The all-new Discovery is what the company calls its most versatile SUV yet. This Range Rover-sized Land Rover sits at the top of the Discovery range and shares parts with the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport. This car promises a blend of seven-seat practicality, a rugged build, real off-road skills, and loads and loads of luxury.
On the outside
Where it also scores heavily over the earlier car is when it comes to its appearance. It looks like a more modern SUV, and is almost Range Rover-like. The integrated headlights, angular surfaces and muscular skinning, the brilliantly executed vertical vents in the front bumper, that flash of chrome on the flanks and the snug-fitting muscular wheel arches all make this car look the business.
On the inside
On the inside, the cabin is beautifully executed, with many of the systems carried over from the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The steering wheel feels special and the pop-out gear lever, high-quality leather seats and wide touchscreen add to the car’s overall feel-good factor.
However, there are a few low-rent plastics here, the likes of which just don’t belong on a car of this price. The touchscreen, though nice to use, misses out on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The car feels robust and the cabin is immensely practical – there are two gloveboxes, massive door pockets and a deep storage box behind the gear selector in the central console. Lift up the elbow box, and there’s a mini fridge or coolbox as well. The front seats are large and supportive, and offer plenty of head, shoulder and legroom. Both front seats are cooled and heated as well, and so are the seats on the second row as well. You are sat a bit too low however and visibility forward is obstructed by the large headrests that incorporate screens. The third row is very usable – it’s easy to access and overall comfort is quite good. The backrest is nicely inclined and passengers in the rear even get their own set of vents above their heads.
The powered second and third-row seats are a neat touch - the controls for these are liberally scattered all around the cabin and there’s even a master control in the rear. These switches allow you to fold both the rows forward and flat.
The drive
On the go, the Disco rides over our rain-damaged roads without even flinching. The car’s chassis comes straight from the super-comfy Range Rover Sport, and it also gets air springs as standard. Once you are above 50kph, every bad patch you come across is dispatched without you even realising it in the cabin. The air suspension helps keep everything level and flat and the car almost never loses its composure.
At low speeds, there is a bit of stiffness - it isn’t limo-smooth at low speeds like a Range Rover is, and the Audi Q7’s low-speed ride is a bit better too. You get a commanding view of the road and with access to the 340hp supercharged petrol engine, you’re bound to have a good time behind the wheel. The car responds immediately and effortlessly when you tap the throttle, quite impressive. This car rockets forward – 0-100kph comes up in a quick 7.9sec, and with 150kph coming up in 15sec.
This car is practical, enjoyable to drive, seats seven comfortably and is very capable off-road. In fact, it is such a good all-rounder, that there’s practically nothing it doesn’t do well.
