I am about to make a controversial statement: An NAS Defender while more “rare,” is actual a worse truck. And make no mistake, 90s Defenders are trucks. From the February 1994 issue of Car and Driver.
We’ve already mentioned the Defender 90’s unsuitability for extended freeway flogs. It’s also rather basic when it comes to creature comforts. For example, the standard equipment includes no back seat and no top whatsoever. The interior finish consists of painted metal, hard plastic, all-weather cloth upholstery and rubber mats. Naturally, there are no memory power seats, trip computers, or even cruise control.
Can you imagine paying $32,000 in 1995 (~$65,000 in 2024) for a car with no features? Not to mention it was about twice the price of a Jeep wrangler for the same year. Make no mistake the NAS Defender is a beautiful car. My dream would be to have a 1993 NAS 110. But at a minimum were talking $100,000 for one that likely needs work, gets 10MPG and has questionable air conditioning.
The Discovery on the other hand has all the creature comforts as standard. From cruise control to Dual Airbags (a big selling point in 1995!), and A/C that actually cools. Plus the side facing jump seats in the load space are always a blast. “But I want leather seats like in the Range Rover” you might say. Well you’re in luck. There are plenty of Disco’s with leather interiors clad in beautiful Bahama Beige. You may even find a few painted in “Altai Silver” with grey leather interiors if you’re into that.
In terms of drive train; 4WD was standard just like the Defender and Range Rover classic. All three vehicles also included a dual range transfer case. However, only the Defender and Discovery have a center locking differentials. Granted, most people nowadays will never need to pop into low range and lock the differentials. But given the choice between having it and no needing it or needing it and not having it, I would go with the former.
With the unquestionably cool safari windows above the load space, decent on road handling characteristics and go anywhere off road abilities, the Discovery is the sweet spot of the Land Rover lineup. The current prices are also a big selling point with both the RRC and NAS Defenders well north of commoner prices. A 1994 Range Rover Classic with 221,000 miles just sold for $41,000! Was it in great condition? Absolutely. But 41k for a 1/4 million mile Range Rover?
Meanwhile a 1994 NAS Defender 90 with 133,000 miles and a replacement transmission sold for $56,000. This was a manual transmission, soft top with no A/C. Are both of these beautiful trucks? No doubt. Are they a better value than a Discovery 1? I don’t think so. Not when you can get a 1999 Discovery SD with 89,000 on the clock for $25k.
But you be the judge. Let me know what you think. Interested in buy a Disco? Check out my buyer’s guide.