[1WVU]

New to the forum. I'm in the market for a new vehicle and am considering a '17 Disco Sport SE. Love everything about it but am concerned about LR's history of reliability. Would you still recommend LR? Anything I should be aware of, or prepare myself for? Thanks in advance.

 

[jabba1900]

Take a look around the forums and decide for yourself. LR generally has a low reputation for reliability (they're also ranked low by CR and JD), but most owners on here are happy. The issues are generally isolated to squeaks and rattles rather than any major issues. The biggest complaint is probably the engine/transmission combination which can yield some odd behaviour as in jerky shifting and delays waiting for kickdown. Some owners have adapted and are able to live with it (like me) and others have real issues with it. Test drive and see for yourself.

Otherwise it is an absolutely amazing car. No other car in the class has so much room, has such nice design, feels as premium as the DS. We would do it again in a heartbeat, and the DS is very much in contention for our next car. We will be checking out the Volvo XC60 (the T8 promises amazing performance and the interior design is very nice) and the RR Velar (love the design, but it looks like the backseat is cramped), but I think it's hard to beat the overall package that the DS delivers.

Now, if you want all out reliability you are looking at the wrong brand. Just get the Lexus NX or RX (depending on how much space you need) and be done with it.

 

[chichi]

This is the first time I post in this Forum. I am on my 2nd Discovery Sport.1st was a 2016 HSE. Loved the car, but has some very
minor gremlins. The 2nd DS is a HSE Lux. Love, love, love this Suv. NO trouble at all. Feels great, drives great, I have had no
issues at all.

 

[DiscoDisco]

We are veteran discovery sport owners. I have a very early build 2015 model. First one sold in my metro area.
At this point I can neither recommend or not recommend this vehicle. You really need to make up your mind on your own. But I will tell you my experiences and opinions on it
Ours is a HSE lux and is equipped very nicely.
The car has so much potential. It's the best looking small SUV there is in my opinion. Gets looks and comments very often. It's highly capable and very versatile. It's large amount of room on the inside completely defies it's small appearance. Very easy to live with day-to-day and very pleasant to travel long distances in for family trips and it gets very good gas mileage for what it is, an all wheel drive CUV. The infotainment has been adequate. Some people have had systems that are very finicky and buggy. Knock on wood, ours has been solid. It has been fairly reliable and the connection to our phones and media has been robust. I am also a fan of the navigation, while other people are not.
For the most part the discovery sport has been trouble free. But it has had more issues than any other car brand I've ever own except for a Jeep which was a complete lemon. Most of the issues are very small issues that were.fixed with a download or another simple fix at the dealership. I've had one check engine light come on which resulted in the replacement of a fuel rail. A few other trips to the dealership has been for little recalls. But I can't say that the vehicle has not left us stranded? Yet.
As far as the transmission goes, like I said mine was an early build. The transmission was very sluggish down low when we first bought it and it seem to "learn "overtime and the shifting improved but about three months ago it completely regressed and was worse than it was at the beginning. The dealer and Land Rover diagnosed the transmission and decided to replace it . It s in the shop for that right now. But I'm hoping to get it back this weekend . But I will say, that the later model discovery sport loaners that I have driven have not been nearly as sluggish down low and it seems to be an improvement I do understand that the transmission is A ZF transmission and not entirely Land Rover's fault, but they really should have vetted this transmission better. Of course other manufacturers use it too and have problems too, so shame on them as well.
Another fairly major issue I had with the vehicle in my eyes, was that we lost the HVAC system in the vehicle. It would not blow hot air or cold air out of the vents. We actually had two problems with the HVAC and they were back to back problems. These would not have been so bad except for the fact that it wouldn't blow any hot air out the vents and it happened right as we were leaving out of town for a ski trip. So it made the ski trip a hassle whenever we had to ride in the Disco . It was fixed fairly easily right when we got back by a simple reboot of the system. Yes the HVAC system including the blend doors and temperature is all controlled by the computer. So the fact that problem was so annoying to me was a matter of timing. But here's the thing, Land Rover has been very accommodating to us whenever problems arise. We always get a loaner and Land Rover USA even threw me a bone to make up for My inconvenience of not having heat in my car during my ski trip.

I would not count on a Land Rover as a long term vehicle. I would lease it or if I bought it, it would definitely be sold or traded in before the factory warranty was up. If a person does plan to keep it past the factory warranty then they had better get a very comprehensive extended warranty.

At times we've been frustrated with the car but we love it more than we've ever hated it. We can't help ourselves but to always look back at the car when we're walking away from it. We just can't shake it. We can't even dismiss the fact that we might get another one in a few years when the warranty is up on our current one. Even though we swore our land rover experiment was over. Do I get nervous anytime I leave the city limits in it? Well yes I do but the car just grabs you. And taking a trip in it is pretty gratifying in the end
Being that you are looking at a 2017 model I would hate to think that Land Rover has not corrected some initial bugs that theyve been finding in the vehicle.

Good luck!

 

[DiscoDisco]

Let me add that a few owners have had a lot more problems with their's than we have. While others have had a lot less. So take that for what it is. And Land Rover does have excellent roadside assistance in the case that you should ever need it. At least that's what they advertise.

