Land Rover Discovery 4 - Is it really an upgrade from a LR3 ? 

Bought my Discovery 4 with 150kkm, did 100k in 3 years and still haven’t driven a better car :-) Greetings from a Lithuanian Land Rover fan!

I just traded my 2006 Discovery 3 for a 2015 Discovery 4 both used as our second car. Having previously owned a Discovery 3 and two Discovery 4s from new, I knew what I was buying. However, I had forgotten the horrendous turbo lag in the D3, as well as the lack of reversing camera and not being able to link my phone to the car to play music except through the Aux input. I also like the fact that I can see when the auto-lights have turned on by an indication in the driver display, rather than having to put my hand up near the rear view mirror and take my eyes away from driving to see if that little light is on. The keyless entry is a boon when you have your hands full, and being able to double-lock the car at a door then open the tailgate, knowing that when you close it, it will re-lock the car and re-arm the security system with no further input is also a big help. However, there are a couple of things I do miss from the D3. The first is personal preference - I prefer the old grille, and don't like the newer 'family face' grille on the D4. I also think it's a shame that LR changed the bumpers and wheel arch extensions from grey hard plastic to body-coloured gloss finish. Getting a scratch on the corner of a bumper or on the wheel arch didn't use to matter. It's also taken away what I believed was an aesthetically pleasing contrast on light coloured cars, like silver or white. All in all, I don't regret trading my D3 for a D4.

I’ve had my disco 3 for 13 years now. I bought it new (only a basic model, no whistles and bells). I love it more everyday. I’ll never sell it. Yes I’ve spend a lot of money on it but it’s worth every penny. You guys are fantastic. Love you’re sense of humour. Love from 🇬🇧.

I have both LR3 and LR4 (SCV6) and I feel more confidant in LR3 even though it is 10 years older than the LR4.

Sorry to see the Freelander go. The more I watch your channel though I get tempted to buy a Discovery 3 or 4.

The old tractors were great, you will appreciate the LR4 more as time goes on depending on its reliability. I have found many Discoveries have not been looked after properly and this is a major factor with future failures. Reliability aside the LR4 is the best off this class. Great show.

Love how honest and spot on you are with everything Land Rover. Sadly the faults have beaten me and I’m selling mine.

I have them both. 2005 LR3 (215K miles), 2011 LR4 (132K Miles). Love them both!

Christian and Vera congratulations on your new investment,))) great video and interesting presentation,,😄🇬🇧

Great video as usual, Christian and Vera. "Watch my rims." "This was a close one", you could certainly trust Vera much more with her outstanding driving skills. Btw. I love my heated seats a lot, and I say that from Australia. An absolute must for our winters as well.

Great show again. The Unimog was particularly impressive. Well wear with the D4. Luckily you are very capable for maintaining any vehicle.

That was a beautiful collection of Porsche tractors. I especially liked the side seats on the fenders to take the family to market. Very nice Unimog, too.

Another excellent production - well done Vera & Christian. Encourage you to keep up the good work on the channel. The variety of content repairs, travels , LR time & humour really make the channel.

Great sense of humour Christian. Best laugh I've had all day. Love the one about the "bings and bongs" and the anxiety that it arouses. So funny but very informative. Thanks. Pete UK.

Congratulations Christian & Vera for new member in your family. Looking forward to seeing your next project with this. Be safe & healthy.

Personally I think that a Discovery 4 is worth the extra money. But then again it depends on the budget that you have, if you can't afford a discovery 4 but can afford a discovery 3 then I think it's would be worth getting it. It really depends on what you want the car for aswell, if it's purley off roading the a discovery 3 may be a better option but a discovery 4 would be a better option for me, I woud get a HSE Luxury just because I like the features and you have the option of using it for more things, it is also slightly more refined in my opinion but it is a Land Rover so only slightly 😂.

