Member Since: 16 Jun 2010
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 1020
Manual - but only if you like driving - if you don't then auto I suppose
11th Dec 2011 12:23 pm
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 14414
Manual.
11th Dec 2011 12:30 pm
cold_n_wet
Member Since: 05 May 2009
Location: Bergen
Posts: 1509
up and down steep mountains - Manual
Otherwise - Auto.
D3 auto is apdaptive.
Mine is Auto, love it on the motorway, but the one mountain crossing, we have on the way to the cabin, I miss manual, but command shift almost makes up for it.
My vote Auto.IDTOOL PRO / Faultmate programing and BAS remaping services in Norway.
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11th Dec 2011 1:11 pm
BRIGHT*SPARK
Member Since: 10 Dec 2011
Location: Essex
Posts: 2
Towing, is auto or manual best?
Hi All, THANKS for your posts,looks like most suggest auto box,as i dont mind a lazy left foot myself i think i will opt for the auto. Thanks again.
11th Dec 2011 1:19 pm
moorman
Member Since: 05 Jul 2009
Location: East Anglia
Posts: 276
I pick auto all the time except for the Disco 300 auto I had which was a death trap with no engine breaking available on long downhill descents and an auto box that constantly overheated because Land Rover in their infinite wisdom routed the transmission cooling pipes from gearbox over the top of the cat at 600 degrees centigrade past the exhaust down pipe, cherry red on hard uphill sections into the cooler and then, yes, you've guessed it by the same route back to the box which reheated the oil.
6th Jan 2012 8:50 pm
character
Member Since: 31 Dec 2007
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
auto and better/easier resale
6th Jan 2012 11:13 pm
al cope
Member Since: 08 Nov 2005
Location: Oldbury, WM
Posts: 10354
had both manual and auto D3's, manual is more economical when towing, but you MUST use low range when manouvering if you want a clutch left. Auto is good but thirstier.
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Gone - MY18 D5 HSE - Corris on 22's with Black Pack
Now gone - MY16 D4 SE Tech, Loire Blue, Almond Leather, Privacy, plus some other goodies.
Old - MY12 D4 SDV6 XS Auto - Ipanema Sand with Almond Leather - Plus other niceties, and D4.com sticker
Older - D3 TDV6 XS Auto - Lugano Teal with Almond Leather, 20" Stormers, Shiny Tailpipes, DVD/TV - and obligatory D3 sticker
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Why work for a living AUTO every time. In Spain - 2018 F Pace - Down and out's Velar
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7th Jan 2012 12:34 pm
Slingo3
Member Since: 24 Jan 2010
Location: AONB
Posts: 502
Auto in sport box - hangs on to revs longer, good for towing up and down dale. Cant comment on manual disco as never had one. After towing with other manual cars for years I find the Disco Auto amazing and would never go back.
7th Jan 2012 3:42 pm
mark the spark
Member Since: 22 Jun 2011
Location: southampton
Posts: 2521
Tow with a manual currently. But will go auto next time if you a driveing enthusiast then its got to be a manual but put a lot of towing then i think auto wins out. Would be interested to know what the off roaders view is got to be easier i would think but does the auto take the skill out it ? Discuss MY05 SE D3 Manual my first LR what a car
MY10 HSE D4 auto
MY14 XXV more buttons than the spaceshuttle
7th Jan 2012 4:06 pm
pinhead
Member Since: 20 Dec 2010
Location: yorkshire
Posts: 877
Off road auto all the way
Towing locally round a farm etc to the mart auto
Towing long distance with dual carriageway and motorway work manual
7th Jan 2012 4:19 pm
dragonfly28
Member Since: 08 Jan 2012
Location: South Coast
Posts: 66
Hi folks. I'm in a similar position to the OP in looking for a D3 and pondering transmission choice, but I tow large boat trailers - 3T and 11m long. I currently use a Defender 110 and when starting off on an incline I use low range to get it rolling with less strain on the transmission and then shift to high.
I looked at an auto D3 yesterday and the dealer showed me that to do the above I'd have to shift to neutral before being allowed to change the transfer box, then back into D which sounds a pain. Can any D3 manual owners confirm the procedure in their cars?
14th Jan 2012 9:06 am
pinhead
Member Since: 20 Dec 2010
Location: yorkshire
Posts: 877
similar procedure with a manual
in neutral select low range bong and message on dash says its selected
set off (when i do this depending on the incline i set off in low 1 or 2 ) get up to 3rd or 4th with enough speed to give a little time for a slightly longer gear change and be still rolling foot on clutch gear lever to neutral flick the switch wait for the bong and main gear lever into 1st or 2nd clutch up and away
it is easier than with a deafener as the range change is quite stiff/difficult on those just got to have the stick in neutral that the only difference because you would be changing main gear any how
the above discription also takes longer to read than to actally perform
the question i would be asking is what sort of towing will you do when the boat is recovered
short distance low speed work i would pick an auto
long distance higher speed work i would pick the manual
you would probably find that low is not really required to recover a boat with an auto but it depends how steep the slipway is
Click image to enlarge
this is what i drag around (not got a pic with the d3 yet) it weighs 2150kg trailer about 650 kg and then i put loads of stuff inside probably well over 3 ton total the picture was taken in southern portugal so i guess you could say i am used to towing long distance
Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated
How long are your inclines? I tow a large horse trailer &two large horses and I do the Same. Changing from L to H is no problem & only takes a second or two. About the same time as it used to take me in my defender.
Last edited by Migster on 14th Jan 2012 10:06 am. Edited 2 times in total
14th Jan 2012 9:57 am
Discotres
Member Since: 25 Jan 2010
Location: London
Posts: 8491
pinhead wrote:
this is what i drag around (not got a pic with the d3 yet) it weighs 2150kg trailer about 650 kg and then i put loads of stuff inside probably well over 3 ton total
That must be one VERY heavy boat, this is what I used to tow with a manual although a SWB Defender we bought for the job (blue & white to match ), fantastic as it acted like a tractor unit, the load came in at a touch under 3.5 ton total, unfortunately we upgraded to a bigger boat that is too big to tow when we bought the D3, so have only towed a caravan with the D3, I would have thought the D3 would have coped with the boat if the Defender did
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