BMW X5 spits on the face of the Land Rover Discovery 3

Dear Baraza,

I am an ardent reader of your column and this time round need your advice on BMW X5 versus the 2006 Land Rover Discovery 3.

I am basically looking at maintenance, fuel consumption, and occasional upcountry off-road usage. Another issue of concern to me is the passenger capacity and boot space.

Also, kindly advise me on the issue of petrol versus diesel. I am not a fan of diesel, thanks to the sound of the engine... and the smoke.

Alberto.

Maintenance: Both will cost a lot to repair once they go ping! But the Discovery will be especially painful when the air suspension is in need of replacement. Notice I said “when”, not “if”...

Fuel Consumption: The petrol versions of these vehicles will struggle to crack 7km per litre, especially in V8 guise (4.4 litres for both). There is a 3.0 petrol option for the BMW (straight 6) and a 4.0 litre V6 petrol for the Discovery. None of these is especially friendly to the pocket.

Alternatives are the 2.7 turbodiesel for the Discovery (not a smart choice, the engine struggles to pull that very heavy Land Rover double-chassis) and the 3.0 litre turbodiesel for the BMW.

What I would go for is the 4.0 litre diesel V8 for the X5, an uncommon engine and surprisingly comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox. It is the only X5 that I know of with a manual gearbox, and like I said, there are not too many that were imported from the UK.

Off-Road Usage: The Discovery spits in the face of the X5 and insults its mother to boot. Locking diffs, ride height control, low range gearbox, and the terrain response system. Enough said.

Passenger Capacity: The Discovery again spits in the face of the X5, and again insults its mother. Seven full-size seats versus the X5’s five. Again, enough said.

Boot Space: The X5 has a bigger boot when both cars are full of people. However, with two people less in the Disco (five-seater), its boot gets bigger than the X5’s. When the rear seats in both cars are lowered, the Discovery starts to spit in the face of the....

Petrol vs Diesel: You are better off in the 4.0 petrol Discovery. The 4.4 is too thirsty while the diesel struggles with power. The X5 manages to outshine the Land Rover here in that you can have any engine and it will still work like a charm.

The 4.8iS is for thundering along the road at 220+ km/h. The 4.4i is for thundering after someone with a 4.8iS without catching up. The 3.0 diesel is for those who are worried about fuel economy.

The 3.0i is for those who are comfortable in their own skin and have nothing to prove to anybody, so they make sensible decisions and care nothing about stuff like “power” or “exhaust notes” or “fuel economy” because after all they have an X5: what do you have?

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Hi Baraza,

I have taken your advice several times and it always works. I have a problem with the fuel consumption of my 2005 Toyota Fielder. I have owned the vehicle for two years and it has been serviced twice.

During the second service (at about 2,000km), the mechanic changed the spark plugs. Before this the vehicle was doing between 11 and 12 km per litre.

However a number of weeks after this service it went down to 5km per litre. I went back to the garage and removed the “new” plugs (they did not look good). I put back the plugs that had been earlier removed after the mechanic cleaned them.

That day it did 10km per litre. The following day it went down to 5km per litre. Back to the garage again and this time the mechanic recommended original plugs (platinum something). However, even with this change, it is doing around 6km per litre. The fuel system and engine seem fine. What could really be the problem?

Jona

When you say the plugs “did not look good”, what exactly do you mean?

It seems your car has a problem with the ignition system, most likely an ignition coil is over-supplying current to the high tension leads and burning out your plugs. Have it checked.

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Dear Baraza,

I find your column very informative and detailed, so I would like to ask a question. I have a Mistubishi Galant 2000 model. Is it possible to interchange the Galant’s engine with a Toyota engine? I have been thinking of using the engine of the old Premio Corona or the new Premio.

Of course I understand that I have to replace everything, even the transmission, the radiator, the dashboard display, the computers (transmission and engine). I know it is going to be an expensive venture, but is it possible?

Sam.

Sam, instead of making all those changes, why don’t you just buy a Toyota? It will be a cheaper and less frustrating path to take.

I am not sure about a Toyota engine fitting in a Mitsubishi engine bay. The engine mounts might be incompatible, making fabrication and modification necessary.

I am not sure many mechanics would want to assume that task. The risk factor is too high.

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Hi Baraza,

Thank you for your informative articles. I am venturing into transport business that will involve sourcing my products upcountry and transporting them to Nairobi. To this end, I am considering buying a pick-up. What is your input on the Great Wall Wingle 5, 4x2 Diesel? Can this car perform or will it fail before it hits the road?

Evans

I have not tested one, so I cannot give a verdict just yet. However, popular opinion (which is sometimes wrong) will lean towards the vehicle failing faster than fresh milk going bad in hot weather.

Some off-the-cuff advice would be to go for the pick-up if it is for the short term. I know it is cheap (it is Chinese, after all) so the initial outlay necessary to get one on the road is less punitive than that of a more established non-Chinese marque.

