Toyotie, part 2: And our Runner-up is….

Disco & Jeep

Before I start droning on about the Land Cruiser, it’s only fair to give a tip of the hat to the runner-up in my quest for the new FEV, or Family Expedition Vehicle. (That name popped into my head while writing the previous post.) And the runner up was the 2004 Land Rover Discovery II.

The Disco II is a nice vehicle, and it was within my budget. I’ve always been partial to the Discovery series which combined good looks, offroad capability, and some great features like the nice interior and large, well-designed windows. And the dual-moonroof option.

Land Rover as a brand had always appealed to me as well, more than Toyota and perhaps even more than Jeep. That said, in recent decades the Discovery series has been heavily associated with upscale soccer moms, which is perhaps not my favorite demographic. Worse, the excellent Range Rover became synonymous with drug dealers, footballers (soccer players) and their wives, and upscale urbanites. Again, so not my demographic. I can look past these associations, of course,  but they don’t help. And Land Rover under its new ownership seems eager to continue to drive a stake through the heart of the loyal enthusiast with offerings like the Evoque and the Defender concept model.

Despite all of that, I maintain my fondness for the Discovery series. I like both the original and the Disco II, although the later model with the 4.6L engine and “superior interior” won me over when I drove them back-to-back.

The key downsides to the Discovery – when compared with the Land Cruiser series 80 – were reliability, maintenance and costs. When I polled offroaders I follow on Twitter about which vehicle they thought I should get, the responses were 100% in favor of the Land Cruiser, despite it being several years older. My good friend Andy, who has both a Disco I and a Disco II,  strongly suggested I purchase whatever warranty I could if I opted for a Discovery. He love his Discos, but also had experienced a long string of failed components.

Online opinions were equally consistent, even among the owners who loved their Discoveries. “Repairs are inevitable, frequent and very expensive,” was a common theme. One person quipped “A Land Rover will get you there, but a Toyota will get you back.” Professional sources like Edmunds – whose mainstream opinions don’t always match my own, to be fair – warned of the dire consequences of owning these unreliable Land Rovers, which would surely explode in your driveway.

The Land Cruiser won out by being very similar to the Discovery. It was spacious, well-appointed with the optional leather interior, very capable offroad, and unlike most Toyotas it also had panache that could rival the legendary Land Rovers. But in terms of reliability, durability, maintenance and costs, it was exceptional, smashing the Land Rovers’ dubious reputations.

And thus the Land Cruiser won. For me, anyway… If you would have chosen the Disco II, I wouldn’t have blamed you one bit.

Andy's Disco