discovery or kia sorento?

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cm2581

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As above! Just wondered about other people's opinions and experiences. Which and why? I have a bateson ascot and two horses bout 600 and 650kg. Will also be using for daily driving. Decisions decisions!!
 
Hubby is a mechanic with his own garage. We have a discovery. He dreads any Kia coming into the garage. Says the parts take ages to come from manufacturers, and that they don't age well - and resale value drops like a stone. Discos just go on and on. You may get a newer Kia for the money, but its not in the same league.

BTW We have two horses of sim weight, and the disco tows them in an ifor with ease...
 
I had a series 1 Disco and now have a series 3. My husband describes it as the most complete car he has ever driven, and he has has some very nice cars, including Porsches.

Go for the Disco. It won't let you down.
 
cm2581 said:
why so against the KIA? Very highly rated as a tow car and cheaper insurance and higher mpg.
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Disco all the way-:D
KIa who rates it as a towing vehicle? ermm people who tow mayb once or twice a year? or people who dont have to go off road to tow-not all horsey events have perfect parking in fields!:D
The disco I drive-1996- diesal,is in good nick and well looked after.
It pulled trailers full of turf,wood,horses and that was on road and off road.
It also towed the "nice but dim" yearling out of a bog ditch...the kia wouldnt have got through the gateway never mind get to and work around the ditch!

If money dictates go for the KIa..but if you want a vehicle that works for its keep the disco wins handsdown.
Yep insurance can be high...but then a teenage lad driving a subaru will pay more on his premiums than a thirty something with many years no claims and advanced driver? ;)
So unless you been joyriding and getting nicked for speeding on a regular basis the best thing would be to shop around for insurance with another company. ;):)
 
Had the same dilemma myself about a year ago. Needed to use whatever I got as my main car but needed something with good towing ability for the trailer.. Do about 30 miles each day going back and forth to the yard and work so didn't want anything too juicy. Eventually got a 2 year old Manual Sorrento and have been really pleased with it. No problems towing and access to our yard is down a potholed lane with several steep hills. Get about 28 to the gallon so no complaints there. Have had some sniffy comments about the badge but each to their own. New Sorrentos do not have such a good tow weight though and a manual is quite hard to find but happen to prefer that for towing. Happy motoring whatever you choose.
 
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Millyard Rejects said:
Disco all the way-:D
KIa who rates it as a towing vehicle? ermm people who tow mayb once or twice a year? or people who dont have to go off road to tow-not all horsey events have perfect parking in fields!:D
The disco I drive-1996- diesal,is in good nick and well looked after.
It pulled trailers full of turf,wood,horses and that was on road and off road.
It also towed the "nice but dim" yearling out of a bog ditch...the kia wouldnt have got through the gateway never mind get to and work around the ditch!

If money dictates go for the KIa..but if you want a vehicle that works for its keep the disco wins handsdown.
Yep insurance can be high...but then a teenage lad driving a subaru will pay more on his premiums than a thirty something with many years no claims and advanced driver? ;)
So unless you been joyriding and getting nicked for speeding on a regular basis the best thing would be to shop around for insurance with another company. ;):)
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NFU were doing some very good deals late last year and no doubt continuing this year...

Disco will handle bolt ons with aplomb - such a winch as the chassis is sorted enough to be mounted onto... The KIA is fine on road and ok on a muddy path but in deep sticky do - Land Rover remain the leaders...
 
Im not a land rover fan, but with a 6k budget they would be safest bet, plenty of people to fix or suppy parts either new or second hand for them and you will always find a buyer no matter what state they are it when you have finished with it !!, Kia would be mosty main dealer for parts and limited number of garages that know how to fix them ...££££$$$$$$$.ouch!!!
 
What's all this negativity regarding the Kia ???

I am in exactly the same situation - a Disco or a Sorento

Had a Discovery in the past and my Grandad has an 04 plate one and I love it however ......

The fuel consumption is far better on a sorento
The tax a year on a sorento is £235 whereas discovery £435
Been on a few reviews of both vehicles and vey surpisingly the sorento comes out on top just cause it's a KIA doesn't instantly mean it's rubbish
Discoverys yes are good but for the money you can get a newer vehicle if you choose a Sorento

Main thing that decided for us is, we could get a newer Sorento for out budget

Mileage - most discoveries in our price range had about 70,000 miles plus the sorento we are probably getting has 44,000

We have had a discovery before and apart from the tax, the amount of times we had to replace things cost a rather alot of money so we sold that and trailer and bought a wagon although long story as how we have a trailer again
One reason for us is also spare wheel is moron the back so my dad can fit a bike rack (oneof the fancy ones that attaches to the towbar)

But yeah if you want something cheaper to run, newer for your money and a lower mileage go for the sorento

Also sorento's can be switched to 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive so when not towing etc the mpg is far better
 
Kirsty+Java said:
What's all this negativity regarding the Kia ???