You might smile when buying it but its resale value plummets fast (only the really desperate would buy a Chinese commercial vehicle second-hand... especially after it has seen hard use on Kenyan roads).

You might be better off getting a second-hand Japanese pickup.

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Dear Baraza,

What is your expert opinion on Toyota Noah 2005/2006 models. Engine (1AZ) performance, dust immunity for engine, parts availability, suspension strength, fuel efficiency, maintenance economy, long safari durability, resale value and flaws, if any.

Jacob

For the Toyota Noah engine:

Performance: 154 horse power, 9.8 seconds from zero to 100 km/h,  top speed: 175 km/h.

Dust Immunity: Nobody has ever asked me that. I do not even know what it means. If you do not want your engine to get dusty, then either;

1. Do not drive in dusty places or

2. Clean the engine regularly. Wipe, do not blast it with a water jet from a hose.

Parts availability: Look at the number of Noahs on the road. What conclusion does that lead you to?

Suspension strength: Strong enough to bear a combined weight of roughly two tonnes (the car alone is 1,500kg, so that plus a half-tonne allowance)

Fuel efficiency: 15km per litre is a reality on an open road and without the extra half tonne weight penalty I mentioned above. It will do 10km per litre in town-bound traffic, less if the traffic is especially bad.

Maintenance economy: What is “maintenance economy”? Take good care of your car and it will not bite back

Long safari durability: How long is long? Provided the car is in serviceable condition and there is fuel in the tank, the car will drive whatever distance you want to drive.

Resale value: Most used ones have prices hovering between Sh750,000 and Sh850,000. Do the math.

Flaws: Poor ground clearance, absence of a diesel engine in later models. Also, it is a van with van handling and van driving characteristics.

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Hi Baraza,

Thank you for your great articles, they have been informative to the motoring novice that I am.

I am interested in buying a Toyota Fielder that has the following description; Toyota Fielder Z Aero Tourer, 6-speed manual transmission with strut tower brace (STB). A VVTL-i 180 hp engine and does 12km per litre fitted with rally adjustable DMS shock absorber and special gauge to measure fuel consumption and kilometres left before fuel is done.

My questions are;

1. Being a first-time car owner, would you advise me to buy such a car?

2. What are the advantages of the 6-speed manual transmission over the regular 5-speed MT?

3. Is it really possible for the above 1800cc car to have a fuel consumption rate of 12km per litre?

4. My guesswork believes this model requires the high octane fuel type such as V-Power, can you confirm?

5. The strut tower brace and adjustable DMS shock absorber specs, what are they and are they available in Kenya in case of need for replacement and at what cost?

6. Is it possible to “tone” down these rallying specs to more general and probably economic specs, or should they remain intact in the car. I am probably going to be an average user with the occasional upcountry road trip.

What is your take on the car’s suitability for my needs? Any Toyota model you would recommend for my user profile?

Henry.

1. If you are a petrolhead, yes. But question six tells me you are not. Buy the car anyway, it might turn you into one.

2. More gear ratios mean less hunting and better control over engine performance: It is easier to keep the engine speed in rpm (revolutions per minute) well within the power band/torque band and thus eke the best performance out of it. But a 5-speed gearbox is generally more robust and thus harder to break. These are issues we discussed with a colleague while looking at a Lancer Evolution with 820hp, so it might not really apply here... the 6-speed is better. Simple as that.

3. Yes. If you do not drive as if your trousers are on fire.

4. Not necessarily. I am guessing this is the same engine in the Toyota Celica. Incidentally, the person we were discussing the 820hp Evo with also has a car with these same specs (Fielder, 6MT, 180hp 2ZZ engine). The recommended fuel for that engine is 91 RON (Reasearch Octane Number) premium — what we call “super”.

Our version of V-Power is somewhere around 95 RON (more suitable for that 820hp Evo) so it is not that necessary. But use it once in a while, especially seeing that the 2ZZ engine is MFI (multi-point fuel injection). It will help keep your injector nozzles clear.

5. The strut tower bar is the metal rod that you see going cross-wise when you open the bonnet. It is connected to the tops of the shock absorbers, where they peep through the bodywork in the bonnet. It stiffens the structure of the vehicle and improves handling and enhances driving feel. DMS —Drummond Motor Sport — shocks are just shocks. Possibly aftermarket, so slightly stiffer or better engineered than stock. They also stiffen the car, lower ride height, and improve handling and road holding.

They might sacrifice a bit of comfort, though. These are all available on the Internet. You might also get them locally but only if you visit a tuning garage. Like the one that houses that 820hp Evolution.

6. You could “tone down” the car but why would you want to do that? That would be sacrilegious to a petrolhead like me.

I would advise you to just get an ordinary Fielder if a “warm” vehicle like this does not tickle your fancy, but this car has my personal recommendation written all over it. Get it. You will enjoy driving it.

Having car trouble? Send your questions to [email protected]