I have a real soft spot for our Freelander which has been faultless in the 3 years we've had it.

I'm slightly tempted to jump to a disco d4, the seven seats would be useful as would the extra legroom on long journeys. The one I test drove was very smooth, but was a lot less agile than the FL2

Bit concerned about the reliability though!

Anyone owned both and can compare.

Yup, both proved to be reliable no major issues with the D4. I now have the D5, it’s nice but it’s lost that certain something over the 4.

The D4 is a big car so don’t expect it to be light on its feet, but it is a comfortable and relaxing cruiser. It will handle anything that’s thrown at it with ease. 8 speed SDV6 (12MY onwards) is the pick of the bunch for me.

Repair bills can be scary and they ain’t cheap to run but for more details it’s best to check out disco4.com. The guys over there are a mind of useful information and useless information but mostly useful.

Take the plunge, you know want to. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

Absolutely no regrets moving from a FL2 to a D4 either It will probably remain the most practical car I’ve ever owned.

My first one was completely reliable, my second spoiled only by it being off the road for a month while the dealer diagnosed and replaced a faulty high pressure fuel pump under warranty, although it wouldn’t put me off having another. I liked all of my FL2’s and both of the D4’s but, if I had to choose between them again, it would definitely be another D4

went from fl2 to RRS, so much the same change really. really enjoyed the bigger car, but the biggest change was realy going from a manual to an auto.
then back down to a discovery sport, missed the air suspension for a while but not really feeling down graded at all.
new car is a lot higher spec than the basic RRS I had.

scary difference might be the road tax. not sure about D4 but on an 09 RRS it was near £500 p.a. At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

yeh D4 is about £525 a year tax now, and about 10mpg less in real world due to the extra weight etc. Ive also been led to believe that front suspension and brakes need renewing a lot due to the weight under breaking etc.

I would love a D4, but tax, mpg and running/maintenance costs aren't for me. Get a good one and they really an awesome beast by all accounts.

Did it the other way around - came from a D3, then D4 to a FL2.
Although both Discos were bought new, I did have my share of big problems with them [both in and out of warranty].

Had the FL2 now for over 3 years and IMO it's LR's best kept secret.
Whilst not as big, plush & versatile as the Disco, it is a decent machine [on and off road] and hasn't given me any problems to date.....
.... just the usual servicing, discs & pads, wipers, bulbs etc and with VED at £180 versus the £500 odd for the D4.

But would I go back to a Disco ..... in a heartbeat.
The D3/4 IMO is the best and only vehicle I would want to own.
However I realise I would need 'a hole in the head' to take the decision to leave the low cost & reliability of the FL2 to take my chances with a D4.
Also now being semi-retired I just couldn't justify the extra VED, service costs etc, but mainly the potential big 'surprise' repair costs that would inevitably happen.

I'm happy where I am, thank you.  FL2 now gone and have a couple of items left for sale:-

Brodit active iPhone holder + Brodit dash clip,
Bluetooth Music Streaming Module.

RRS had some inexpensive front roll bar bushes. Two sets of front brakes. I had it from 20000 to 80000 miles.
The two biggest non wearing part bills in that time were erg valves 400. And a seized rear caliper not cheap 200 ish.
Handbrake wiring failed 100ish.
Came with all new brakes and tyres when I bought it.
Erg was failing again when I sold At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

RogB wrote:

yeh D4 is about £525 a year tax now, and about 10mpg less in real world due to the extra weight etc. Ive also been led to believe that front suspension and brakes need renewing a lot due to the weight under breaking etc.

Driving around 35,000 miles a year and paying for my own fuel, miles per gallon were fairly critical to me.

Living in Cornwall, with plenty of hills, my figures are worse than most, but based on genuine figures, my SD4 auto returned around 28 mpg, while the D4 averaged 26.5mpg. I only ran the first one for a year from new, to 35,000 miles, by which time it nearly needed rear pads and the front ones still had lots of life left in them. Tyre life was broadly similar to the FL2

ok I sit corrected although my info was based on online reading etc and only 1 mate who had a D3, then a D4 which he has just got rid of and bought a new XC90 RDynamic.

My SD4 Auto give about 34mpg average, 40+ on a run down the motorways. tyres have lasted 15000 miles with only 1.5mm wear, and brakes have 10% wear all round from new over the 15000. Yeh id like a better mpg but that's the only thing so as an all rounder the FL2 SD4 Auto is the best for my needs (although I would prefer an Ewok auto as its smaller for my needs)

I changed from a D3 to a freelander in 2014 and although a very good car was not a disco so after 18 months went back to a disco4 2012 tax for that year is £520 but newer versions are less than £300 per annum,fuel consumption just better than 30mpg mine is an Hse with surround cameras,cornering lights,auto dip and several other goodies,there really isn’t to much better when they are going well but when they don’t be prepared to have deep pockets!

Thanks for the comments.

I did test drive one where I noticed a slight knock under braking - would that be the lower suspension arm bushes (think I read these go periodically). Anyone know the cost to change these?

You really need to go and look at Disco3.co.uk for the answer to that...