 

[dinkeldorf]

First post here! I can relate. We're 5000km into '17 DS HSE Lux. We left LR when we turned in our LR3 HSE V8 back in 2010 due to reliability post warranty, servicing costs, and we were worried about the air suspension. 7 years trouble free with Toyota and Acura and yet here were are. The DS is unique in it's class for many reasons. For us it's size, styling. We looked at RDX, Q5, GLC, XC60, All Road, Highlander Hybrid, CX9, Atlas. It depends on your priorities. I would perhaps wait for the new gen engines or nicer multi media. For the 37 remaining months we'll have our DS, reliability isn't a deal breaker. If we get a Disco Diesel, well heck! Good luck.

 

[1WVU]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Much appreciated.

 

[DiscoDisco]

Grrrr I just saw a typo in my first post. I want to be clear...the Disco has NOT left us stranded. Even with the bad, Ford made, fuel rail. (Knock wood lol) I just wanted to say that in case it wasn't conveyed correctly.

 

[AzjaST]

I have 2016 HSE, purchased about year and half ago as CPO with 5k done. Now, 20k later i can pass my opinion. Initially I was very excited about car, great design, spacious, luxurious. But excitement passed quickly, a lot of squeaks, noises, random shifting and unresponsive engine, I started regretting my decision. Than winter came and DS was much better in deep snow than my previous XC60 and Q5. Than summer came and DS was behaving excellent on sandy beach. In the meantime Land Rover has issued firmware upgrade and suddenly shifting and engine performance became very good. Now I like DS again. When I will be buying new car next year, DS will be in the top three to consider. In my opinion you should wait for 2018 DS with new Ingenium engine or buy CPO. When buying CPO you get 6 years/ 100 k warranty and practically eliminate possibility of getting lemon.

 

[DiscoDisco]

Than winter came and DS was much better in deep snow than my previous XC60 and Q5. Than summer came and DS was behaving excellent on sandy beach. .

I have driven ours in snow and on solid sheet of ice. Incredible performance there. I've had numerous 4x4s and this thing is tops in those situations. I'll give it that!

 

[dinkeldorf]

May I ask, were these experiences with winter tyres or all (no) seasons? We're in the PNW however traverse the Rockies & Cascades regularly. Our LR3 with winters was The Benchmark navigating closed roads etc. I am debating whether DS warrants fancy winters or not. Thanks.

Oh, back to the OP. I just noticed Stop Start stopped!

 

[VirTERM]

I acquired DS 3 weeks ago and so far I love it. Moving from Audi and then BMW I really, really like LR... but again time will show, especially Canadian winter....

 

[DiscoDisco]

May I ask, were these experiences with winter tyres or all (no) seasons? We're in the PNW however traverse the Rockies & Cascades regularly. Our LR3 with winters was The Benchmark navigating closed roads etc. I am debating whether DS warrants fancy winters or not. Thanks.

Oh, back to the OP. I just noticed Stop Start stopped!

Stock Contis. Some Snow tires would be even better.

 

[4sallypat]

I acquired DS 3 weeks ago and so far I love it. Moving from Audi and then BMW I really, really like LR... but again time will show, especially Canadian winter....

Very similar history here - came from Japanese, BMW, Mercedes and now Land Rover.

With all the recent new models with softer and softer steering and suspension, it's nice to find a crossover that steers well with feedback, handles nicely off road, and the suspension is taut enough to feel the road.

It's a shame that all the new BMWs and Mercs are suffering from "mini van for soccer moms" driving...

 

[4sallypat]

May I ask, were these experiences with winter tyres or all (no) seasons? We're in the PNW however traverse the Rockies & Cascades regularly. Our LR3 with winters was The Benchmark navigating closed roads etc. I am debating whether DS warrants fancy winters or not. Thanks.

Oh, back to the OP. I just noticed Stop Start stopped!

LR traction systems are definitely the best in all terrain navigation. This is something the competition can't copy with the sub par part time AWD (Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Merc, BMW, etc). LR makes the best full time 4WD traction that does not work part time.

Winter tires do make a huge difference in traction and allows me to drive past the chain up road pullouts by telling the state trooper that I have 4WD and winter studless tires when it snows.

I am in the Southwest and it does not snow at all but when I travel to high altitudes areas during the winter, it's nice to see that the LR outperforms the competition when it comes to traction on snow. I see Audis, Mercs, BMWs all having to chain up because their traction control is less than LR and slips out...

 

[dinkeldorf]

Ahh OK thank you. I hear you on the snow tires. As skiers we tend to drive, erm, enthusiastically and tragically, good skiing conditions equate to adventurous driving conditions. Problem with all (no) seasons is braking. I was trying to discern if I needed anything more than Blizzaks, I'm guessing not.

 

[DiscoDisco]

Ahh OK thank you. I hear you on the snow tires. As skiers we tend to drive, erm, enthusiastically and tragically, good skiing conditions equate to adventurous driving conditions. Problem with all (no) seasons is braking. I was trying to discern if I needed anything more than Blizzaks, I'm guessing not.

LOL exactly, going out n this thing is pretty easy....it's the stopping part that's the trick ? Lol