Lühike tõlge allpool:As many of you know, the Overland Journal staff really likes Land Rovers, especially the solid-axle, coil-sprung variety. Our personal vehicles include a 1991 RRC, 1995 DI (5-speed), Defender 110, DII, Series IIa, etc. We have all seen Land Rover take a completely different approach to vehicle design and systems since those classic, Camel Trophy era machines. I had all but discounted the new offerings, but my opinion on the newer Land Rovers changed when I purchased a Range Rover MKIII for my wife (Stephanie is the designer of Overland Journal) and then subsequently took a month-long trip in Australia with a Discovery 3 (LR3).
From our trip into the outback of Australia. We drove thousands of miles in a well-used LR3 from ARB and had no issues, not even a flat.
Reliability was improving rapidly for Land Rover, and these trucks were actually outperforming earlier models in certain conditions (especially cross-axle terrain). The final "aha" moment came during a chat with Ray Dinardi, General Manager of Land Rover Las Vegas. He was showing me his collection of classic BMW motorcycles and indicated that the area he was storing all these cool bikes used to be LR service bays. He said that in 2006, they had 25 technicians and worked 7 days a week on warranty work and repairs. The quality of the new Land Rovers has increased so significantly that he now employes only six technicians. This is big news - modern Land Rovers seem to be pretty reliable.
Uuemaid landrovereid ei soovitata tavaliselt ka surmavaenlasele (alates disco2), ent Expedition Portali autori arvamus muutus pärast seda, kui ostis oma naisele RR3 ja sõitis Disco3-ga üle Austraalia. Tuhandeid miile ning isegi mitte katkist rehvi.
Vastupidavus on järjest paremaks läinud ning mõnest küljest olid uuemad masinad ka maastikul vanematest paremad. Viimane "ahaa" moment tuli jutuajamisel Ray Dinardiga, Las Vegase Land Roveri bossiga. 2006a oli neil 7 päeva nädalas tööl 25 mehaanikut, ent praegu on neil tööl 6 mehaanikut. Landroverid lagunevad väidetavalt vähem!
On siis tõesti uuemad landroverid vastupidavamad? Ilmselt tuleks siis rääkida Disco4 alates? Kolm aastat on masin juba turul olnud, natuke statistikat peaks olema juba kogunenud?
Viidatud teemas on ka jutt Disco4 maastikule sobivamaks sättimisest.