Towed an swift elegance grande 850 with a 2009 discovery 3 at 1750kgs (no payload)
Stuck at 60mph all the way because it was brand new and I was in no rush and it was just really comfortable and rock steady
Pushed it to 70 to see how it was handling and to pass a couple of trucks obviously limited to 60mph and it was all fine, no issues at all and rock steady. Now bear in mind I’m a class 1 driver, but even taking that aside this was a very stable combination helped by the sheer weight of the discovery. I feel that any relatively sensible driver could handle this really easily and overall was as the tow match says, a really good match
Disco will go anywhere you want and towing the van is great. Fell high up and in command of the van. I have the Auto box and woudlnt want a manual. Never struggles changing gear.
Car is 15 years old now but the air suspension makes for a great ride despite its bulk.
Obviously car would be great for a more heavy van and the newer versions are even better.
Would recommend a Disco!
I've towed with the following.
Discovery 3.9 auto
Discovery 3.9 manual
Discovery td5
Caravan was twin axle Swift at about 1870 kgs loaded.
Without a doubt all the land rovers were useless as tow cars, the V8s lacked torque and derv lacked power all were unreliable and very expensive to service and repair.
I now use a Ssangyong 270 ex. For towing it's very stable economical and totally reliable. Its Mercedes mechanicals are exceptional..Keep landrovers I'll never have another.
I have a Landrover Discovery TD5 Auto towinga Abbey Spectrum twin axle, and have been towing for 28 years-stability wise fantastic easily the best i have towed with, although power is left wanting at times (why they didnt put a 3litre diesel in i will never know) a good solid reliable combination though (so far) and wont be changing in the near future.
Fuel costs aside, it's true what you've heard. There's few, bar none, that can compete with this land tug. The 255ps 3.0 TDV6 ne is epic in all situations we've ever had to come across. Ours is a 2012 Disco and we pull a Sprite Major 6 TD so it's 50 (something %). If fuel costs don't worry you too much and you can afford to run one I strongly suggest you go and try one out. EPIC!
Had the Discovery 3 now for 18 months and am very happy with it. Pulls our Bailey Senator Carolina without any problems. Been to Ireland, UK & France, you can see why the Land Rover has been Best Tow Car of the year so long. Average 23MPG on our last trip to Cornwall (1180 miles). Lots of power and precision with high driving position making this the perfect car to tow with, plus you have loads of room in the car to carry extra gear.
Towing this caravan with the Disco is effortless. The tow is smooth and confidence inspiring. Due to the weight of the Disco you are always in control. As long as I have wheel grip, it has pulled up all hills , no matter how steep. An excellent combination.
We towed our caravan to ~Monte Carlo and this car is amazing. Too often i forgot easily that I was towing a large twin axle and you really need to keep your eye on the speedometer.
I love the tow assist feature of the Land Rover which is great for reversing and for anti-snaking.
Towing a Bailey Unicorn S2 Valencia. My Disco is an auto and I wouldn't go back to manual ever. It is without doubt the best tow car I have ever had. But I think some of the claimed mpg figures in some reviews are very optimistic and certainly not my experience. Mine is in top condition with full LR service history but round the doorsI average around 23 mpg and towing around 21 mpg. The only time I get it above 30 mpg is solo at a steady 60mph. Bear inmind its kerbweight is pushing 2.7 tons and it has the aerodynamics of a brick. How anyone gets anything like 38 mpg out of one beats me. Also servicing and repairs are expensive, even using independent LR specialists. So it is a brilliant car, but buy one with your eyes open and don;t expect it to be cheap to run!
Effortless in all situations. A brilliant tow car.
Caravan? What caravan?? It is very easy to forget you are towing.
Rock solid without any fuss.
we have had our disco for 5 years now towing a bailey senator Vermont .been all over the country in it .we will never swap for another car ...drives nice feels nice fuels good what more can you ask for in a car
What can I say? It does everything it says on the tin!! Disco IV with 8 speed auto. Previously had a BMW 5 series GT which never felt comfortable when we towed to Cornwall last year. This year and a different story. The Disco pulled like a dream. Great car pulling a great caravan the Bailey Unicorn Barcelona twin axle. Looking forward to France next year. It's the perfect combination and 22 mpg not bad for a combo weighting in at nearly 4.5 tons.
