Land Rover Discovery review: family SUV stays in the frame thanks to fuel-saving mild hybrid set-up
As it rolls in the wheeltracks of the new Defender, it’s rather too tempting to question the purpose of Land Rover’s Discovery. Last year it sold 22,816 against the Defender’s 28,528. One wonders whether Land Rover, and perhaps the world, really does require a 2.4-tonne, five-metre long, seven-seat Sport Utility Vehicle which is slightly less good at hauling itself out of a bog than the Defender but slightly better at racing down to Cornwall at half-term?
It's not quite such an obvious question, since when it comes to off-road ability that few will ever use, best is often the enemy of better. People love buying stuff they don’t need and a more road-biased Discovery has looked a bit superfluous to requirements against the new Defender, which has a similar appeal to watching Ben Fogle’s New Lives In The Wild with your supper on your lap.
Revisions for 2021
Land Rover has been well aware of the Discovery’s travails and throughout the last year has been working on a series of upgrades including a new set of six-cylinder engines, improved dynamics, a new interior with JLR’s much improved Pivi Pro touchscreen logic and a tweaked exterior with new lights.
Its standing hasn’t been helped by the wrong-headed decisions over the new Discovery made at the design stage. What was Land Rover thinking when it ditched the previous, fourth-generation model’s split tailgate?
At the 2016 launch of this Mk5 model, Land Rover chiefs grumbled about the split tailgate – which is loved by buyers and provides a link (both practical and aesthetic) to the original Discovery of 1989 – being heavy and expensive, but how else are those Twickenham and Badminton car park picnics going to be served? And where else are you going to change the baby?
Did I also mention that this current version’s bulbous rear end with its offset number plate is horrible and ugly? No? Well, the new lights haven’t done much to improve the situation.
On the road
We drove the new D300 mild hybrid on the roads around Herefordshire. First impressions are that the Wolverhampton-built, straight-six, 3.0-litre turbodiesel is the engine this car was built for, even though it’s slightly less powerful than the V6 which preceded it.
Smooth, with a powerful note and fantastic mid-range punch, it allows relaxed cruising, never stressing the eight-speed automatic gearbox and returning 29mpg against a WLTP figure of 33.9mpg.
Part of that is the new mild-hybrid system, which consists of a beefed-up starter motor/generator, but using 48 volts so the charge flows in and out of the battery faster than it would with 12 volts. It means the system can lend a shoulder to the wheels, which during real-world driving can remove the need for a gearchange or a big press on the accelerator.
For the record, the top speed is 130mph, 0-62mph in 6.8sec and the benefit in kind (BIK) tax band is 37 per cent.
And no, there won’t be a plug-in hybrid as there is with most of the other models in the Land Rover and Range Rover canon. Again, the rear end takes the blame, as the large battery would mean the floor would have to be raised, which would reduce the useful space around the rearmost seats. As it is, the luggage area behind them is pretty mean at 258 litres, but with them folded it increases to a respectable 1,137 and with the second row folded there’s an amphitheatre’s worth of 2,391 litres.
User-friendliness
The new central touchscreen software takes a little learning, not least because it isn’t always immediately obvious how to get back to the previous screen, which inhibits exploration. On the whole, however, it’s a big improvement over what went before and as good as it gets in the touchscreen world. Even the graphics are improved and seem more precise with less pauses than the old system.
The new rear seats are comfortable and the blocky facia design is attractive and modern.
People who tow stuff generally love this car and with 296bhp and 479lb ft of torque from barely above tickover speed, this drivetrain should make light work of towing its maximum braked capacity of 3,500kg.
CO2 emissions are quoted at between 218 and 232g/km, so even though the engine passes RDE2 (the latest Real Driving Emissions standards) this is never going to be a cheap vehicle to tax. At the least it’s going to cost £1,305 in the first year and then £490 for the next five years.
New air suspension
The air suspension has been revised with new air springs, anti-roll bars and revised damper settings for the double wishbone front and independent rear set-up.
The aim was to retain the model’s go-anywhere ability but improve the ride quality, and so it proves, with an excellent ride and none of the unsettled feeling along undulating surfaces which the acclaimed new Defender has a tendency to.
While the range-topping Range Rover rides better still, the new Discocovery isn’t that far short. And for a five-metre lummox on 21-inch wheels and tyres, you can place it accurately in corners and it responds well, with a lovely feel to the steering as you turn off the straight ahead. The brakes, too, are sensitive with good progression to the pedal.
Off-road, there’s a mix of gimmicky (watching the locking differentials working on the centre screen) and useful with a manual over-ride for the centre and rear differential locking via the Terrain Response program.
It’s still a phenomenal thing on the rough, however, and will get you out of places you wouldn’t venture in many other vehicles.
Conclusion
If all you ever do is drive on a public road or on tracks, the German competition such as the Audi Q7, Mercedes GLE, BMW X5, or the Swedish Volvo XC90, is slightly more refined and better handling (well, the BMW is).
However the Discovery is within a gnat’s crochet and if you do all that and also tow, ford, climb or clamber (or even if you think you might like to), the Discovery carries the honours and still merits its place in the Land Rover brochures.
The facts
2021 Land Rover Discovery SE D300 MHEV
TESTED 3.0-litre straight-six turbodiesel with mild hybrid system, eight speed-automatic gearbox, four-wheel drive
PRICE/ON SALE from £53,090 (£56,440 as tested)/now
POWER/TORQUE 296bhp @ 4,000rpm, 479lb ft @ 1,500rpm
TOP SPEED 130mph
ACCELERATION 0-62mph in 6.8sec
FUEL ECONOMY 33.9mpg (WLTP), 29mpg on test
CO2 EMISSIONS 218g/km
VED £1,305 first year, £490 next five years, then £155
TELEGRAPH RATING Four stars out of five
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