The fifth-generation Land Rover Discovery is incredibly refined, while the addition of Land Rover’s twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine has made the seven-seat SUV available to a wider group of buyers looking for practicality and luxury with lower running costs.
It combines all this with the versatility you’d expect from an upmarket seven-seat 4x4. When it comes to coping with family life the Disco excels, while it’s unrivalled off-road, too.
It’s certainly not the most dynamic car in its class, but it is extremely comfortable, and if you factor in some smart new technology, it’s a very capable package indeed.
The new aluminium monocoque chassis means Land Rover has been able to offer even more space inside.
Starting with the third row of seats, the Land Rover offers more legroom than either the Volvo XC90 or the Audi Q7, accommodating fully-grown adults with relative ease if the middle row of seats is slid forward slightly. Even if you do this, passengers in the second row will still have plenty of legroom.
Alternatively, if you’re only carrying five you can maximise passenger space by sliding the middle seats back. There’ll still be more than enough luggage room on offer if you do so.
Elsewhere, quality is first rate, with Range Rover standards of materials and refinement. The infotainment and climate controls are all very similar, except the panel housing the ventilation controls flips down to reveal a storage compartment for mobile phones and sunglasses.
There are plenty of other areas to stow items including a huge bin beneath the twin cupholders, a large central storage area under the centre armrest (that can be refrigerated) and big door bins in the front and rear.
There’s also a twin glovebox arrangement for even more practicality, while even third row passengers get storage areas for trinkets.
Like the exterior design, Land Rover has evolved the Discovery’s cabin design so it feels much more modern and upmarket, yet it mixes this with a robust nature in a way that Land Rover has become famous for.
The dials aren’t quite as clever as on some rivals, as both the XC90 and Q7 offer more sophisticated digital displays, but the screens and infotainment – including the optional rear seat entertainment pack – give the Disco a luxurious, high tech feel.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
The Discovery’s infotainment system is so much more than just a sat-nav. With Land Rover’s InControl Remote Premium app you can fold the rear seats from your smartphone (you can do it through the 10-inch touchscreen, too), as well as check information
such as fuel level and unlock the doors.
With the £365 Advanced Tow Assist option, you can easily reverse with a trailer, changing direction using the Terrain Response select wheel; the system gives you guidelines on when to turn. Along with the upgraded stereo and Land Rover’s connected services, there are six USB sockets, so there’s plenty of scope to charge gadgets.
There’s so much functionality and gadget connectivity on offer (you can even sync your Apple Watch through the Remote app, although CarPlay isn’t offered) that it highlights the infotainment system’s weakest point: the interface and response to inputs aren’t the slickest, with a bit of lag noticeable after presses of the screen.
With air suspension as standard on all models the Discovery rides smoothly. It’s even more comfortable on smaller wheels, as larger alloys do cause some harsher jolts from the rear axle over more severe bumps, but that’s not too much of a surprise given that the Disco has been designed to carry seven people and luggage.
On smoother roads the Discovery’s weight (this is still easily a two-tonne-plus car despite the weight savings from the new chassis) means it moves with the road in a gentle, languid fashion, cossetting its occupants nicely.
The steering is slow and not the most precise, so the Discovery isn’t a particularly agile car in its class to drive. There’s lots of body roll in faster corners, but this suits the relaxed, relatively soothing ride. The refined powertrains help, too.
All engines are mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and Land Rover’s permanent four-wheel drive system mated to the firm’s Terrain Response 2 set-up. This technology can automatically sense what ground it’s driving over and adjust the parameters of the engine and transmissions to suit.
Alternatively, you can do this manually with the Terrain Response dial, but either way, despite its revised styling and even more upmarket approach, the Discovery is still unrivalled when it comes to off-road performance.
This automatic feature adds to the easy, relaxed and unhurried nature with which the Discovery goes about its business. It is easily one of the most refined, comfortable and practical cars on sale today.
Its incredible size means the Discovery can be a little more challenging to thread down a narrow country road as well as park (although there are plenty of features to help you with the latter). The weight means you need to get your braking done nice and early, but it still feels safe and reassured, with more than enough stopping power.
Engines
To widen the car’s appeal Land Rover has developed a new version of its Ingenium 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine for the Discovery. With two turbos to boost low end response and high-end power there’s 237bhp and 500Nm of torque on offer, meaning even the four-cylinder model offers adequate performance.
Officially, 0-60mph comes up in 8.0 seconds while top speed stands at 121mph. It’s fair to say there’s an adequate level of performance on offer, mainly thanks to the decent amount of torque on tap.
You can cruise along in the Sd4 in relative refinement as long as you don’t ask too much of the engine. It’s torquey low down and only grumbles higher up the rev range.
The 254bhp 3.0-litre V6 diesel is much smoother and has a more melodious engine note. With 600Nm of torque the performance is effortless; where the Sd4 feels a little strained this Td6 feels muscular, even though both will tow the same maximum 3,500kg.
Performance is good with the 0-60mph sprint taking 7.7 seconds. Top speed stands at 130mph, but it’s the low-end response and punchier mid-range that’d make you buy the V6, along with the more refined engine note.
The Si6 supercharged V6 petrol will be a niche choice for UK buyers, but it’s still a sweet unit. Taken from sister brand Jaguar, it produces 335bhp, which is enough to propel the chunky Discovery from 0-60mph in an impressive 6.9 seconds.
In reality it doesn’t feel that much faster than the Td6 because the petrol motor only kicks out 450Nm of torque – and it’s produced higher up the rev range than the diesels at 3,500rpm. However, the muted V6 growl from under the bonnet on full throttle is nice.