I have towed my Bessacarr with the Discovery for three years now. Overall I`m very pleased with the performance. The Disco was not designed for speed but it pulls extremely well. Acceleration is `leisurely` but once up to speed on the flat (52 m.p.h. to attain 4th gear) it`ll tow all day at the legal 60. When I can I use cruise control and this seems to make some difference to fuel consumption, for the better, around 8-10% as a guestimate.
Motorway inclines have to be approached with some degree of preparedness,depending on the severity of the slope, i.e. shifting manually into 3rd prevents the gearbox from `hunting` for the appropriate gear.
My TD5 ES Auto (Alive chipped) pulls our Compass Corona 624 without a problem.I set the cruise at 55mph on M'ways and that is where it stays.We run on Toyo A/T Open Country, so no sway or roll and 29 mpg.
I have recently completed a round trip to London from the NE. Overall mpg was 22 towing cruise control at 60. No problems passing HGV,s the outfit was totally steady. My car has the 8 speed auto box. Where the car leads the van follows
Bought my td5 in 2008 with 51,000 on clock,now on 80,000.
Travel every year to France and Spain towing our Compass,no complaints at all,tows well and on return vehicle is loaded down with boxes and boxes of wine,enough to last a year !! great saving on uk wine prices. The disco is a hobby car and is maintained well,it has never let me down and i do not expect it to.
My td5 was an absolute dog to drive... Veering all over the road tracking lorry ruts etc. bit of a white knuckle rid at times even slowing right down on motorways...
Changed my tyres from crappy Goodyear wranglers to avon rangers. Amazing difference on handling.
Anyone with a td5 steering all over the place, get ur tyres changed. Apparently the wall of the tyre deteriates causing the sloppy handling
Not really a tower of caravans but a little more 'commercial' - a Blue Line twin axle box trailer plated for 3500kg in which we carry 'various items to shows and festivals such as Glastonbury.
In 'standard' form the car is pretty weak as a tow horse - my old Landcruiser Amazon would eat it for breakfast.
I had it chipped, added a VGT turbo and large intercooler and it will haul 2500kg up and down the motorway all day - but pulling out of a junction is flat out dangerous - even in its tuned state the car struggles to get moving - the TD5 power is simply all in the wrong place - high rpm starts will destroy a clutch in no time at all. the self levelling and air suspension results in a disconnect between driver and trailer that I find disconcerting - I like to 'feel' what it is doing, the Disco will wander off line and you need to be real gentle and cautious how you get it back on track - dangerous.
But it has hauled 2500kg at 60mph for 400 miles while returning 32mpg ... but I was cream crackered by the end of the journey.
Would I use one for towing again - not a chance - the vehicle is now up for sale.
Purchased a dicovery v8 o4 auto to pull our new sterling elite Amber, very pleased it pulls without any problem and makes light work of telegraph hill on our way home back to Torquay an expensive lesson as our vw Touran 2.0 dsg brand new only two months ago was 250kg to light to tow the sterling. Allthough it has the 170 bhp engine used it once to bring new van home and pulled it with ease but broke the law!! But now very happy dispite fuel economy with my new an faverate Toy my Landy very very happy
I have owned my disco 3 HSE for 4 years now and have towed all over Europe as well as Britain with my swift conquerer (twin axel) and I cannot fault the car, I had the car re-mapped about 3 years ago for the extra torque, but to be honest I didn't need to, it's just a beast of a tow car !!!!!
My previous disco was a td5 auto which towed well but needed more go. The disco 3 hse is in a different league, I have to look in the mirrors to check I have a big twin axle van behind. Its a star car with the auto box making towing easy
Landrover TD5 manual upgrade to 176BHP.
Used to tow Avondale Dart 5 berth. Now towing Bailey Pegasus II Anconna 6 berth single axle no problems towing whatsoever.
2.7TDV6 is an awesome towcar managing nearly 2 tonnes of van. very stable in any situation and enough acceleration to surprise many a solo car alongside. Brutal power and precision with high driving position being perfect. Air/auto level suspension also excellent for coupling and cruise. Will be getting a D4 later this year to sample the extra 25% torque. Awesome and made in England!
