Land Rover Discovery (1998 - 2004) 2.5 Td5 Pursuit 5d (5 Seat) Owner Review

Some may consider me mad but I actually swapped a 2007 Skoda VRS TDI for a 2004 Discovery TD5 Pursuit. Reason are several: due to a house move to the countryside I decided I should get a 4X4 ( cliche I know) and Id had enough of quick diesels cars that encourage you to drive quickly but I've yet to regret the move since! The Discovery does 575 miles to a tank of diesel for £84 ( at current prices) compared to 600 for £78 from the skoda, so no real financial penalty. It has a better driving position than ANY car I have ever driven ( 15 cars in 14 years across the whole spectrum of car types), the only reason to stop on a long journey is for comfort breaks and not to get out and stretch as so many other cars have afflicted me with before hand. Seat comfort is excellent no back ache or numb bums from driver or passenger The engine is strong and torquey 2000 rpm seems to be the sweet spot (and sounds good with the 5 cylinder warble) the handling is the real surprise, no it's not a lotus exige but it's far better than my last mondeo, Low range gearbox ( without difflock on this model) makes any excursion off road relatively panic free for the novice like myself and it's amazing what steep hills it can climb on just tick over! Parking is easy as driving position makes rear views excellent and the amount of lock makes multi stories a doodle too Gripes and they are slight: The thud the door gives when closing is no better than a 1989 discovery despite the 15 year age gap No cruise control ( on this spec) Driving through puddles puts all the water on the windscreen despite having mud flaps fitted Buttons in strange places, fog lights buttons and such obscured by steering wheel. When flicking between low and high beam left hand stalk makes contact with the steering wheel Rear part of chassis( from rear doors back) requires annual inspection and good coating of Waxoil to ensure tip top condition, about waxoil is £19 a tin so good DIY job as long as you dont mind getting mucky or £600 to be done by a specialist with a ten year guarantee Rear legroom not the best if driver seat all the way back Overall a fantastic vehicle its done me proud and its actually a joy to own even with its small gripes