First Time Driving a Land Rover Disco Was Perfectly Muddy
Random stop by friend’s house led to unexpected drive of first-generation Land Rover Disco through the muddy terrain of an old airport.
Most of the great adventures I’ve been on were planned out ahead of time. My pal Bryan wanted to tow his 2000 BMW M Roadster from Dallas to Austin, Texas the same week I was testing a 2019 Ford F-450 dually so he rented the trailer and I did the pulling. When I knew I was going to get a 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake S to evaluate, I had my girlfriend and her co-worker come up with a menu so we could go on a picnic in it. But my very first time behind the wheel of a Land Rover Discovery (aka Disco) came completely out of the blue.
Way before I got into writing about cars, I was a student at the University of Texas at Austin. I was lucky enough that one of my good friends from high school, Evan, lived in a house near campus with his girlfriend and a few roommates. I lived with my parents south of Austin, but happened to be in Evan’s neck of the woods on a perfect, sunny Saturday morning. I decided to pay him a visit and see what he was up to. He always seemed to be doing something. Maybe he’d be turning wrenches on one of the two rough 1980s Saab 900s that one of his housemates had recently acquired. Evan was a smart guy and a skilled mechanic so he’d be the man for the job.
I rang the doorbell. Instead of Evan, one of his housemates who went by his last name, Reid, answered the door. He told me Evan wasn’t there. In an attempt at small talk, I asked Reid how his Land Rover Discovery was doing. To me, it was an exotic SUV. I would’ve been fascinated by the most mundane details about it. Reid did a lot more than just tell me what kind of oil it took or what PSI the tires needed. He asked me, “You wanna go drive it?” The word “Yeah!” flew out of my mouth.
I had never really seen Reid’s Disco up close before that day. From what I recall, it was a red Series I model, probably a ’95. It was definitely in a state of disrepair. Many of the interior electronics had stopped working. The powertrain wasn’t that much better off. The important thing – to both me and Reid – was that the Discovery ran.
Reid guided me toward the old Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. It had closed down a few years before, but hadn’t yet been converted into the upscale shopping center it is now. The part of the property Reid and I drove out to was just empty dirt patches and hills. It had recently rained, leaving large puddles of muddy water.
Despite its age and condition, the Disco had no problem climbing the soft, mild hills. Given that I was behind the wheel of someone else’s vehicle, it didn’t cross my mind to point the Disco’s grille at the expanses of water down below and mash the throttle. But it crossed Reid’s. He wanted me to bomb through the puddles. And he didn’t care that his windows were open. Who was I to be rude?
I charged through the water with all the might the tired V8 could muster. The mud splashed up and pelted my left sleeve and the top of the door panel. After a while, Reid and his side of the vehicle were just as leopard-spotted with muck. He wasn’t yelling at me to stop or frowning. I definitely wasn’t either. I couldn’t stop smiling.
We soon returned to Reid’s house. He had the satisfaction of knowing he had made someone’s day. I had a lifelong memory of using a Land Rover to do what it was made for. I couldn’t have planned it any better. In fact, I’m glad I didn’t even try to.
Photos: Land Rover
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