2001 td5 GS7 auto, towing bailey senator Louisiana upgraded to 1790kg, Great motor, always found it a stable towcar, steering tends to be a bit vague but every landrover I have owned seems to be this way, polybushes great improvement, needs anti snake hitch if towing at anywhere near speed limit, but will tow all day, and will get van to out of the way places and more important will get out again, word of warning early models are prone to drive failure to oil pump. I know its happened to me, very expensive repair, get the oil pump bolt checked on service. average fuel return on steady run 24mpg
fantastic, happily pull up in the outside lane at the traffic lights and blitz the opposition complete with bailey in tow
Excellent towing, don't even notice that the caravan is there. Drives like a dream!
As the review suggests this is the perfect towcar for almost any combination. Pulling our Swift Challenger is easy, stable and smooth with power across the gear range. Steep hills are no issue for this behemoth and with low range in 2nd gear long slow moving queues are simple with no starin on the gearbox.
2000 td5 flat as ..no power,struggled with van,had it remaped by mike @dynachip wow! switzerland,luxembourg,belguim,france, 1856 miles.in two weeks, not a problem at all
Swift conqueror 630 I've been towing this caravan for the last 12 months with the Disco 4 tdi it's rock solid
My 2002 td5 towing a Abbey Spectrum 535.Ok where do i start ,towing ability poor,suffers from a lack of power compared to other tow vehicles i have owned,handling is to say the least wayward and general reliability rubbish.Sounds harsh i know was looking forward to towing my caravan to North Wales and expected my landrover to be able to cope,this was not the case,i am an experienced caravaner(25 years) and am now selling this vehicle and will not be towing with anything to do with landrover again!Even my previous car a year 2000 Ford Explorer was better in every way and towing consumption wasnt too different!!!! Second and last Landrover ever................
WOW!!! - this towcar is the best I have ever experienced in over twenty years of caravanning. With fuel economy giving 25-28 mpg Towing and 32-36 mpg solo. Either on the flat or uphill, wet or dry and on or offroad "its the vehicle to tow with" - It always giving me that warm comfortable feeling whilst towing...
We have a 2001 TD5 ES and tow a Elddis Odyssey 534 and it pulls effortlessly. Had a problem last year with power loss on incline but fitted a Land Rover Discovery 2 TD5 EGR Removal Complete Kit and that solved problem also increased power, torque and mpg about 28+ .. 108500 miles on clock
The Td5 2001 tows better than I was expecting, have ti keep the revs up on take off otherwise very happpy, 141k miles on the clock so dont be put off by the miles.
Sterling Elite Overlander, twin axle towed by Disco 4 XS 3.0 ltr turbo. All I can say is brilliant. No problems on hills or motorways. Solid as a rock.
I have towed with a variety of Land Rovers and other large engine saloons various sized caravans although this is about the biggest and heaviest. The TD5 is by far the best vehicle I have ever used for towing. On the motorway using cruise control the complete rig moves along at a steady 56-60MPH without stress excitement or unwelcome surprises. The availability of low ratio gears makes the concern of climbing steep windy hills thing of the past, although top speed is a little limited. An excellent towing and towed vehicle
Our old D2 td5 did a grand job of pulling our Conqueror, but this D3 tdv6 is in another league.You have to keep an eye on the speed because you just dont know the van is there, you wont want to stop at the caravan site, just keep driving.
my 02 disco pulls my lunar freelander effortlessly returns 30 mpg at 56mph on motorway
This towcar is the best I have ever experienced in 24 years of caravanning. The only downside is the fuel economy, but I can live with that 27-32 mpg on motorways, 25-27 mph on "A" roads. From standstill the outfit has very quick pick-up of speed and does not struggle on the hills. A very smooth, quiet and stable towcar - no regrets!!!!!
Shocking handling, I'm an experienced caravanner and feel nervous towing my van. My friend borrowed it to tow her horsebox and she said it was awful too. Garage says nothing is wrong but the car decides to veer off the carriageway and you have to fight to keep it on track. Am disappointed because I thought this would be the ultimate towcar :(
Bought the Discovery 3 Manual to tow our Abbey Vogue 650. We are a family of 5 and sometimes take chidrens friends too, so we dont travel light.The discovery pulls our outfit a dream and hardly knows we have caravan on tow.Max weights are 1800kg plus car and returns fuel figures of 22-24 mpg.Really pleased would not tow with anything else.
