The Background

For family reasons, I had owned Volkswagen Microbuses for twelve years. With four children, the space-efficiency of the Microbus suited our family perfectly. But after two children had left home the need for all that space fell away. On my last Microbus trip, I damaged the underside of the vehicle fording a river in Namibia. It was then that I decided that I needed a 4x4, to suit the types of holiday we were beginning to take and enjoy.

The Showroom

This is how it all started. I work in Sandton, north of Johannesburg and sometimes drive of a lunchtime to visit a bookshop or hobby shop or similar. It is a welcome change from the work of the day and a low-cost form of relaxation. On one particular day in early 1998, I drove past a new Land Rover dealer that I had not noticed before.  What struck me was the size and architecture of the place and the considerable amount of cars in stock both inside and outside the building. I also noticed a new shape of the car in the showroom.  A dark green Freelander, the first I had seen, was sticking its aggressive snout out at the world outside.

The overall impression that I subconsciously had (I analysed my feelings later) was: “This company is making a comeback”. I had always had a soft spot for English cars, but as they had steadily disappeared from the South African market, the soft spot did not count for much.

The Sales Staff

So on seeing the Freelander, I turned into the dealer’s parking area. Perhaps I would kick some tyres this lunchtime. I was greeted in the showroom by a young salesman and asked to see the car. This was my second pleasant surprise – he knew about the vehicle. He understood the mechanics of the thing – as a mechanical engineer, I was communicating with him. I mention this because this has not been my usual experience of car salesmen. Even those selling up-market vehicles seem often to have little knowledge of what goes on under the bonnet. The phrases they have learned are simply that - phrases they have learned, without any deep understanding of what they mean. Shall I mention some names? I have encountered this phenomenon at dealers selling Volvos, Mercedes and BMW’s.

The next pleasant experience was being taken for a test drive by the salesman. This was no chore – he suggested it – it looked like it was clearly part of his job description. We visited a piece of ground with very steep inclines. I subsequently measured them at thirty degrees. The salesman had said they were thirty degrees – he knew that as well. He drove up and down these slopes, first with me in the vehicle and then observing from outside. I was very impressed, being new to this 4x4 thing.

Marketing textbooks tell you that the buy decision is a complex thing and cannot be rushed. And that is true. The salesman’s job is to help the buyer to make a decision, over time, which is best for the buyer. You cannot speed it up. The ability to decide grows over time, as alternatives are eliminated and options are chosen.

I was still a long way from deciding – I had never bought a vehicle anywhere near as expensive as the cheapest Land Rover and did not at that time even think I could or should. I kept coming back to the showroom, asking questions, studying options. That was the next thing that impressed me about Land Rover – they were not just selling a vehicle, they were selling a lifestyle. The amount of accessories available for the car and the owner were amazing. I accepted with gratitude the literature offered to me, with a slight twinge of guilt as well. After all, at this stage I was still just a tyre kicker.

So as not to feel too obligated to the young salesman, I started visiting another dealership to ask more questions. To my pleasant surprise, the young salesman there was equally knowledgeable. It was he who moved me closer to my decision – by introducing me to the Discovery, particularly the three-door model which was not all that more expensive than the Freelander. I was initially hesitant – I found entry and exit from the rear row of seats difficult and I was concerned by those solid axles, which seemed to me to be so old-fashioned. I was subsequently to learn that the two companies that know more about off-road work than any other, Land Rover and Jeep, stick to solid axles (except for the Freelander) because of their off-road advantages. As the salesman explained, when a wheel goes over an obstacle with a solid axle, it lifts the differential up out of the way as well. Not so with independent suspension.

I was once again offered a test drive. This time I was given the keys and we traveled to an open park with stands of large rocks on it. The salesman suggested I put the Discovery into low range and let it idle over the rocks, which I did. A simple maneouvre, but strangely satisfying. I was also impressed by the power and the general feel of the car. What was particularly important to me was the driving position. As a Microbus driver, I was used to being able to see over the traffic in front of me on the expressway. One feels a lot more in control and a lot safer. I knew then that I could not go back to an ordinary car after the Microbus. It had to be a high-stance 4x4 – but which one?

