Land Rover could be rightly pleased with its new TD5 on sale in late 1998, packed with fresh innovation and bristling with technological world first. It gave Discovery 2 the power that enthusiasts had longed for. It was quieter, cleaner and a tad more frugal than the outgoing 300 TDI.
But Defender fans were less welcoming to the simultaneously launched Defender TD5.Electronic engine control (barely noticed on the last few Discovery 300 TDI engines) now had full sway over the running of the new engine.
TD5 couldn’t run without its computer, problems couldn’t be diagnosed without electronic test gear, and surly, everything would shout down or go haywire when deep wading. Defender’s image as a go anywhere, fix it anywhere off roader was open to question.
Electronic control had become essential though the only way to meet exhaust emissions regulations. 300TDI had been replaced because it could not comply with the latest EDC2 regulation. Later, ever stricter emissions would even kill off the TD5.
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