The landrover discovery 4 3.0cc automatic tows the 2008 swift conqueror 630 twin axle effortlessly. A very smooth ride and none of the jerking and instability I found with my earlier elddis avante 472 caravan. A pleasure to tow!
disco td5 1999 have towed this twin wheeler 26 foot long outfit for 5 yrs have no problem smooth ride no pitching at all plenty of scope and movement up hills and overtaking no problem solid unit
i have a disco 1999 td5 caravan abbey spectrium twin wheeler,
(1750kg)26foot .tows like a dream doesnt have any problems with power or stablity we forget we have a caravan on the back sometimes the match is perect towed this outfits for 5yrs no problem
No problem to my 2000td5 as long as you manage to keep your revs up, cruises at 60mph on 2500 revs
I have been towing for over 25 years and my 2002 Discovery TD5 auto is the best tow car I have had. With the new Bailey Pegasus behind I found it an ideal combination. I can also vouch for the effectiveness of the Traction Control Unit which was also fitted to my previous Bailey Wyoming which I swapped for the Pegasus as a tyre deflated on the first trip out in the Wyoming (not a puncture - just lost pressure) and I didn't realise it until I had a wobble that was immediately stabilised. Wheel changed and no problems but fitter could find nothing wrong with tyre/wheel/valve which never lost pressure again after being reinflated?
Can honestly say I have never experienced anything other than safety and comfort when towing with the Disco. I also have a Dixon Bate Shocklink fitted which helps ease the stresses on twin axle "A" frames. This makes for a very smooth tow and have used the Shocklink on three 4 x 4's now having had it adjusted to give a level tow with each van. I highly recommend the Shocklink also!
Speaking as a passenger, our Disco is brilliant. We never appear to have any problems with it and as other people have said they often forget the van is on the back - I find myself checking the mirrors to see if everything is ok !
having not towed any sort of trailer for some 20 years, the wife suggested we get a caravan, so i bought a discovery 2 td5 auto. the truth is i don,t know the caravan is there and often forget i am actually towing it, a little dodgy sometimes i know but no problems so far. I can identify the bits about changing down too much when in cruise control other than that an excellent choice of tow vehicle.
The Discovery III HSE Automatic pulls our Swift Conqueror 645 TA with ease. We took it to Italy via Austria on various routes last year. No drama, even on steep hairpin bends. We get 19-22mpg towing in UK and got 24mpg on uncrowded Austrian motorways at around 55mph. Best car we have ever towed with including V8 Range Rovers and older Discoveries.
i have a landrover 300tdi 1994 cant find it on here too old i think lol and a swift challenger again too old about (1100kgs) it tows lovely 5th gear on motorway no problem pulls well in every gear allmost forget the caravan is there happy at 60mpg giving about 28-30mpg so for budget caravanning you cant go wrong does the same as a £12000 outfit and i own them both
I have owned several Discoveries but this is my first Td5 Auto. I have also towed for many years and I'm a professional HGV driver, so I understand the needs of a tow driver. This vehicle ticks all the boxes. Plenty of power on start up, good torque when overtaking and climbing hills. The only downside is when using cruise control in hilly areas, the vehicle tends to drop gears too quickly and then holds them for too long. If you override the cruise control under these circumstances you get a much better and more economical ride. ten out of ten!
We are a family of five and we dont travel light !and have recently purchased a Land Rover Discovery 3 to pull our Compass 636 6 berth 1819kg caravan. I have to say the mpg is not bad at all possibly 21/22 mpg and the car pulls the caravan a dream !!!!!!!!
We are a family of five and we dont travel light !and have recently purchased a Land Rover Dicovery 3 to pull our Compass 636 6 berth 1819kg caravan. I have to say the mpg is not bad at all possibly 21/22 mpg and the car pulls the caravan a dream !!!!!!!!
I have towed various caravans with different discoverys I now own a disco 3 auto se towing a Knaus Starclass 560 its a heavy van 1800kg the car has no problem towing the Knaus ,my disco 3 manual which owned before the auto did between 23 and 26mpg ,I find the disco3 auto alot better fantastic tow car.
i have towed with this outfit for 8 years with no proplems, the Landrover makes it easily. it is a lot better than my friends citreon c crosser i borrowed that struggled
over the years i have towed various caravans with with an assortment of discoverys from a 200 tdi to a td5 and now to a tdv6 hse. while the tdi and the td5 were good in there day the tdv6 is in a different league. the comfort and the power out strip the older models, the only downside is fuel, it averages between 19 - 23 on A - roads and 21 - 24 on motorway. this may be due to it being auto. (which takes the stress out of towing for both the driver and the car, as the electronics keep it in the right gear all the time.) or maybe i drive to quickly. either way as a towcar the tdv6 is fab.