Amazing! Finished at last, a very well done to you both 😉. I'll bet that you'll both sleep better now as well. That engine absolutely purrs, it sounds very good indeed 👍 Fabian is truly lucky to have such good friends as you, and now he has the best sounding L3 and also he knows that the job has been done properly. It has been awesome watching every episode as you tirelessly rebuilt it, checking everything at least twice. Vera also played her part very well, and the two of you are very lucky to have each other. Have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Lovely location and good analysis of the D4 over the D3

I had the very same silver LR3 and sold it one year ago to buy the very same color LR4 you have now! Love your channel! My grandfather came here to Kansas from Germany, so listening to you often reminds me of him. Love those Rovers - when they are running!

Thank you for you making my husband laugh at your wonderful dry humour. 😍

Corris Grey is named after the shade of slate from Corris in Wales, it's a particular colour unlike Llanberis or Ffestiniog slate. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braichgoch_slate_mine

Congratulations on your New D4

Brilliant rundown of the two vehicles and so funny. Love watching your programmes. :)

A mega informative video. You both sure did a lot of research. Time to buy a Porsche.....tractor. A fantastic collection. :-)

Just bought a Discovery 4 a couple of days ago and I absolutely love it Above and beyond

Good initial review and comparison to the D3. I recently had my D3 written off due to a car accident (not my fault) and i was looking at getting a D4 as “an upgrade” i took a HSE for a test drive and it was “better” but i really needed to take it on a long run to see, but the reliability issues i thought should have been corrected from the experiences of the D3 into the D4 don’t appear to have happened which is sad really…but I still can’t get over how much i like the Discovery 3/4 and that is why i appreciate your channel because it prepares me for what i may expect to have happen…and how to fix it!

thank you for your great and pertinent analyze :)

Thanks very much for this and the detailed analysis. I have just agreed a price to buy a Discovery 3 rather than a 4 and your video makes me feel much more confident about my decision.... Thank you!

Hello Vera and Cris, congratulations on the acquisition of the D4 and the minimal differences between ub D3 and D4, following them faithful, I really like your comments and learned your repairs, solutions that you could do yourself (depends on the tool at hand). I live in Mexico City and my LAND ROVER is LR3 HSE (here it is named) is 2006 but gasoline, I have personally fixed my LR3 taking many examples of yours as a hobby and my beloved truck, I hope they continue with more updates of D3 and D4. Greetings.

It does not matter what vehicle you buy you get problems. We have owned Toyota’s, Jeep’s (🤬), Mitsubishi, etc 4x4’s and they all have issues and give headaches. Thanks for all the info guys

Looking forward to see what you do to your D4. I brought a 2015 MY D4 last year to replace my 18 year old D2 My buying criteria was I wanted a low mileage (50,000 miles) one owner, full service history ( these are complex vehicles and I think a lot of reliability problems come from a lack of maintenance). I tow with mine so the engine was important (I could buy a new pick up with 3500kg towing capacity for not much more but all the new vehicles seem to only have a 1.9 - 2.0 litre engine) I think that towing the SDV6 will be less stressed. Looking at the values of D3s I don't think I will lose a lot per year in value off the D4 and I think it will hold its value better than the D5 as I don't know anyone who likes the look of the D5. I have spent quite a bit on modifications as mine has to work, these are discrete winch, safety devices roof rack. Pro speed light bar. Rock and tree sliders (wanted side steps and this was easier) tow bar, Loadlugga shelf in the roof, xanadoo boot basket shelf, safari snorkel with cyclone filter. EBC green stuff discs and pads. General grabber AT3 tyres. I've got to say so far it is a brilliant vehicle. If you want any help or advice please ask, although you seem more than capable. Good luck and have fun.

Another very informative and well researched video. I wish you many happy and safe kilometres travelling in your LR4👍

I will keep my Discovery 2. Even though it has problems, it's simpler, so less to fail when I'm out in the desert. I just discovered your channel, thanks for the videos. I miss Germany, haven't been there since 1980, and I would love to go back. Please make more videos on the road.

