Chris makes a massive Discovery
The miraculous new Discovery is so brilliant in every way it may well have knocked the Range Rover off its perch
As a family we love to wave out on the road. This is because we own a Land Rover Defender and 99.9% of Defender owners wave to each other in acknowledgment whenever they converge.
I am firmly of the opinion that more carto-car waving is something the world could really do with right now and should therefore be thoroughly encouraged. In which case, where better to start than with the swankiest, poshest Land Rover so far. The Land Rover I had my teeth especially sharpened to tear into as I loved its predecessor so much.
We’ve had several Discos over the years, much preferring their big, boxy, rugged honesty and practicality to the more venal, self-regarding, grandiose Range Rover Monstersaurus. Thus, when I saw the initial press preview shots of the new replacement Discovery TD6 my heart sank. It looked scared, like it had been forced at gunpoint to lean chin first into the wind, locks flowing, smart casual, aware but unaware, that sort of thing. But then the confounded thing arrived for test week looking like Aidan Turner’s more handsome, younger sibling. Damn and blast, I have to admit it, this creation is a thing of beauty – nowhere near as boring and perfunctory as I suspected, almost hoped it might be.
For the past 28 years, the Discovery has always been the peacemaker between the wannabe gentrified Range Rover brigade and the global army of gritty Defender traditionalists. A position that can all too often spell compromise but one that the Disco has triumphantly thrived in from day one, superseding the Range Rover in the role it was originally created for. And now, having spent almost three decades sniffing at her ladyship’s petticoat, the Disco wants more of whatever that eau de toilette is she’s so fond of.
Inside leaves absolutely nothing wanting for the upwardly mobile family numbering up to seven souls. How about, for starters, two rows of folding seats that can be controlled FROM YOUR PHONE! Then there’s the leather and wood trim, the 10in touchscreen, the 14-speaker sound system, the powered gesture tailgate, a central console cooler, rearseat entertainment – all AS STANDARD! It’s like Santa’s in-car perfect wish list.
And to drive? Well, it’s verging on ridiculous from a capability point of view. Land Rover claims it’s the firm’s best off-road vehicle to date. Which, considering how amazing all their recent offerings have been, is pretty impressive. The bottom line is that it is able to overcome conditions a million times more testing than 99.99% of new Discovery owners will ever encounter.
As for everyday road use, it’s much smoother, more stable, lighter and marginally quicker than any of its predecessors, which is all most of us really need to know. Although why it has paddle-shift levers fitted I have precisely no idea – perhaps this is merely another aspect of the ‘genius contraptions fitted that will never be used’ theme.
I suppose the one question I was left wondering is why anyone would now still consider spending up to more than double what this stunning package costs on a comparatively lumpy-looking Range Rover instead? I can sense another wave coming on but not so much ‘hi’ or ‘so long’ as ‘sayonara’.