Brilliant! Wouldn't tow with anything else.
Just a great tow vehicle, doesn't struggle at all. Get the ECU remapped and fit a descent air filter and this transforms the vehicle. Fuel figures with the van on the back at a steady 60 are nearly the same as driving solo at 80 ish! best function is the low range for reversing / maneuvering. Traction system is superb for pulling the stuck Jap 4X4 out of the mud when their operators can't engage diff lock mode etc. The seats are as comfy as you favorite sofa! I have traveled 600 miles per day without any back / leg problems there are not many cars I can say the same about.
Got a 2004 Landmark with egr removed and decat done as well. I tow with a performance chip and have no power issues at all. The car has rear air suspension so suffers virtually no pitching at all, and there are six of us plus gear. I get quite a bit of lateral movement with the unit so will be interested to see how it is with a full polybush kit fitted. hopefully it will remove the wandering that the disco suffers from. My previous caravan was an avondale 6400 twin axle and it towed that effortlessly as well. Don't know about mpg but it has to be better than my toyota granvia which returns about 18 mpg( i don't exceed speed limits but i don't take long to get to them). I bought this car because of its towing capabilities and as of yet am not disappointed. oh by the way the car has 110k miles on it.
have just bought this twin wheel-ed caravan because we really liked the spacious layout and having the Discovery TD5 I was confident of its towing abilities. However I found I had quite a lot of snaking when trying to go above 50 so our journey took rather longer than we anticipated. I am an experienced caravanner so am aware of how to load the van - can anyone help with this problem?
First class for towing with no effort, it's all very stately but so is the disco without the caravan! Theautomatic makes it a pleasure particularly when going through lots of roundabouts. No shortage of power and no gear "hunting" uphill.
I have towed with this car for over two years with no problems at all & considering this is a twin wheel large caravan I dont thnk you could get better, Superb.
have towed for 32yrs. Disco is definately best tow car yet. Reside Scotland and been all over the place towing about 6000miles/year. Disco great tow car,no probs overtaking . Economical even at 60mls/hour. Will replace with Disco 3 later this year. Go ahead and buy one it will tow anything with ease!
I tow a elddis super sirroco with my 2000 TD5 that has been remapped to 170 hp and its effortless on the motorway and great on the country roads and still returns about 25-30 mpg using the cruise...spot on
had this car 6 years many miles towing ,love the car but under powered strugels on long motoway inclines down to 50 in 4 th gear have to judge over takeing , i do carry a lot of gear but this car should cope
well what can i say but admire my discovery 3 td6 s,,,,ive never towed a caravan before and had doughts about towing my defleff beduin emotions 1900kg ,,,,now that ive read in your pages the great feed back about the towing capabilities of my landrover is great,,,,i will be doing with my family my first maiden voage this summer ,,,,,i will be going to one of the best campings in spain,,alicante...thanks a bunch..
Bought the Superstorm after the car (manual) it is fitted with a motor mover and carries a full awning. Outfit handles really well and barely moves. The car has air suspension and feels more joggly when towing on normal roads. MPG 18 I wouldnt fancy pulling the van with anything lighter
I agree with all of the above. My Disco is rock steady in side winds and overtaking slow HGV's. The only dowside is that the auto gearbox drops down gears a lot on motorway driving.I find dissengaging the cruise control and judging gradients myself helps.
my outfit is a 96 v8 disco on lpg pulling my Abbey 520 (1777Kg) with no probs at all. Fuel economy is working out at 150 miles to £25(46ppl). worth of gas (towing) to be truthful the disco is 100% better than the Pajero exceed 2.5Td I used to tow with and economy is far better 5 star motoring
Works a treat, would recommend a Disco to anyone
We have a 53 plate TD5 and it tows our twin wheeler with no effort what so ever. The Disco is standard and returns us approx 26 mpg when towing its a great towing car
There IS no better towcar.
