LIVING WITH LAND ROVERS

The 88inch series III makes a brilliant first Land Rover for young drivers you learn basic mechanics quickly, they’re fun to drive both on and off road, and parts are cheap if you have a family, they aren’t ideal although different seats, soundproofing, overdrives and engine transplants make a difference. The Discovery is a bargain and it’s easy to find ones even cheaper than our two grand examples. It’s hugely practical family friendly and, underneath the skin, essentially the same as a Defender or Range Rover so it’s also cheap and easy to fix. But it doesn’t age as well dents, dings and faded paint can be shrugged off the SIII, but it makes a Discovery looks a bit of a shed.

Both can be run on a shoestring, but only if you can do your own repairs it’s easy to rack up four figure garage bills on Land Rover this old. And at 17mpg, a daily commute in petrol Series III is expensive, but you could have the bill by buying one with an LPG conversion or budgeting for one yourself. Gas will bring running coast in line with the diesel discovery but depending on your tank size you may find filling up every, say, 150 mils a bit of a pain.

For a cheap way into the Land Rovers, both of these make sense. You could replace the family car with a discovery and use it in the same way as well as going outback and to pay and play sites. However unless you love welding, this is not a Land Rover for life. The series III will continue for years with the odd anti there. An old leafer is the safest bet you can get with LAND ROVERS.