Mine was running fine with a map from BAS, but its not really smooth, and really needed a good boot to get it going . Added to the terrible boost pressure from a standing start, come on you must of had a least one moment in a standard D3 where you are at a roundabout see the gap, foot down and nothing , but we are going off topic for the op, the D3 is a great all round car, but in my view the ride between the two D3 and FFR, the FFR is far superior, thats a combination of the track of the car and the fact you can spec much better engines...

Quote:

Added to the terrible boost pressure from a standing start, come on you must of had a least one moment in a standard D3 where you are at a roundabout see the gap, foot down and nothing

Were your EGRs blanked? I've only ever had that issue due to failing EGRs which are now blanked.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

You could not blank on the 07 onwards engines, at least you could not at the time, its a well known problem, loads on the d3 forum about it...

To add the BAS remap solved most of the lag. But if you are going to a standard car its worth noting, some folks dont like remapping...

EU4 EGR blanking is mainstream now.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

there you go blank and remap and you will be good to go

Back to the OPs question - I think it is a very subjective question and depends upon what he values. I'm not a toys / gadget chap so all the gizmos in the world don't impress me too much but there are things that matter. Others value the toys greatly and will have a different opinion.

If he moves from an FFRR to a D3 HSE which has been well looked after and has no issues then he'll still have very comfy seats (heated etc etc), excellent HVAC, similar principle air suspension (although the FFRR IME is far less prone to bush failure), great ICE and excellent on road manners. He will also gain a lot more space but with that will come more road noise etc.

Overall I don't think he'll be too disappointed. Ok, it's not an FFRR but neither is it a substitute - it's simply a different vehicle which is easy to enjoy.

In the last 3 to 4 years I've gone Def 90 (TD5), Def DC (2.4 tdci), D3 HSE (2.7tdv6), FFRR TDV8 (3.6) & finally Def 90 (2.2). I no longer cover a great distance per year (15k ish) but living where I do any drive is a reasonable one and my office is a 156 mile round-trip (usually use 2nd car for this to keep miles off Def). So, which do I miss the most? The Def 90 TD5 - simply because it had personality by the truck load and never ever let me down!!

If nothing else owning the D3 will be an experience and you can always change it when funds allow.
Good luck  Back in a Defender!!

I was so impressed with my D3 I bought a TDV8 FFRR and ran both for a year, but for me, ultimately the relatively imprecise steering and very disappointing V8 diesel engine in the FF did for it. Maybe if I'd bought the S/c it might be a different story but that 3.6 V8 was a poor match for the overall quality of the vehicle.

Ultimately it's a personal choice, I thought the FF was a much lovelier place to sit in, very good long distance cruiser on the m/way, marginally better as a press-on drive on A roads but much worse on country roads and we have loads of those. It is significantly less practical in terms of the luggage/boot space, more costly to service and insure, drank diesel unless you were feather-footed.

I sold it and still have the D3, now in its 6th year with me.

Would I have another one? Well, maybe; I'll see what the L405 is like when I can afford one...  Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

I have both and for entirely different reasons...

As said above, the D3 is engineered to a cost and for good reason (JLR wanted to sell them at a price point) If they felt as good as a FFRR and were half the price! JLR wouldn’t sell any FF’s would they!