Towing with my disco 111 Td auto was a little daunting to begin with! It was sluggish to pull off & appeared to lose power on any type of hill. Maintaining speeds over 55mph was tiresome & at times frustrating. However,with exerience comes solutions! GIVE IT SOME GAS!.once I stopped trying to drive it 'environmentaly' and let it have its head,she behaved much better with no appreciable loss of mpg. Still not convinced that auto's make good towing cars,I haveto say that the surefootedness of my disco is very reassuring.
Having towed with a landrover freelander and now the LR DISCO i have had to tow off grass slopes where others have had problems steep hills in Wales and moterway driving and as above we have had no proplems and you dont notice the differance between caravan on or off execpt the fuel eco .great car to tow with
i HAVE TD5 WITH LESS THAN 20,000 MILES ON THE CLOCK. IT STRUGGLES. SO I AM HAVING MY ECU REMAPPED ON WEDNESDAY TO IMPROVE PREFORMANCE. I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW I GET ON.
First caravan is a Lunar 525 fully loaded, the Discovery pulls it no problems, I did have the engine remapped for +140nm which helps. This is probably the best towcar you can get, I get 20-23mpg when towing. I am now looking at a larger caravan, probably a Compass Rallye 636.
MY TD5 DISCO AUTO 2003 iv towed all over the country in all conditions and with all sorts of vehicles and without a doubt the disco is the one for me at times iv even forgot iv had the van on the back
My TD5 Disco is the 2nd Disco that I have purchased and is the best towcar I have had during 40+ years of caravaning. I have never had any problem whatsoever with its pulling capability or performance, my caravan (29cwt) has no effect on the Disco when towing it must be the best.
We tow a six berth single axle Europa laden with four bikes on back car (2000 Td5) and two bikes in van, plus everything for three weeks for 2 adults and four kids. Tows like a dream with 27 mpg at 60-65mpg. Some sway from lorries on continent but UK fine. Go to France/Spain/Italy on average twice per year. Only down fall is limited luggage space with six in car.
It's effotless and trouble free,when you tow with a Discovery.
We go to France at least twice a year,and bring back lots of wine and beer.
The Disco does it all without a flap, much better than that Japanees crap.
Actual van is a Freelander 3 but the same as the lexon 585si! Had the TD5 (2003 model) re-mapped now have 168bhp, what a difference, towing is effortless will cruise all day in 5th on a motorway. Fuel is about 27mpg, if you are going to buy one, go for the face lift model e.g. late 2002 onwards.
I have had my TD5 2004 model for 2 years and had a power chip up ECU grade now towing is effortless. With the extra torque and power you dont realise the van is on the back and with less gear changing 27 mpg is average. Only one thing faulting the L/R is costly repairs, that said it pulls like a dream and i would not be with it.
my outfit is a v8 disco on lpg pulling my hobby 635uksmf with no probs at all fuel economy is working out at 130 miles to £25 worth if gas. to be truthful the disco is 100% better than the pajero i used to tow with and is far better economy 5 star motoring
First time towing a caravan, effortless! New abbey Vogue 650TA, pretty well fully loaded plus 4 kids and 2 adults in the car...cannot recommend this car highly enough. SE Model with air suspension so ride superb and though nodding was noticable more work on loading the noseweight closer to the ideal will probably reduce that. Towing with auto box no issues either. Had to change to a Pathfinder due to work but would have had another discovery if it had been possible.
Have been towing with my Discovery 3 fror 3 years. Currently towing Baily Senator Indiana Series 6 at 1500 kg but prior have towed Twin Axles at higher weights effortlessly. There is not a better tow car, but watch the fuel. Would only change for another Discovery3
The disco is still the king. This is a heavy caravan, make no mistake but tows effortlessly and still does 20 mpg. Little or no swaying when overtaking HGV,s on downhill gradients. 65 mph no problem.
I have been driving my Discovery for now almost 4 month, 24000 km. About 15000 km with my Cabby behind. I must say, it is the best pulling car I ever had. Earlier car with the same caravan was a Kia Sorento, 2,5 TD.
Towing with the Discovery and combination of the Alko Trailer Control, standard on this fleetwood 2008, you could be forgiven for forgetting that you are towing a large caravan. In high cross winds overtaking of large vehicles is effortless. With cruse control at 60 mph the discovery will maintain this on all but the steepest hills with no problem. Fantastic match.