I absolutely love these videos ! They are my kind of funny. Grumpy old man syndrome focussed on something positive, rather than shouting at the TV at politics ! Please keep it up, you make me sane :)

Welcome to Romania, there is a nice and active LR3 + 4 community there. I would be happy to show you around. There are beautiful mountains with perhaps more bears than tourists...

One again a great video thanks. Really great information packed in your video. Every time I watch one of your videos It just makes me wanna go work on my Disco. All the best from Iceland

Thanks to the universe that will give me the Land rover discovery LR4 soon

I'm on my 2nd D4 and like the first... Can't find a better vehicle... The one I have atm (an XXV) has gone up by £5000 over last year or so. They are retaining their value over here in UK too.

You are correct on facelift and replacement models dropping quality, as a family we have had lots of BMW 5 series, e12 from the 70's was better trimmed than the e28, e28 was miles better built than the e34 , similar story with Mercedes. Too many accountants running car company's. I do like the disco 3 and 4, the 3 here in the UK tends to be very cheap, I think they are both so much nicer than the disco 5, my friend has bought a 5 and it's so small inside. Keep up the great vids 👍

I have an LR3 (2007) and I have put money into upgrading and repairs that the PO did not keep up that to sell it to get an LR4 would be a huge financial mistake. It is modified for offroading and is now in very good condition. I have it repaired and checked periodically as items wear or the mechanic indicates needed items. A very enjoyable vehicle.

Congratulations on your Discovery 4, looking forward to your videos on this great motor, another reason in UK to buy one 2014-2017 is the Tax every year is 273 euros with older ones are 656 each year. 😉

Simply the best and most useful comparison I have seen on Discovery/lr 3/4. No dipstick and the electronic oil level monitoring can be temperamental... lovely. For North American viewers.. similar situation in that lr3 4.4 v8 very reliable and long lived vs the more powerful but problematic 5.0 in the lr4. The 5.0 has timing chain problems. I think later year lr3 probably the best of the air sprung vehicles. The Porsche/MB tractor museum was nice addition/ending to the video. I love unimog/pinz/gwagens.

Christian, you clearly have a wealth of industry knowledge, really enjoy hearing your observations. I own a D3, but have driven the D4, and you can clearly feel the engine power difference. Agree, the cost of maintaining D4 may be a little steeper. With modern smart phones, the lesser D3 in car technology is not really an issue.

Love your videos, and your sense of humour too. Great content!!

You really made me laugh at 19’19”. So true!!!

I was actually searching for this info just last week and couldn't find much on youtube. I Currently own a LR2 (Freelander 2). Been watching your channel for a while. Thanks and Cheers from Montreal!

I agree about the stop/start button. Keyless entry is also a nuisance. I had just collected my Disco 4 from the dealers and stopped off at a supermarket on the way home. I thought it was an opportunity to test the central locking. I locked the car on the fob button then walked around the car and none of the doors were secure. Took me a day to work that one out!

Great video guys! I actually put off watching this one worried that it would make me want to sell our Discovery 3, but now I'm even happier to keep it :). One extra thing - because the Discovery 3/4 is a great car for rough conditions and off-roading, we're happier with our 3 because it doesn't matter so much if it gets damaged. A little scratch on a door from a branch or a scuff inside from carrying something doesn't really bother us, but if we spend 2-3x as much on a D4, it definitely would! It means we can use the car rather than treat it like a baby.

I never knew Porsche made tractors...wow! I'd love to hear one start up and running.

Would be awesome if a dipstick could be adapted to fit the D4 , think there would be a lot of people interested if that could be done , plus did u ever see the full engine engineering report a guy had done on his when the shells spun, if not would u like me to send it to u , just watching the rest 👍

Informative video. Was considering LR4 to upgrade from Disco 3 HSE now having second thoughts.

