caught their interest for replacement models.