Land Rover Discovery 4 Problems

The Discovery hasn’t done a lot of kays for its age, presumably those it has done have been tooling around town. If it’s in great shape, has been well maintained and serviced and hasn’t been used off-road I would tend to go for the Land Rover. Against that the Jeep has a good reputation as a towing vehicle, and it’s new, which adds to its appeal.

The recommended interval is 24,000 km or 12 months, not 24,000 km and how ever many months it might take to do 24,000 km. The time recommendation is specified to cover those items that deteriorate with time rather than kays. Have the service done.

The Discovery 4 is highly regarded by owners. It’s a very capable off-roader, comfortable and refined on the road, and there are few issues to worry about. Service costs are high if you use a factory dealer, but there are plenty of independent mechanics able to take care of it for you. When checking a Discovery check for use off-road, and look for one that has been pampered within the town boundaries. If you don’t want a car that will go off-road perhaps look at a Toyota Kluger 7-seater or a Mazda CX-9.

You haven't given us the weight of the caravan you want to tow, which goes a long way to determining the best car for you. We'll err on the side of caution and go for cars with a towing capacity of at least 2500 kg that fall within your budget. It's always best to go for the latest model you can afford, which means around 2103 in your case. I'm guessing you're over the Pathfinder given your experience with the holed piston in your current car, but the Nissan is an option for you. So too are the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Mitsubishi Pajero, although the Pajero's rear suspension is prone to sagging when heavily loaded and I would rule that out on that basis. If you can stretch your budget a little you could consider the Landrover Discovery 4, which does everything you want well, but is the most expensive of this bunch. For me the pick of the bunch for me is the Toyota Prado, for performance, economy, and reliability. The only issue for you could be that the Prado's towing rating is 2500 kg, the lowest of the cars we mention here.

There are plenty of SUV choices to look at, such as a Toyota Prado or Jeep Grand Cherokee. Both should serve your needs well.

I would take the Touareg over the Discovery but the real outback towing champion is the Toyota LandCruiser — which gets a big tick from me — because of its bulletproof reliability and Toyota's service network. The badge is not as prestigious and it will cost more for a fully luxury package but the 200-Series 'Cruiser is still The King.

The factory service information says the manual gearbox oil should be renewed every 10 years and the advice is 240,000km for oil and filter on autos. Tim Krieger of Jaguar Land Rover says: "The first service to be completed on a 2010 Discovery transmission would depend on the engine and transmission fitted to the vehicle. It is probably best if the customer contacts their nearest dealer to discuss further."