Is a d5 a great deal right now?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

ktm525

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Posts
2,588
Reaction score
1,259
Location
alberta
D4s are/were popular among the mom crowd for a few reasons:

1) Visibility
2) front/rear parking sensors
3) narrow width making it easy to park anywhere
4) short length again making it it easy to maneuver
5) tight turning circle
6) great AWD system for those of us dealing with snow encrusted roads 6 months out of the year.
 

ryanjl

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Posts
3,018
Reaction score
1,792
Location
KCMO
IMO LR lost their cache amongst the soccer mom crowd with D5.

With the previous generations, a soccer mom could buy one and stand out a bit from the crowd of other suburban mom's in the carpool line and feel cool about it.

My wife fits squarely in that demographic. I doubt she ever drove her LR4 down a gravel road, but she loved that truck when it was her daily driver.

I took over the LR4 for recreational use, which put her back in the market for literally any suv with a 3rd row of seats that she wanted to buy. She took one look at the D5 and gave it an unequivocal NO. She ended up with a Mercedes GL something.

I think LR didn't understand their target market, and what design elements of their product appealed to that market. The D5 might be a better, more capable SUV than the previous generations, but it looks like a Ford Explorer. Suburban moms don't care about the capabilities of the vehicle, they care about how it looks and how they and other moms perceive themselves in it.

I agree with this.

For all the compromises one has to make when owning a Land Rover--and, let's be honest, there are some--they used to do it because they stood out from the crowd.

Now, the only Land Rover that I feel like stands out is the full bore Range Rover. Unsurprisingly, it's also one of the better sellers, even in spite of the price.
 

ryanjl

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Posts
3,018
Reaction score
1,792
Location
KCMO
D4s are/were popular among the mom crowd for a few reasons:

1) Visibility
2) front/rear parking sensors
3) narrow width making it easy to park anywhere
4) short length again making it it easy to maneuver
5) tight turning circle
6) great AWD system for those of us dealing with snow encrusted roads 6 months out of the year.

I'll add something to this list. The interior storage space of the LR4 beats almost everything else out there, too. When I bought my LR4, I was also thinking about a Range Rover. But the rear of the LR4 is immense in comparison. The top half of the Range slants inwards, whereas the LR4 maintains verticality. Didn't seem like it would make too big a difference, but it did.
 

jwest

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Posts
2,041
Reaction score
409
Location
Seattle WA
She took one look at the D5 and gave it an unequivocal NO. She ended up with a Mercedes GL something.

Yup, that mercedes does the job very well for a demographic that rover was barely competing with and now how lost ground on in my opinion. The GL 3rd row is way better and it's long flat roof is better for many things. The D5 roofline and rear hatch especially got dumb as **** from a usability aspect. it also lost the fabulous design of the 2nd row seat folding. It's literally one of the dumbest rovers ever IMO.
 

jwest

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Posts
2,041
Reaction score
409
Location
Seattle WA
I'll add something to this list. The interior storage space of the LR4 beats almost everything else out there, too. When I bought my LR4, I was also thinking about a Range Rover. But the rear of the LR4 is immense in comparison. The top half of the Range slants inwards, whereas the LR4 maintains verticality. Didn't seem like it would make too big a difference, but it did.

Exactly. I bought a new 07 RR supercharged. You'd think the incredible drive train, vastly more comfortable seats, ergonomics, etc, etc, etc in ways the RRSC is so much better from a driving experience point of view, that I could keep it. No, I loaded it for work and play a few times, poked around the LR3 I have now, and sold the RRSC in 6 months to have this 07 lr3 instead. LOL who does that?! Luckily that switch only cost me about $6000 loss on selling the rrsc myself because it was the only white/white for sale in USA at that time. Meaning no new ones, no used.
 

cperez

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Posts
1,720
Reaction score
794
Location
Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No, I loaded it for work and play a few times, poked around the LR3 I have now, and sold the RRSC in 6 months to have this 07 lr3 instead. LOL who does that?!

I also had a 2007 RR but not the SC model. Like you, I had a wandering eye for the LR3. Every time I'd see one on the road, I would admire its more athletic and purposeful stance and say to myself, "THAT is a Land Rover," even as I was tooling around in the absolute king of SUVs.

I kept the RR for a few years and must say I enjoyed it. It would be 2014 before I would finally scratch that itch. When it was time for a new (to me) vehicle, I had total tunnel vision for an LR and that's when I got into my 2011 LR4. Three years later I would get into my current MY2013 LR4. Couldn't be happier.
 

BrandonM7

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Posts
141
Reaction score
93
Location
GA, USA
next to a d4, these are so unappealing...

Even next to a case of chlamydia they are unappealing. I see one every day on campus at work and I swear it's one of the only vehicles I've ever encountered that seems to get uglier every day. Hell, even the Pontiac Aztek started to become tolerable once the shock wore off. Not these ugly ass d5s.
 

jwest

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Posts
2,041
Reaction score
409
Location
Seattle WA
Even next to a case of chlamydia they are unappealing. I see one every day on campus at work and I swear it's one of the only vehicles I've ever encountered that seems to get uglier every day. Hell, even the Pontiac Aztek started to become tolerable once the shock wore off. Not these ugly ass d5s.

Not even a fair comparison because the Aztec had no real competitor for looks in my opinion. The Disco 5 though, it's just a more expensive Ford Explorer.

Luckily I have no experience in STD's to offer an opinion on that one...
 

BrandonM7

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Posts
141
Reaction score
93
Location
GA, USA
Not even a fair comparison because the Aztec had no real competitor for looks in my opinion. The Disco 5 though, it's just a more expensive Ford Explorer.

Luckily I have no experience in STD's to offer an opinion on that one...

An explorer can at least look passable in some trims. Uninspired and bland, but at least not outwardly offensive. There's no saving that d5's dunky ass.
 

Latest posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
36,222
Posts
217,567
Members
30,473
Latest member
OnoA
Top