All models in the range get autonomous braking as standard, which helped the Discovery achieve a full five-star Euro NCAP safety rating when it was crash tested. You can upgrade the standard safety systems with optional extras and packs, or by going for higher trim levels.
Eight airbags and lane departure warning are also standard, but you have to upgrade to HSE spec if you want safety kit like blind spot warning and reverse traffic recognition. A rear-view camera is also standard, but if you want adaptive cruise that’s an extra, while safety packs adding features like queue assist semi-autonomous driving can also be had.
When it comes to reliability Land Rover’s reputation isn’t the best, as shown by its 22nd place result out of 32 brands in our most recent Driver Power owner satisfaction survey.
However, it’s strong off-road performance means it’s been thoroughly engineered for the job, so it should easily cope with a harsh British winter on the road.
Warranty
The Discovery’s warranty is just a little bit better than the standard for the class with three years’ unlimited mileage coverage. There’s also three years’ free roadside recovery.
Servicing
Land Rover offers a competitively priced service pack, which includes five years’ or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first) worth of routine maintenance for as much as a full service on an Audi Q7. Its other main rival from Volvo also isn’t as competitive when it comes to routine maintenance costs.
In seven-seat form the Disco serves up 258 litres of luggage space. This increases to 1,137 litres with the rearmost seats folded down, meaning there’s more luggage room on offer than in its main rivals.
Drop the second row of seats too and the Discovery delivers a cavernous 2,406 litres, meaning there’s as much room in the rear as in some small vans – or it feels like it, at least.
Depending on which trim level you opt for, there are plenty of clever ways to fold the seats, too. With the upgraded infotainment system you can drop the back seats individually using the touchscreen, while there’s also a smartphone app that lets you raise and lower the seats remotely.
Fundamentally, the Disco offers acres of space, so no matter how big your family, the car caters for them with plenty of comfort and lots of versatility.
Our only minor gripe is that while you fold the back rests of the middle row seats electrically, you have to slide the seat bases manually to climb into the very back. The aperture it leaves isn’t huge, but adequate compared to the tighter XC90 and Q7.
Size
At nearly five metres long and more than two metres wide, the Discovery feels vast on the road. However, it’s not too much larger than the XC90, while it’s actually shorter than the Q7.
The Land Rover’s tank-like feel on the road stems from its chassis setup, as it’s not quite as agile as either the Volvo or Audi. However, while this gives it a more cumbersome feel in corners, it’s also extremely relaxed and offers better use of space inside, given its footprint.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
No matter what configuration the seats are in, if you’re sat in the middle row there’ll be plenty of room – even with the bench slid all the way forward.
This gives third row passengers even more space and in this configuration it’s really the only car in its class that can accommodate two fully-grown adults in the rear in relative comfort. Shoulder room is good, while the Discovery’s traditional stepped roof also offers decent headroom in the very back. This is necessary because of the stadium seating layout, where back seat passengers are mounted slightly higher up to give a better view forward.
These cars will probably be bought by families, so with plenty of Isofix tethering points, the Discovery should offer lots of versatility if you’ve got young children still in car seats.
Boot
The Discovery’s boot is huge, but importantly it’s also a uniform shape. There’s a dedicated storage space for the load cover when you’re using all seven seats, while opening and closing is easy with a power tailgate that features gesture control tech on the top trim level so it will open if you flick your foot under the bumper. This should help if you’re returning to the car with lots of bags.
One big change for this new Discovery is the lack of a split tailgate. It’s something of a Disco trademark and Land Rover knows this so has come up with a clever solution.
The one-piece hatch opens, revealing an electrically operated flip-down ledge that can support up to 300kg. It’s a neat trick that adds yet another practical touch and should mean Disco owners won’t have to sacrifice any usability when it comes to owning this fifth-generation model.
Combined with the weight reduction, adding a four-cylinder diesel to the Discovery range has helped lower CO2 emissions. However, with the Sd4’s 171g/km output, it still lags behind the D5 PowerPulse unit in the Volvo XC90 and even the more powerful V6 TDI in the Audi Q7.
Official fuel economy stands at 43.5mpg but we only recorded just under 31mpg on our road test over plenty of mixed use.
The claims drop to 189g/km CO2 and 39.2mpg for the Td6 and a hefty 254g/km CO2 and 26.0mpg for the Si6 – although we wouldn’t expect much more than 20mpg for the V6 petrol even under light driving.
However, with a 77-litre fuel tank the Discovery’s cruising range should be extensive; our recorded economy figures for the Sd4 means you’ll easily travel more than 500 miles between fill-ups.
Insurance groups
The entry-level Discovery S is only available with the Sd4 unit and is rated at group 33, which is still relatively high.
With plenty of tech on offer and options pushing the value of the car up, it’s no surprise that a top-spec HSE Luxury with the Td6 diesel is rated at group 42, so will be fairly costly to insure.
We had a quote of £1,090 for a year’s fully comprehensive cover on an HSE Sd4 model for our sample driver, a 42-year male driver living in Banbury with three points on their licence.
Depreciation
As with most Land Rovers, the brand image and desirability of the badge means the Discovery’s residual values should be strong.
The entry-level model will hold onto just under 50 per cent of its value, but it’s not predicted to sell that well anyway. SE, HSE and HSE Luxury with both the Sd4 and Td6 engines will retain around 57 to 59 per cent of their value, which is good for a big SUV.
However, this drops to around 50 per cent for the Si6 petrol, highlighting its relative stance as an outsider for UK buyers.