It is very true everything you said about price depreciation, bought a £96,000 Discoo 5 and in 3 years it's down to £47,000 just crazy

Great video guys, GREAT VIDEO. I had Discovery 3, but due to low emission zones i had to sell it, for the year and a half that was with me i havent had any issues with it, it was one of the best car i have ever owned. Keep going with these informative videos. Subscribed.

To get rid of the smell, use bicarb soda. Lot and lots of it. Sprinkle it everywhere with permeable fabric and carpet. Get handfuls of it and rub it into the roof liner. Leave it for a day or two, then vacuum it all back out. It will remove a vast majority of the smell. If the smell if really really bad, you may need to repeat the process a few times as the bicarb is like a sponge and can only absorb a limited quantity of odour. The more bicarb you use, the quicker it will get absorbed. Obviously the headliner is the hard part, as the bicarb will always want to adhere to the laws of gravity 😂. I had a bad smoker smell in mine. New cabin air filter and bicarb have really really helped. No more headaches while driving to get bread and milk.

I love u guys show 100% much love from jamaica 🇯🇲

Hi Robert here in NZ since 1974 an ex Brit with 75 on the clock. Just love watching your vids and I find myself laughing out loud thank you very much!. As an old mechanic I found that people often tried to wind me up by telling me how awful most British cars were compared to vehicles made in other country’s asking why that was. The answer was obviously that those vehicles were made by British workers who very thoughtfully gave me a living for my whole life as I climbed into my TOYOTA with their cash in my pocket smiled and waved .....CHEERIO 😂😂😂😂😂

congratulations to both of you! I wish they would have brought the Diesel version to the US but gasoline is still affordable over here. I love my LR3 4,4 and just dropped it of at the shop to have the transmission overhauled. Was thinking of buying a BMW X5 35d but there is just something about the LR. Never had any repairs in the past two years and the truck has 190k mi on it now. Best to you guys

Congratulations! I just bought a 2013.one owner, southern car here in the U.S. and 74K original miles. A real gem. This was the last year they made the V8. I had to have a V8! Silver with tan leather. HSE package.

Really nice videos guys!!! Let me know if you ever come to Costa Rica, we can ride in my Disco 4... :)

I use magnetic phone holder (phone has metal plate (glued or just between phone and case)). The holder fixes to the vent port above the start button. Good place to use gps software.

Love ur upgrade disco 3 to 4, I did, from 3 2005 to 4 2014 and it was so nice. Also like the Porches tractors u shoved. My dad was a Porche tractor dealer in Denmark when I was a boy. He was the first to join two 4 cylinder into one. None of them had front wheels. Steering visa hydraulic rams. It's now in a tractor museum in Denmark. I'm living in W Australia and love all the 4x4 we do. Thanks for ur disco clips. 😃

Very interesting & enjoyable video thank you.

I love my Discovery 4. Bought it at 5 years old with 13k miles on it. Fantastic family car and great off road too. My first LR so I can't comment on the LR3.

Very good video really interesting as well Lovely shots of German roads Thank you

Had both - 2006 D3 4.4L V8 and then 2010 D4 5.0L V8. D4 was waaaayyy better (at least for me) - they sorted out most of the "flaws" D3 had - sluggish engine, tranny hesitation, shifting, electronics, brakes and totally refined interior with better controls, nicer look and materials. More refined seats. Fewer problems compared to my D3. D4 was the best vehicle LR made in the past 20 years, imo. I miss my Black Ed D4. And I am totally unbiased, LOL. BTW - I scrub all my used cars I got just like you did - even the "detailed" ones. Great choice, enjoy it! Congrats on your purchase.

I bought the last of D4's with the 2.7L motor in 2010 with sat nav and 7 seats. 300,000KM later and still the best vehicle I have ever owned. Gearbox needed a rebuild @ 180,000KM but that was because of that stupid sealed for life box and the stealer saying it didnt need servicing. Got my first ever fault codes being POOOE-22 and P2290-00 last week which were fixed with a new fuel filter. Fingeres crossed the dreaded HPFP doesnt rear it's head

So easy to do an oil change with the SDV6. Just stick a vacuum on sucker onto the former dipstick location and remove the oil. No need to crack the drain plug and no bending over. Replace the filter element on the top of the motor and pour in 5.9L of new oil and you're done! You can change the oil in 5mins while wearing your best clothes.

