Apparently, my latest car purchase was more of a secret than I had intended it to be. In fact it was probably one of the best-kept non-secrets ever. The old rumour mill just doesn't work like it used to I guess. Or maybe just nobody cared?

Yeah, unlikely.



To end the mystery though, I bought a Land Rover Discovery. An early 90s model, with a 3.5 litre Rover V8. British racing green. And, to be honest, I quite like it. I've never owned a British car before, but heard all the usual stories from Dads everywhere. Usually about Triumphs or MGs and how they were always breaking down and completely wacky to fix. Four digit names with two digits of horse power, but sitting 2 inches off the ground so it at least felt fast. Still it was certainly not fast enough to get somewhere before it all went Pete Tong. In summary, they were cool but terrible.

The Disco isn't really too much different. It is a 90s car though, so it's a lot more sane and probably slightly better built. Probably. Everything is at least in metric. (That I've found anyway.) Most of the quirky things have a charm to them and its almost as though they did it on purpose. The handbrake drum for instance (there's only one) is located at the back of the gearbox. The axles can be pulled out with the wheels still on. The diff can then be pulled out by undoing the front housing. That's cool. Things get a bit weird in the engine bay, there's no radiator cap, just an overflow. The washer bottle holds seven litres. (I've had cars where the coolant capacity is less than that.) And speaking of capacity, mine is a 3 door, but it can seat 7. Fairly comfortably, although you'd probably only seat your red-headed children in the back row. Half the panels are aluminium too, so it's actually surprisingly light. Relatively anyway. It's actually a 3rd of a tonne lighter than the Pajero. Or rather, than the Pajero was, you know, before the rust. And oddly, despite it being a 90s car, it has no catalytic converters. Which as Gene discovered, helps tick that box that all my vehicles need to tick. Yep, it drops the occasional flame on the over-run.

Which speaking of, is one of the best parts of driving it. I've always wanted a V8, in the same way I've always wanted a turbo car (thanks, Chase HQ). Most of these wants were established from watching TV before I was even 10, but its nice to close the loop that part of my childhood. And it does sound tough. It's not a fast car by any stretch of the imagination, but it sure sounds a hell of a lot better than a Mitsubishi 4 cylinder. Even if its not the fastest car to the speed limit, the V8 tells a story on its way there. It's not an overbearing noise though, easily the quietest car I've had since the Breadbox, but I think it just about pips the Skyline to the line for its soundtrack. Which is good, because it lacks a stereo at the moment. Mind you, in a straight line it swings just enough to create a similar swaying motion you'd more likely see at the end of Young Talent Time than in a car. There is just a little bit of play in the steering, I'm not sure how much of that is normal.

One of the most handy things about the Disco, though, is its ability to tow. It can actually tow almost twice its own weight, which will be handy I don't doubt. It's just a shame I don't have two, it is a Land Rover after all.

(NOTE: I've deliberately excluded all the stuff I've already had to fix from this post.)

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