Dan Eve is a member of Surrey 4x4 Response, an organisation formed of 4x4 owners who volunteer their time and personal vehicles to assist local authorities, the emergency services and volunteer agencies during major emergencies and severe weather.

It explains why he owns a Land Rover Discovery 3, but for all its 4x4 capability, is it a vehicle he can actually depend on? "There isn't a good or a bad Discovery," he says.

"They all share the same faults. It's when they happen that differs. Among the faults are water leaks and suspension wear. Mine's currently sitting in off-road mode - about 100mm higher than in its lowest position. Go off-roading in this mode and it's easy to get grit under the suspension airbags, which can puncture them. To avoid that happening, you should always jet wash the suspension after going off-road but people don't.

"There's not much you can do to prevent the crankshaft from snapping on cars from 2008, though. Irrespective of how the engine has been serviced, it will probably let go at some point."

Dan's Discovery is a 2006-reg 2.7 V6 diesel automatic in XS trim. He bought it three years ago with 131,000 miles on the clock. It's now showing a nail-biting 151,000. "I'm a mechanic and had known the car for five years before I bought it, so I knew how much money had been spent on it," says Dan. "It's okay, for now.

"I had a Disco 2 before but the 3 is easier to get child seats into. There's more space through the rear door aperture. Each generation has its pros and cons, although I have less faith in my car than in the Disco 2 because it has so many more electronics. For example, my car's transfer box is electrically operated, as also is the electronic handbrake. It has tyre pressure warning too. Just a bit of water somewhere can cause a world of problems. I certainly wouldn't buy newer than a Disco 3. The 4 has even more electronics."

Dan's not really selling his Discovery to me but then he remembers why he has a 3. "Comfort-wise, thanks to the front and rear air suspension, it's much more comfortable than the 2," he says. "The engine has a lot of power and can put it down very well too. We've done training exercises where we've tried moving all sorts of things and it does so without fuss. It will even pull an 18-tonne truck. I reckon that in low range it would pull a house down if you let it!"

Dan's Disco has the obligatory snorkel but he warns against taking older cars like his into floods: "I've taken this one into water up to the middle of the headlights, which is when you find the door seals aren't as good as they once were Even now, three years after he bought it, he's still discovering things about the car. "Last week I realised that not only are the front seats heated but the rear ones are too," he says.

Dan certainly puts his Discovery through its paces. Most recently, he and fellow Response members were at the Goodwood Revival, helping out. "We towed over 1000 vehicles including lorries, buses and vans, as well as cars, out of the mud," he says. A Discovery may have its faults but when the going gets tough...