The Sales Literature

I now had more sales literature to examine as I was given the Discovery brochures and also had the temerity to ask for the Range Rover literature. I spent hours over the documentation, impressed by its quality and detail, and comparing the vehicles, detail for detail. On reflection, I know that the Discovery brochures helped sell the car to me, particularly two photographs. The one was of the vehicle from the front, fording a river and generating a bow wave up to the height of its bonnet. The other was also a river shot, of a Discovery, not crossing a river but going upstream in the middle of a river towards the base of a waterfall.

A car purchase is complex. It involves price, obviously and technical details. But it also involves emotion. The Discovery sales literature took care of that aspect, consummately.

I was edging closer to a decision, but my mind was not made up yet. I returned to the  dealer I had visited first for some more information, this time trying out the diesel version of the Freelander. Here was my next surprise – I was given the keys and told to go and test the vehicle myself, which I did. I must have an honest face or something. Good marketing once again.

My wife at this stage took a hand in edging me towards a decision. Having seen me every evening poring over the brochures, she said “Why not go and buy it then?” Still I did not move, until one day, a salesman from the dealer phoned and asked if I was still interested in a vehicle. I asked for a faxed quote for the three-door Discovery V8 with certain extras and decided to buy the car on the basis of that quote.

On the Road

Eighteen  months  and  50 000  kilometres  later,  the  Disco  continues  to  satisfy.  Its

off-road ability confirms the praises heaped on it in the local and overseas (particularly the US) press. Two phrases sum it up for me: “awesome” and “goat-like”. I have taken several persons back to those thirty degree slopes and I have climbed some steeper ones as well. In the majority of cases, my passenger’s reaction has been: “We’re not going up there are we?” Then we do clamber up – and then down.

I have had the vehicle up and down various passes in South Africa, including the Sani, the Katberg, the Gamkaskloof and the Helskloofhoogte. On the latter we encountered a German tourist, sitting in his car at the bottom of the pass, holding his head in his hands. (He answered our enquiry by saying he was OK.) He had rented a Mazda 323 and attempted to climb the pass with it. A half a kilometre up we saw the spin marks from his front wheels. He had rolled back down in reverse from there. The other serious bit of dirt roading has been the Richtersveld and some areas around the Fish River Canyon. My wife has suggested a trip overland to Tanzania. Get a four by four, get a life!  

Another pleasant surprise is the Discovery’s fuel consumption. If I drive as I normally do, adhering to speed limits inside and outside of town (which is what we all should always do, I suppose), the vehicle gives me 13 litres per 100 kilometres. That is what my Microbus gave me on half the engine capacity and with two-wheel drive! I know that the competition and the motoring press here and in the UK make much about the V8’s thirst, but it is out of perspective. With the current price of petrol in this country, I feel the figure is completely acceptable. An acquaintance of mine has a Land Cruiser six-cylinder petrol model – he showed me his logbook – 23 litres/100km! As a second example my friend’s new Toyota Raider, of only 2,3 litres capacity got the same consumption as the Disco in our recent visit to the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. I really think Land Rover South Africa should counter the negative propaganda about the V8’s thirst their local marketing campaigns by presenting the facts.)

What is more, the Discovery satisfies in various unexpected ways and at various levels. For example, the quality of the sound system is a revelation. My simple test is to play the tape from the Titanic film in the Disco and then in some other (up-market) cars. They do not equal the richness of sound and they cannot handle the volumes the Discovery’s radio can without buzzing and rattling. And there are sounds and things that I hear on the tape that I do not hear in other cars. I now know what the old phrase, High Fidelity, or Hi-Fi, actually means. I had not ever experienced high fidelity sound reproduction in a car before. This to me is amazing. I did not even know I was buying into this. This is with seven speakers – and the Range Rover’s system has eleven! I wonder what that sounds like?

