Hi Guys. Im searching for a second hand tug at the moment to tow my new +2.5 tonne boat with. In the second hard market the 2.5L diesel Discovery and 2.8L diesel Cherokee seem to be the best options. I'm after some opinions on which car would be better and WHY. Im only interested in your opinion if you actually own either of these cars, not just read something good or bad on another forum, or newspaper, or over heard a conversation. Sorry, but i'v read all the other forums as well, and its 90% crap from oke's who don't own either vehicle. BUT, please if you do, I'd like your opinion.

This is what i'm buying it for
- will be my only and daily car
- towing +2.5 tonne boat
- Im not taking it on an over seas adventure
- camping weekends
- I know they are different in physical size, but this doesn't worry me really.

I will also be buying either with an auto. And before everyone beats their chest and ra ra's - I can drive a manual just fine, and drive one every day at work, thats why im getting an auto.

I drive a Discovery 2 auto it's rated to pull 3 ton and will do what you want with ease you just need to take a good look around if you decide to go this way BTW I've had nine for going on 8 years

Harry

I drive a 2012 Grand Cherokee with the gasoline engine and trailer package. Love the vehicle, lots of power however the rear end sags really badly once you put any weight on it. I pull a holiday trailer with a hitch weight of 400 lbs and use a load leveling hitch. I still see at least 10 inches of sag.

I have owned discoveries, of various engines , and have worked on them and jeeps, in australia , I would opt for the discovery , especially in the auto version . The grand cherokee with the V8 is agood version but uses a lot of fuel . IMHO the discovery is the more rugged package. Just make sure rad is in good condition , and the vehicle will handle the heat no probs even towing . HTSH

Ok good advice. Im actually looking at the Cherokee with the 2.8L (rated to 2800kg towing) not the grand cherokee, but thats still a slight possibility.

With the Disco they don't seem to have much power and torque at all. So hows the get go in it? I don't need a speed machine, but don't want a slug either. I drive a 6 cylinder non turbo land cruiser at work and it drives me insane how pathetic it is when it has any gear in the tray. If it's going to be comparable to that forget it.

never driven a jeep, but the discovery 2 (td5) is by far the worst 4x4 I have ever driven (and I have driven everything from a series landie to a modern all singing all dancing Chelsea tractor). It would struggle to pull the skin of a rice pudding, never mind a trailer. Totally gutless below 2000rpm you have to keep it reving to get any kind of performance, which makes it unsuitable for towing. The build quality is rubbish, they rot, and they break down.

I would personally say go for a Landcruiser, but one with a modern turbo engine rather than the gutless wonder you use at work, which, while fine for overlanding (I use a N/A HJ60) is really unsuitable for what you want, as you've already realised. There are landcruisers out there ideal for towing, just not the one you have experience of! I have a 3.0d Hilux (rated to tow 2.8tons in the UK, don't know about where you are) and it pulls like a train from any revs.

As a long term td5 owner that just about sums up my thoughts on it as well. There's something fundamentally wrong with a diesel 4x4 you have to rev like a two stroke to pull out from a junction.

It might be different in a drier climate but in the UK chassis rot either side of the fuel tank seems to very common at about 11 - 12 yrs old.

just to echo everyone else's thoughts, if the Discovery is a Td5, buy the Cherokee, if you can stretch financially to a turbo diesel Toyota 4.2 or D4D, then that would be the best option.

The 2.8 Cherokee uses the VM Italian engine which is a good unit, so should be better for towing than the horrible Td5.

Whatever you buy make sure its been serviced properly and has had regular oil changes.

What year Cherokee are you looking at ?

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

the VM 2.8 in the jeep is a nightmare in australia , if you want one you will not have to pay much to get one . The big Lcrs 4.2 or 4.5 will tow well , the earlier versions will tell you not to tow in 5th , good advice as the gear cant handle it very long( although you are looking at auto which is reliable , but has a tendency to hunt between gears when on long climbs) . If you use all the power and get a move on you can get down round as low 12mpg , Ive done it with an emergency response unit !
i used a 300tdi 130 defender DC HCPU extensively in australia quite frequently at its GTW of 7450KG , it handled it well , managing 25mpg and cruising at about 100kmh on the flat , slower uphill and quicker down
The tdi engines do require a bit of a rev to get off the mark ( the auto a ZF unit (very good) tends to mask this as you can just boot it and the torque converter does the rest) , noticeable compared with my 110 V8 , which will go from tickover clutch engagement and just press the accelerator to get the amount of torque you require but your then looking at 15mpg in comparison thats why i just re-engined it with a 3ltr BMW TD for european use.

The cherokee tends to be a bit weak in the rear axle bearing area , but the 4 ltr hemi petrol engine is a very nice unit , with a long life. , but again being petrol a bit juicy .

good info there tacr2man, what is the issue with the VM units in Australia ?

My mate had a 2.5 VM Cherokee in the 90's and it was a good engine, much better than the old Range Rover engines and far better than the Td5. Ive owned an older 4.0 litre straight 6 gas Cherokee in Canada and that engine by design is prone to head gasket failure, the older style Cherokee is not a good tow vehicle either - its too light and has weak leaf rear suspension.

In North America VM have been pretty good, the 3.0 CRD Jeep Grand Cherokee's are quite sought after, the latest DodgeRam/Jeep 3 litre Ecodiesel is a VM unit - although its CRD it looks to be a well made engine, getting some good reviews so far - but its only been out a few months.

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

In the past two years I have owned a 2002 TD5 and a 2002 2.7cd grand cherokee, discos not very refined slow always needed something doing to it, the GC is faster by a country mile more economical 35mpg at 60mph no probs, uses the merc 2.7 engine is an auto with all the toys. Disco feels steadier on the road but I fitted an uprated anti roll bar from usa which made a big difference to the grand cherokee. havnt needed to do anything to the GC yet nice to drive bit ponderous at speed but then so are most jeeps. The disco is bigger and the air suspension was a bonus but only if its working. Both vehicles have their fare share of issues and parts are easily available for both really comes down to personal preference, having said that I wont be going back to a landrover too much hassle.