A drive for more bling
Land Rover’s new Discovery 5 has certainly upped its game
In normal conditions of ownership, it might take a month to work t hrough all t he complications and complexities in the new Discovery, but they were subjected to an unexpectedly rigorous workout during the recent launch in Scotland.
My 11-year-old daughter’s school was closed for the day so I had to take her with me for Land Rover’s event. Sitting in the middle row of seats, Susanna naturally wanted to take full advantage of the television system with screens mounted in the front head restraints and make the most of the 14-speaker Meridian sound system while charging her Smartphone through the 12v charging points. Once our girl had donned the wireless headphones and got her Spotify running, we heard no more from her for hours. Hers, she said, was the best seat in the house. That’s what Land Rover wants to hear from every one of the seven people who can sit in the new Disco.
‘More, more, more’ is the company’s promise for the new Discovery 5. This means more ability on-road and off-road; more luxury; more equipment and more of that aloof snootiness which is so much coveted by the motorist stuck up in the heights of a Discovery’s commanding driving position.
To achieve that elevation, the body of the Discovery climbs steeply from a snout like the Evoque to a massive, bulky tail which is – whisper this – most reminiscent of the SsanYong Rhodius (the one with the tail of an SUV tacked on to the body of a saloon). A bucketful of bling has been thrown at the bodywork and any suggestion the Discovery ever carried off spartan restraint has, therefore, been heaved right out of the electric sunroof and ‘privacy glass’ windows.
But heavens, this car is good on the road! The new all-aluminium monocoque with air suspension as standard provides near roll-free cornering in the version we tested. That may be because we only drove the two-litre Sd4 diesel version which is markedly lighter than other, larger engines in the range; but, with 250 bhp and 500Nm of torque or pulling power, it also delivers a terrific belt of power.
That performance is closely comparable with the compact diesels in Volvo’s XC90, which has recently held the crown for large 4x4s. Where the Volvo can’t match the Discovery, however, is off-road – in which department the Disco is actually better even than a Defender. The new car’s more advanced Terrain Response settings allow the Disco to chug up a slope so steep the driver can see nothing ahead but bonnet and is steering by watching the wheels on the screen through the all-round cameras. The semi-autonomous driving systems on this Disco – like downhill descent control – have reached the point where the car is more capable on its own than with the most advanced driver at the wheel.
The basic price for our Sd4 HSE Luxury model would be £62,695 but a galaxy of extras push the price up to £73,835. Entertaining young ladies doesn’t come cheap these days,
it appears.
‘Any suggestion the Discovery carried off spartan restraint has been heaved out of the electric sunroof’