Bought the manual Disco 3 to tow the big new caravan. Tows well hardly know the van is there. 20 MPG The handbrake is a pain on hill starts. Read the vehicle manual covering use of low ratio gears at low speeds.
I have an 01 Disco ll V8 Auto and pull an Elddis Crusader Scirocco,and can honestly say its brilliant.It pulls with ease just about anywhere.Motorways no problem and hills are ok too.Just dont use the cruise control,otherwise your up and down the gears all day and that uses loads of fuel.But the disco pulls the Elddis with ease,you hardly know its on the back at times.Marvelous outfit.
I have a 53 plate TD5 Disco, I use it for towing a Trophy 5 birth caravan. To be honest, on ocasions I forget that I have a van on the back as the ride is good with plenty of power at low and high speeds.
i seem to feel that the discovery td5 is under powered for towing this van but it could just be my td5 as i have had a lot of trouble with it
Simply the best towcar I have ever used in 22 years of caravanning! The chassis setup isolates you well and power is there a plenty (enough to suprise a few other drivers!). Stability is fantastic even in windy conditions but motorway 'tramlines' are felt, although not as much as other vehicles.Through vision is also superb due to high driving position.
I have driven nothing better, does exactly what it says on the tin. Sometimes my trip computer has registered 26 mpg while towing, Pulls the Supercyclone effortlessly
I used to tow with a Frontera 2.2 petrol. Now have TD5. The difference is amazing, less gear changes due to increase in torque. Motorway, in 5th gear all the way. Better fuel economy. Love it and wish I had bought one years ago.
I have the outfit with a 2004 V8 Disco II and i have to say it is a prefect match, cant even tell the caravan is on the back, i drive the car with ease for fuel consumption anyway due to the V8, but you just dont know it is there! Ease to cruise, ease to pass, motoway inclines not really a problem unless you have the cruse control on so better to keep it of for hills otherwise the gears double change and your can say goodbye to a gallon of fuel :-) Not really found a problem with steep hills, I think any car on a really steep hill wont be stunning but if i am doing 20mph on a 1/9 gradient than i am happy. Great outfit.
We tow our Adria adiva with our Discovery TD5.. I can only say a couple of things.. I'm waiting to find out what the 'discovery' is as its going to take a long time to get there if I don't run out of money first.. the berlingo diesel tows it better!!
utter dog, buying Jap next time!!
We tow an Elldis Super Sirrocco with an Auto Disco and the performance is superb, 70 mph up hill and down, the only way to slow it down is using the cruise control at 65 mph and the fuel return is 24.9 mpg. Passing is relaxed and with no movement passing even the largest artic.
The Landrover pulls this van without any effort and a constant 60 mph can be achieved on the motorway in 5th gear, and still plenty of power to maintain speed on hills.
The combination is superb. The discovery is a wonderful tool we are very very happy with combination. We have just come back from a trip of over 5500 miles we had a mpg of 25.7 showing. Vary pleased
The vehicle inproves on the road with the van on the back and tows this van with little effort.
Having a tyre delaminate on the motorway the weight of the vehicle enabled us to control the side movements that would have caused an accident. In the event the only way we knew the tyre had gone was a car behind flashing and a sight lightening of the steering.
Th vehicle in auto form returns about 22/23mpg against a norm of 26/27mpg
I wouldn't choose any other vehicle to tow my caravan. It has given me outstanding performance for the last 4 years, and it doesnt consume lots of fuel, I keep my speed down and dont have an expensive journey.
I have towed with the Discovery since buying it in 2004. It is a facelifted GS 5 and since purchase I have uprated the intercooler, fitted a power ECU upgrade and added an ITG air filter. This makes a massive difference to the standard car - especially towing, a 1900kg laden caravan. The bessacarr has good road manners and the shockers make a big difference. It tows much better than our previous twin axle, a 2002 Elddis Sirocco.
I am hoping to change the car next year as it apporaches 70,000miles and will be looking at a Discovery 3 as it's replacement, though after the TD5 it will have a lot to live upto.
we towed the abbey without even knowing it was there. the recomendations of how the discovery will perform arespot on. you do have the obvious power . it is an excellent combination..up hill and down. i would not hesitate to take this outfit on the steepest of hills.
the best tow car i have ever had in 30years of towing
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