Page created: 1-Nov-09

Year of registration: '02/52

Owned: August '07 to date

My darling wife had always enjoyed driving my Land Rovers and, whilst I was faffing around with my DII V8, she decided that she'd like to own a Discovery too. Ever the more practical one, she wanted a diesel auto and she wanted heated leather seats and a heated windscreen. This basically meant a top spec. ES model.

The hunt was on for the right one and, after viewing a couple, we came across this example at a small dealers near Basingstoke, which was absolutely immaculate. It was exactly the right spec.,  had a full service history and had been fitted with a high end Alpine stereo and 20 inch Range Rover Sport wheels.

Now, as this Land Rover isn't mine, there's no question of wholesale modifications. However, I have been able to arrange for a few tweaks here and there.

The first thing that struck me was that, whilst the wheels looked very nice, they made the ride incredibly harsh. So, after mentioning this on the Discovery Owners Club forum, I did a deal with the proprietor of TD5 Alive to swap them for some standard 18 inch wheels in exchange for one of his ECU re-maps. He was delighted with the wheels as he wanted them for a show vehicle and I was more than delighted with the re-map as it makes the TD5 auto much more responsive. The 18 inch wheels look perfectly smart too.

Other minor details include some front light guards (it already has them on the rear) and a roof rail extension kit. The latter is in lieu of a full roof rack as we've acquired an Oztent and needed a means of carrying it. Oh, and those 18 inch wheels are now shod with Goodyear Wrangler AT2 tyres.

We use this vehicle for towing our caravan - a large twin axle model - which it does with ease, but we've also used it to go camping. With the back kitted out to take our camping gear and the Oztent on the roof, we did a trip through the Spanish Sierra Nevada mountains in 2008. It performed superbly in this role and, as we plan similar trips in the future, this DII will definitely be our weapon of choice.

It hasn't been without its' problems, so far needing new brakes all round, a new radiator and both rear air springs. However, it's proved capable of eating both motorway miles and mountain tracks in comfort and refinement and imparts a feeling of confidence in its' abilities in all conditions.