Buying a used Land Rover Discovery 3 (2004-2009)

Occasionally a landmark vehicle comes along and, more often than not, it emanates from the unlikely British Midlands town of Solihull.

Some of us are old enough to remember the impact the first Range Rover made on the Australian 4WD scene in 1972. With its all-coil suspension, smooth V8 power and full-time 4WD drivetrain the Rangie took a quantum leap over its leaf-sprung, part-time 4WD Japanese and North American rivals.

Since 1972 there have been only a few landmark 4WD wagons that introduced new technology and most innovations have come from Land Rover; direct-injection turbo-diesels, variable-height air suspension, electronic traction control and hill descent control being the stand-outs.

The Disco 3 diesel was launched with a choice of two Jaguar-derived petrol engines – a 4.0-litre V6 with156kW and 360Nm and a 4.4-litre V8 with 220kWand 425Nm – and a modified Ford/PSA 2.7-litre V6 turbo-intercooled diesel.

Variable geometry turbocharging and common-rail, high-pressure injection combined to give the diesel very respectable figures of 140kW at 4000rpm and 440Nm at 1900rpm – just 11kW less than the then-current 4.2-litre LandCruiser turbo-diesel and with 10Nm more torque.

All three Discovery engines were matched to a six-speed adaptive-shift, Tiptronic-style automatic box.

The ‘S’ variant rode on coil springs, but SEs and HSEs had four-wheel, variable-height, independent air suspension.

The S model came with V6 petrol or common-rail V6 turbo-diesel power; 17-inch aluminium wheels; five cloth-covered seats; cruise control; dynamic stability and roll control; traction and hill descent control; manual height-adjustable driver’s seat; tilting-telescopic steering column; single-CD, six-speaker sound system; EBS/ABS brakes; electric park brake; and multiple airbags.

The standard Discovery SE fare was comprehensive: V6 petrol or common-rail V6 turbo-diesel; electronically-controlled, independent air suspension; 18-inch aluminium wheels; xenon headlights; rear park distance control; seven cloth-covered seats; climate control; and on and off road programming.

HSEs could be V6 diesel or V8 petrol powered and picked up leather seats, rear air conditioning and an eight-speaker sound system.

Common options fitted included a locking rear diff, cornering headlights, navigation system, park distance control at the front, and metallic paint.

The Discovery 3 was refreshed in 2008, with body-coloured bumpers and wheel arch flares being the obvious exterior changes.

Air suspension was made standard across the range and the SE models scored Hi Ice sound systems and steering wheel controls as standard. HSEs were fitted with a 13-speaker sound system.

The Discovery 3 was replaced by the Discovery 4 in 2010.

Most used examples have done little or no off-roading, so you’re unlikely to find one that’s been knocked around. Nearly all the used ones we’ve seen have been the medium-spec’ SE that comes with air suspension and a diesel SE is certainly the model to look for.

We’ve tested the coil-sprung S model and found its ground clearance unacceptable for off-roading, although there are after-market coils available to give it a much-needed 50mm lift.

The optional Harmon Kardon sound system is sensational, if you’re lucky enough to find a used Disco 3 that’s kitted out with it.

The nav system is no better than any other in-car fitment, but the rear diff lock and the literally brilliant cornering lights are worth having.

The Discovery’s Terrain Response System takes the guess work out of gearing and suspension height selection, so off-roading is also a breeze.

The Disco 3 Land Rover’s weak link is in very soft sand, where its weight and low-profile tyres don’t do it any favours. Fortunately, there’s now a wider choice of bush tyres in the Disco’s common 17-inch and 18-inch sizes, so that situation can be improved.

Serious bush travellers are best accommodated by the LT tyres available for 17-inch wheels.

The Land Rover has very effective hill descent control that can be adjusted for descent speed by using the cruise control plus and minus buttons.

Diesel fuel consumption depends on load and road conditions, but varies from a best of around 10.2L/100km on freeway running to 14L/100km when off-road.

Fuel tank capacity is an inadequate 82 litres, but there’s a 95-litre Long Ranger auxiliary tank available. Kaymar has developed a swing-away wheel carrier to take the underbody spare that’s displaced by the add-on fuel tank.

The Discovery 3 has 12,000km servicing intervals.

The suspension has a mandatory height drop from its off-road clearance setting when road speed exceeds 40km/h. There are plenty of Australian desert tracks on which it’s safe to run at speeds above 40km/h, but with a need for high ground clearance to avoid touching the underbody on the centre hump, so this can be a bush-driving issue.

Behind the diesel engine the six-speed auto box upshifts at 4000rpm, regardless of what you do with the gear-holding selector and that can catch out drivers who aren’t anticipating an upshift when they need engine braking or a constant power delivery.

We’ve tested the Disco 3 with a Tradesman full-length roof rack and a sizeable load up top, but had no trouble with body distortion. The air suspension compensated quite well for the weight of a roof load.
Air suspension has proved a boon when driving on different surfaces with different loads and towing weights, because the height control system ensures that ground clearance remains constant.

There’s also no nose-down attitude caused by the additional weight of a steel winch bar and Warn 9500 winch mounted up front.

The Disco’s Terrain Response system works very well, providing a combination of height control, gearing and throttle response to suit different situations.

The only quirk with this system is that suspension height changes are created by an increase in air pressure in the air springs and that means the ride quality at full height is very firm.

As with all post-Ford-ownership Solihull products (except the incurable Defender) the build quality question seems to have been answered in the affirmative. Our Discovery test vehicles have been well built and have performed without major problems.

There were inevitable teething troubles, but most used examples will have had warranty attention to diff issues and front end ball-joint and steering-rack-end wear problems.

A fault we’ve heard of is a propensity for the air suspension height control computer to go awry, but in most cases that’s fixed by turning the engine off and letting it reset.