If I have any regrets it is that I was not at the time able to afford a model with ABS. The Goodyear Wrangler tyres on my car cause it to skid easily in the wet and ABS would be a real help here.  And I wish I had not let the salesman persuade me to have aftermarket sunroofs fitted – they rattle, even when closed.

The Service

The servicing of the car has also been a pleasant experience. Anything that has been covered by the three-year warranty has been put right without argument. The most serious items in this category have been the rear silencer, the rear shock absorbers and a sun visor. I have still to replace brake pads after 50 000 kilometres, although I had been warned to expect short life here. I have had the car serviced at various times at any of three dealers. The servicing staff at each are knowledgeable, patient and agreeable. The car is always returned to me cleaned and spruced up.

I have always had a lift back to work without having to wait too long. Once I was lent a company Discovery overnight. The service from the spares counters  has also been good.

When I say that the service has been good, what is the standard of comparison? My other experience of vehicle servicing has been with Volkswagen products for twelve years. This was generally good, with one very bad exception. But with my daughter’s Fiat Uno the servicing was a disaster. These are the only comparisons I have to draw on. Before that I always serviced my own vehicles, because as a younger man, I could not afford the servicing costs.

Another aspect of service which has been excellent is the technical support from Land Rover’s office. The technical specialists are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I complained to the one that my car did not have a panel lamp rheostat, although the brochure specified one. An arrangement was made to install one via the dealer, free of charge.

The Finance

Could anything have been done better? Well, yes. One salesman told me of the in-house finance scheme, but when I said that the company I work for, with its large company allowance scheme, can get a good finance deal from one of the banks, he did not press the point. I wish he had, as I did not realise that the in-house scheme allows extra injections of capital over time that reduce the capital balance and the monthly payment. The schemes run by the banks do not do this although their advertising implies it. All you can do with them is deposit extra capital in a parallel account that reduces the interest on the monthly payment.  There is also a powerful psychological effect for the consumer in being able to reduce his capital exposure if he can, as time goes on. There are many of us who inherently dislike debt and although we are grateful for the financial services that are available, as without them we could not purchase new vehicles, we prefer the option of reducing our debt exposure as time goes on if possible.

The future

What car will I buy next, if I ever do or can afford to? The choice is uncomplicated. The first choice would be a Range Rover. The second (more likely at my income level and age) is a new Discovery. The third choice I think, would be a Jeep Grand Cherokee, as coming from the only real competition that Land Rover have, in my opinion. I never considered a Jeep when I bought the Discovery eighteen months ago as before the Daimler-Chrysler merger, I had concerns about the thinness of their dealer network in South Africa, if travelling.

In that connection I really believe that Land Rover would sell a lot more cars in South Africa if they just had more dealers. I have heard promises of new  dealers opening for two years now and we still have not seen anything.

In Conclusion

A car is the second most expensive purchase we ever make, next to our house. Therefore driving and owning it should be a pleasant experience. My first car was such – a prewar MG that I owned as a student. The subsequent four cars were just good, utilitarian transport, the purchase dictated by family requirements and financial constraints. Then came the Discovery. I now have a vehicle again that I enjoy owning, driving and just being with.

E A Bradley
January, 2000.

Other Stories by Edgar, Namibian Holiday

Postscript

The reader may be interested in the names of the persons mentioned in the above article. The salesmen were:

Greg Beadle, still with Land Rover but now in Cape Town, I am told. Dave Madden, now working outside the motor industry. Rod Bronner, who took over from Dave and concluded the deal. Now with Southern Jaguar.

The most important service personnel mentioned are:

Andy Paine of Sandton Land Rover.
John Carwardine of Sandton Land Rover.

The technical service personnel mentioned are:

Darryl Blakeman and Andy Hendry.