Car Review UK

  • Home
  • Road Tests
  • First Drive
  • Brands
    • Abarth
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Aston Martin
    • Audi
    • Bentley
    • BMW
    • Chevrolet
    • Chrysler
    • Citroen
    • Dacia
    • Daihatsu
    • Dodge
    • Ferrari
    • Fiat
    • Ford
    • Great Wall
    • Honda
    • Hyundai
    • Infiniti
    • Isuzu
    • Jaguar
    • Jeep
    • Kia
    • Land Rover
    • Lexus
    • Maserati
    • Mazda
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes-Benz
    • MG
    • Mini
    • Mitsubishi
    • Nissan
    • Peugeot
    • Porsche
    • Proton
    • Renault
    • Rolls-Royce
    • SAAB
    • SEAT
    • Skoda
    • Smart
    • Subaru
    • Suzuki
    • Toyota
    • Vauxhall
    • Volkswagen
    • Volvo
  • Music

Featured · Land Rover · Reviews · Road Tests

Land Rover Discovery – unrivalled ability

  • by Mike Torpey
  • January 29, 2019

SUVs or 4x4s become bigger business with every passing day, but the model everyone aspires to is still the Land Rover Discovery.

The operative word here is definitely aspire rather than gravitate because, let’s make no bones about it, even the most basic Disco will set you back north of £46k.

But then you get what you pay for and in the Discovery’s case that’s one hell of a lot – even if the majority of owners won’t tap very far into the vehicle’s vast off-road potential.

Its provenance, ability and quality is unrivalled. In fact the only real bone of contention with this fifth generation variant concerns its styling, which isn’t to everybody’s taste.

To me it’s a vehicle of two halves – cool and racy from the front, a bit lopsided from the rear, otherwise this Land Rover is a genuine tour de force and one of the finest all-round family cars money can buy.

All the hardware required for driving up the side of a mountain is present but that’s no longer the Disco’s greatest selling point.

What we have now is a Discovery with digital dynamite, loaded with a raft of digital tech for the modern family on the move.

So there’s room for four iPads in the centre console, mounts for two more on the back of the front seats, 12-volt power sockets for everyone on board, nine USB ports and enough Wi-Fi  to connect eight handheld devices.

Still insufficient? Okay, well how about the InControl Touch Pro infotainment system with 10-inch touchscreen in the dash, another pair of screens for middle row passengers and a smartphone docking station.

That’s just the technology – the Discovery is also now a full seven seater, can tow up to 3.5 tonnes, has more ground clearance and can wade through 900mm of water.

Each of the seven seats can accommodate an adult and luggage capacity ranges from 258 litres with all the seats in use to 1,137 litres as a five seater. Drop the lot though and there’s a massive 2,406 litres.

Beneath the bonnet is a five-strong choice of petrol and diesel engines, the tested Td6 V6 unit with 258bhp on tap proving silky smooth and superb to drive.

But then every model comes with air suspension as standard – just don’t expect sports saloon style handling.

Performance is solid, the eight-speed automatic transmission seamless and over the course of 250 miles of mixed urban, motorway and rural driving the Disco returned an average 32.1 miles per gallon.

Plan to head off-road and Land Rover’s Terrain Response comes into play, with its ability to alter the car’s behaviour for coping with snow, sand or mud.

Opting for mid-range SE or HSE trim rather than the more basic S grade makes sense given the far greater amount of kit included.

Our tested model’s HSE added the likes of a rear-view camera, blind spot monitor, electrically reclining rear seats and a Meridian sound system to leather upholstery, parking sensors, heated seats and LED headlights.

And it’s probably worth splashing out the extra £535 for the 20-inch 5 split-spoke ‘Style 5011’ alloy wheels which work really well with the Corris Grey metallic paint (£850) with Santorini Black contrast roof.

No doubt there’s ambiance, comfort and an upper class experience attached to the Discovery – a model that’s as adept cruising the lanes and motorways of Britain as it is squelching through mud and clambering over rocks.

  • SPEC CHECK

  • MAKE Land Rover.
  • MODEL Discovery Td6 HSE.
  • ENGINE 2,993cc, Td6 turbocharged diesel.
  • POWER 258bhp at 3,750rpm.
  • PERFORMANCE 0-60 in 7.7 secs, top speed 130mph.
  • ECONOMY 34.0mpg Urban, 43.5 Extra Urban, 39.2 Combined.
  • CO2 EMISSIONS 189g/km.
  • BiK RATING 37%
  • INSURANCE Group 41 (1-50).
  • PRICE £60,895 on the road.

  • WHAT’S HOT

  • Capability, space, quality, image.
  • WHAT’S NOT
  • Fuel economy, price.
  • RATINGS  {Out of 10}

LOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

RIDE AND HANDLING . . . . 8

PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . .9

VALUE FOR MONEY . . . . . .9

 

Tags: DiscoveryHSELand Roverroad testSETd6Terrain Response

— Mike Torpey

Mike Torpey is freelance Motoring Editor of the Liverpool Echo, past Racing Editor and also a travel/golf writer, music reviewer and rock music nut. Tweet @michaeltorpey1

  • Previous story Kia ProCeed – a shooting star
  • Next story Ford Mustang Convertible – black sunshine

    Explore More

  • MG3 Hybrid+ – style and economy April 23, 2025
  • Skoda Kodiaq – upwardly mobile November 18, 2024
  • Range Rover Evoque – lean, clean, classy June 1, 2024
  • MG4 XPOWER – a beast unleashed March 14, 2024
  • Recent

    • Lexus UX 300h – crossover classMay 20, 2025
    • Subaru Forester – best kept secretMay 8, 2025
    • Kia EV3 – world classApril 28, 2025
    • MG3 Hybrid+ – style and economyApril 23, 2025
    • Volkswagen ID:7 – electric showstopperApril 14, 2025
    • Audi A3 Sportback – timeless qualityMarch 28, 2025
    • 4×4
    • Commercial
    • Coupe
    • Executive
    • Hatchback
    • Saloon
    • Sports
    • SUV
  • More

    All First Drive Reviews All Road Test Reviews All News Features Click MUSIC for all our previous picks
  • Search

  • Home
  • Featured
  • Land Rover Discovery – unrivalled ability
          • Home
          • Driven
          • News
          • Sitemap & Archive
          • Contact

          Copyright © 2014-15 CarReviewUK | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy