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- ChrisJerman
- Member Since: 01 Mar 2024
- Location: Shropshire
- Posts: 13
Quote "Okay, I am all for other people’s point of view, but I am not sure that suggesting that I maybe at a point in my life where it influences what car I choose to drive is one I would subscribe to. You could easily find that comment demeaning, although I am sure it wasn’t meant to be such."
Darras, I am perplexed as to why you would title a thread, Why hang on to your D5 and then take such offence at myself and others responding as to why they might !
If my response was in anyway demeaning it would also be demeaning to myself as I admit to runing older cars. My response was just to explain while older D5 do make sense and offer good value, In fact I doubt I would bother with the new RRS other than from the point of view of Happy Wife, Happy Life as in many ways (but not all) the older L494 is a more comfortable drive and can be bought cheap as chips.
The new Inline 6 diesel from LR is proving very reliable though and LR no longer sits bottom of luxury SUV reliability, that lands with the Germans so be careful what you replace your D5 with.
I had an Lion v6 fail in a RRS at 18k miles, most I think if they are going to fail due to a manufacturing default will have done so by 80k miles, so depending on your milage you may be getting out at the safest point.
Last edited by ChrisJerman on 13th Jan 2026 12:14 pm. Edited 1 time in total -
- JBFUK
- Member Since: 25 Apr 2022
- Location: South East
- Posts: 74
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- Darras
- Member Since: 16 May 2020
- Location: Inverness
- Posts: 834
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 677
For me, the D5 was a natural progression from the D4...and the couple of D2's before that. With the D5, the seemingly prevalent attitude of it being a 'luxury car' instead of a Land Rover you stick bits on is an eye opener for me as a long term second hand Discovery owner...
Comparatively, with even the D3's and D4's before it where a good many of the owners still take great pleasure in getting their hands dirty, checking out the forums for some help with the more complicated DIY stuff and sticking badges on the back being the norm. I just can't see the difference...besides the D5 looking a bit posh rather than being all square and Land Rover shaped.
Owning a Land Rover, a Discovery in particular, was always a statement either of ignorance or acceptance...they were never the cheapest, best or most economical and reliable things on the road, you had to want one to go and buy one, along with a resignation that at some point, you'd need a set of spanners and a thickish wallet to pay for bits after you bought it.
I bought the D5 with the same attitude I've had with all my Discoverys, I buy at 4 or 5 years old, stick lots of bits on them and do all my own servicing and maintenance until they rot into the ground or I sell them privately many years down the road. I'm lucky in that I have the tools and skills to tackle the more complicated mechanical stuff of course...but a Discovery besides being my daily driver of choice was always a hobby as well as being a workhorse around the farm...the D5 is no different...and it still has those little oval Land Rover badges stuck on it to remind me of that on the days I go feeling all middle class and content to sit in it playing with the shiny buttons.
Electronic complexity aside, mechanically, a D5 is no more difficult to maintain than a D3 or D4 with basic mechanical skills and a few spanners shoved in a Tesco's bag in the garage. It's the same basic Ford engine and ZF gearbox, brakes and running gear all work the same no matter which brand of car you drive and oil, filters and fluids all go in roughly the same place. It's hardly rocket science. Touching wood, I expect the Bling Barge to still be going at well over 150k miles with a bit of pampering from me. My D4 had 272k miles on the clock when I passed it on.
The D3's and D4's had their issues...including the much maligned chocolate crankshaft on the SDV6 engine fitted in the D4. My own 2015 D4 had a replacement engine fitted under warranty after the timing belt that had supposedly been replaced by a dealership snapped when I had only owned it for 3 months.
As for the Bling Barge, I entered into ownership of it just like all the other Discoverys...eyes wide shut. I'll probably be it's final owner...although I said that about the D2 and the D4 before it. At least with the D5, I won't be welding patches on another Land Rover ladder chassis after a few years.
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