I am in exactly the same situation - a Disco or a Sorento

Had a Discovery in the past and my Grandad has an 04 plate one and I love it however ......

The fuel consumption is far better on a sorento
The tax a year on a sorento is £235 whereas discovery £435
Been on a few reviews of both vehicles and vey surpisingly the sorento comes out on top just cause it's a KIA doesn't instantly mean it's rubbish
Discoverys yes are good but for the money you can get a newer vehicle if you choose a Sorento

Main thing that decided for us is, we could get a newer Sorento for out budget

Mileage - most discoveries in our price range had about 70,000 miles plus the sorento we are probably getting has 44,000

We have had a discovery before and apart from the tax, the amount of times we had to replace things cost a rather alot of money so we sold that and trailer and bought a wagon although long story as how we have a trailer again
One reason for us is also spare wheel is moron the back so my dad can fit a bike rack (oneof the fancy ones that attaches to the towbar)

But yeah if you want something cheaper to run, newer for your money and a lower mileage go for the sorento

Also sorento's can be switched to 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive so when not towing etc the mpg is far better
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the op asked disco or kia??? personly I would buy a shogun or landcruiser or a double cab pick up!!! as kia's are cheap and cheerfull and discovery's can be unreliable but no trouble to find someone to fix them and i would feel more confident in a older landrover for getting second hand parts.. but hey you buy a kia if you think it will do your job its your money and you have to live with it....
 
we had an old disco, we bought it very cheap (with tax and test) used it for 3yrs for towing 2 heavy horses (IW510) and also for running around in, it wasn't the best on fuel but it wasn't too bad either and also it was quite cheap to insure for my OH.

we sold it recently as it needed alot doing for the mot, shocks, brakes etc etc. and actually made £100 profit on it, it had become quite 'tatty' and definately well used/worn but we didn't lose out on selling it.

we bought a kia a few years ago and we lost out on that in a big way, the value just kept dropping so we would never buy another one again.

Disco all the way! :D
 
No idea on the Kia - however, in September I bought an R (1998) reg Disco 3 series, automatic with £50k on the for £4,200. Absolutely adore it and it's the best towing vechicle ever. Not only can it tow one of the highest weights (3.5 tonnes), the automatic gearbox is so smooth you genuinely hardly know you've changed gear! Not the best on fuel, but that is something I was willing to ignore as I don't do massive long journeys in it. I have a 510 trailer and you barely feel it on the back with two large horses. Def Disco time and again for me.
 
I'm on my 2nd LWB diesel Ford Maverick, pretty much indentical to the Nissan Terrano - reliable, good value insurance/servicing-wise, approx 27 mpg, tough tow car and can fit plenty of tack and passengers too. Made by Ford so parts are easy to come by, and sometimes easier to find a good low mileage 2nd hand one that hasn't towed, because they are not so fashionable! Best of luck with whatever you decide!
 
I've had both, in the same price bracket, and I prefer the Sorento.

I bought a 52-plate Disco Td5 in Nov 2008 for £5150. I bought it because I wanted the "best" towcar I could, and the Disco with the permanent 4wd and 3.5t towing limit seemed to be the right choice. I never liked driving it that much, it seemed absolutely huge to drive and it all felt a bit "agricultural". Plus I had a couple of fairly minor issues with it, but I was just waiting for one of the common "big" things to go wrong with it, like the air bag suspension...

I sold it in August 2009 (for £6k!) as I'd decided to buy a Renault Master. However, we missed having the 4x4 in the winter, so we decided to get another one before this winter.

In August 2010, we bought a 55-plate Kia Sorento for £5500. We'd decided on the Kia as they have excellent reviews and good fuel economy, and are highly recommended for towing. I do much prefer it to the Disco - it's a much easier car to live with as a daily driver, and I find it excellent to tow a horse trailer with too. They're also a bit cheaper than the Disco. Towing weight isn't quite as much (2800kg as opposed to 3500kg), but it has pretty much the same kerbweight and the same power.

If you were to get the 07 onwards Sorento, they're more powerful again, but I doubt you'd find one for £6k, and the auto then falls into the £435 tax bracket, though the manual stays in the £235ish one.

The Sorento also has a FAR smaller turning circle than the Disco, which I do find so much better.
 
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