Those tractors are works of art.

Tolles Auto, das sie gekauft haben. Ich höre hier in NL, dass die discovery 4 viel besser ist als die 3. Ich habe nicht erwartet, dass all die Dinge, die Sie erwähnen, und sicherlich nicht, dass die Disco 3 besser ist. Jetzt bleibe ich auf jeden Fall bei meiner Disco 3. Aber der 4.4 V8. Ich werde nie einen Diesel kaufen.

Vera you are such a patient woman! I think Corries is derived from Greek meaning bold and confident although there seems to be a lot of other suggested meanings. Well I suppose now you've made every conceivable modification to the Disco 3, except a jacuzzi, we will be able to enjoy Vera's car being brought up to your level of excellence.

Congrats on the new buy! Great video! Vera glad you have a better off-road vehicle. Also when will there be husband and wife off-road challenge video!?! Keep up the great content and good vibes!

Christian, thanks a lot to share your experiences with this car, that's have good stuff and issues. A good discussion is a galvanic corrossion that occurs with differents material, a problem that LR Discovery have some due difference between steel and aluminum. Best Regards.

Yah am first , lol, looking forward to this to see what the differences are , congrats on the new purchase , so will u be drawing straws of who gets which one, lol , hope ur keeping safe and well and thks again for the extremely informative videos 👍👍

Had our discovery 3 tdv6 manual for 3plus years now, non sun roof,, as our discovery 2 had leaking sun roof problems,, so oil changes at 8, 10 thousand miles, or 1 change per year,, really enjoyed the video,, as we were looking for a 4 but no oil dip stick be worrying,,, from Northern Ireland greatly appreciated thank you ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️

Beautiful porche tractor.

I was looking to buy a Discovery 3 or 4 and came across your videos, I think the dipstick issue may have been the deciding factor and I'm going to concentrate on a late Disco 3 model. Thank you for being so helpful, and entertaining. 😀

Great video, I was looking for a LR3 to replace my RR P38, but ended up with a 2006 RR L322, with heated steering wheel, seats front and rear, which was the deal maker for my family. The LR 3 and 4 have more off road accessories than the L322 which has almost none. Over here in Canada the Discovery name is reserved for some LR 2 and their newer vehicle that looks a bit like the Mercedes GL with the bloated rear. I liked the LR4 but they were outside of my budget and over here they have the petrol engines. The one thing I really dislike is the electronic parking brake on the LR 3 and 4. As bad of an idea as the electronic dipstick.

I think we can all agree that both the LR3 and LR4 are undervalued.

Great video. I prefer my LR3. 👍🏻👍🏻

“Or half a person in some countries” That was hilarious! I also have managed to restrain from any Toyota preaching on this channel even though I’m in love with my Land Cruiser. I love the Land Rovers and G-wagons too...they’re all great in their own respect.

Great comments about the manual, couldn’t agree with you more. Sadly JLR don’t seem to supply written manuals for their new cars and direct you to an app which is terribly light on detail and reliant on you having a charged and working smart phone….

We sold out 300k km '09 SE D3 and bought a 54k km '16 SDV6 HSE D4 late last year. Aruba Gold. It is a major upgrade in specification. I just hope it is as trouble free as the D3 was! We do have 5 dogs so dog smells aren't an issue (although they mostly travel in our VW T3 Transporter)

Very useful comparisons thank you. I have Tuareg with all this new stuff like stop/start keyless button, lane departure steering etc The first thing I do is turn it off !Might look to change to a simpler car like a Discovery 3 so very helpful info. ( maybe not to simple though?) Lovely Porsche tractors btw We see quite a view of these here in the UK at vintage tractor rallies. Coveting that Unimog.

