Land Rover Discovery TDV6 HSE

Road Test

Your Say

Land Rover Discovery TDV6 HSE

Test Date 16 November 2004 Price When New £45,360

Verdict

It all comes down to straight-line performance, and specifically how much of it you really need in everyday driving. If this sounds like the exposure of a terrible flaw in the Discovery’s armoury, then it certainly shouldn’t be considered that way. Quite simply, the car has such an exceptional spread of abilities in every other area — be it on-road, up to its axles in mud, carrying a family of seven or providing a soothing ride home from work on a wet winter’s evening — that it perhaps casts an unfair light on just about the only area in which the car doesn’t excel: sheer grunt.
As we’ve said, so much of this shortcoming is neutralised by the wonderful mechanical refinement that it isn’t nearly as big an issue as it could have been. But we’re still slightly concerned that people accustomed to an X5 3.0d might think the Disco too slow. However, were they to dismiss this car on those grounds, they’d be missing out on a superlative all-rounder: a car as interesting to look at as it is rewarding to use every day. Even though we have our reservations about the social acceptability of something this big and heavy, it is almost impossible not to be swayed by the Discovery’s compelling blend of character and practicality.