Here in the uk we have the ULEZ emissions charges coming in soon. I think that will keep the later D4 at a high price! Just add pig wee. 😉

This is so good, I was in a Landrover dealer last year looking at upgrade for my D3, another customer asked me if they are reliable because he read on internet there are lots of faults, I asked him if he did a search for 'faults with landrover'? Yes he said... And what did you expect? Try faults with jeep, or Toyota?

For the Discovery 4, Steve got a very stern talking-to.

I had considered buying a Disco 3, but due to increasing amount of cities across Europe implementing Low Emissions Zones, it really doesn't seem a viable option in the longer run. I have switched to searching for a D4 now with a Euro6 emissions rating. As you said trying to find one without crazy milage at a reasonable price is tricky. However I think it will be worth it in the longer run. I'm not sure there are too many other vehicles on the market that are as versatile as the Discovery. Looking forward to the videos on your D4.

Thanks for the comparison. I wish our D3 had the arm rests like your D4.

100% reason for me getting an LR4 was lack of the heated steering wheel on the LR3.

I have disco 3 2006 almost 200.000 k it was a long history services on it but now the car is stronger again and very happy to drive it . Disco 4 is beautiful but in my opinion is the same disco 3 with a wacht in the middle of the dash and one camera back nothing more than this for a lot of money on it? no way , if the prices with disco 4 will go down I can think about it . Cheers from Norway .

Good review - considering both models to add to the garage. Have a 96 Discovery that I will keep but want something newer and nicer. Love Vera's driving - and the scenic backroads of Germany. Haven't been able to visit since Covid - nice views! Thanks! (Phoenix Arizona)

Hi. Christian is not only an excellent mechanic but also an expert in economics 😉 . Ahhh and I like Discovery 3 better. A hug from Portugal.

ahhh! if only you posted this a day earlier! :) i bought D3 anyway but that'd be yet again good reason to stick with a 3 and make it so much lighter on my heart ;-) thanks anyway! you're one of reasons I went for a disco!

Great comparison. Also glad you were not affected by the floods. Love your channel! The D3 dash board can develop cracks and the head liner trim material can delaminate. This could be more prominent in warmer climates. I noted your D3 is not affected by this.

As usual a brilliant video! We appreciate the German humour and we promise not to take you too seriously! The comment on the handbook was interesting, the reason that possibly the off road section has been removed is that all UK buyers get a free off road driving course! Maybe not in other countries ? Out of interest, the two worst and most unreliable vehicles, that, in nearly 50 years of driving, I have owned, have been a Mercedes and a Toyota ! Both companies had to refund my purchase money! Apart from that I agree that some Disco 3 to 4 were a retrograde step, more likely due to the result of marketing research carried out on the uses that owners put their cars to!

I never knew that Porsche, like Lambourghini, first built tractors. I have started looking for the right Discovery 4, this set of insights helped. Thanks. BTW, if I tried 'watch my rims" with my wife, there would be a sharp elbow in my ribcage in return.

Consider that magnet a lucky charm. With love from Cluj, Transylvania - RO ♥️

I think that this is a very informative and down to earth site. It is sensible and easy to understand in an everyday way. Do you work for, or have ever Land Rover or do you just carry out a lot of research before getting your hands dirty? Please ask Vera not to turn the steering wheel by putting her hand on the inside of the wheel . Not only do you move your arm and hand in an inefficient and awkward way, but it is potentially dangerous. Good luck with your site , i will stay glued to your content. From a Discovery 2 owner.

I meant to add, I don't know what it is like for car thefts in Germany but in the UK it's terrible for D4s. Best to disable your keyless entry and or get additional security on it too so no one steals your new toy👍

The bong in my '08 L322 was also used both for faults and notifications which wasn't good for my blood pressure, especially in the winter. Every time I heard the bong sound warning me of potential black ice I envisaged lots of bank notes leaving my wallet 😆 Luckily I have a '12 L322 now which has a visual indicator on the binnacle instead of a bong.