2017 Land Rover Discovery prototype review

From £43,140
Early prototype drive reveals the new Discovery has been made plusher, more practical and better off-road than ever

Our Verdict

Land Rover Discovery

Land Rover Discovery review hero front

Is this a triumph of style over substance, or is the fifth-gen Land Rover Discovery the best yet?

Mark Tisshaw
12 December 2016

What is it?

That the new Land Rover Discovery has a whiff of Range Rover about it should come as no surprise given that it shares its underpinnings with the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.

When you see a Range Rover next to a new Discovery, sit in the respective cabins, look at the price lists for certain models and go for an off-road drive, as we have been doing in a late prototype in Scotland, those first impressions of the car are only reinforced.

Watch our video review of the production version of the Discovery

But then you head into the back and start to play with the rearmost five seats. In a Range Rover you can’t collapse the electronically powered, individual seats to create a space the size of a decent studio flat, or leave them all up and have five full-size adults sit with as much head and leg room as they’ll ever need, their own individual storage, seat heaters and phone chargers and still have room for a couple of bags in the boot. That sounds much more like a Discovery.

So it is a Discovery, then, only much lighter than before, in certain version by up to 480kg, which is such a saving that a four-cylinder Ingenium diesel engine with 237bhp is now offered alongside the carry-over 254bhp diesel and 355bhp petrol 3.0-litre V6s.

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The weight loss should improve the Discovery’s on-road manners and performance, although such impressions will have to wait for next February when we drive a finished car on the road for the first time.

What's it like?

What we can tell from our drive is that the Discovery remains pretty much unbeatable off-road. It has a kitchen sink’s worth of Land Rover’s off-road technology at its disposal, including diff locks, a low-range gearbox and the Terrain Response 2 system, which itself incorporates a brilliant new All-Terrain Progress Control (ATPC) function that acts as a low-speed off-road cruise control, taking over the pedals and leaving you to steer.

As impressive as the ATPC system is - its control and reaction times feel better than your own on the really slippy stuff - so is the Discovery’s ability to conquer a rock crawl, both up and down, using most of the 500mm of wheel articulation, or dive nose-first into water close to its 900mm wading depth limit.

On the rest of the purely off-road route, the standard all-weather tyres and height-adjustable air suspension combine with all the electronic trickery to find grip and control over any given surface where there has no right to be any. There is nothing dramatic to report about conquering this terrain, such is the ease with which the Discovery goes over it.

While we can’t drive on road, the test does allow us a chance to have a nose around the interior. The Range Rover impressions are felt strongest of all in the front cabin: this is an interior of high quality, and now one at last of high technology thanks to the introduction of JLR’s InControl Touch Pro widescreen, touchscreen, HD infotainment system.

The driving position is as commanding as ever, and there’s a real feeling of solidity built up around the driver. The seat is comfortable and there’s an armrest on each side of the driver.

The flagship way of controlling the rear seats is through a smartphone app, but we had to make do for now with the electronic buttons on the seats, which were all straightforward to use. You can also use the touchscreen to control them. Have all the seats upright and there genuinely is room for seven adults.

There’s also a usable 258 litres of boot space at the back with all the seats up, and you can still make a seat out of the boot with a powered loading platform sliding out that can handle up to 300kg of weight, even though the split tailgate has gone. The rear of the car can be lowered to allow easier access for dogs and make it easier to attach things to tow.

All the seats can be easily folded flat individually, which results in a maximum of 2406 litre boot space and a load space that allows you to slide, say, a flatpack IKEA wardrobe in without catching on anything, as the flat seats’ leading edges are kept above the trailing ones.

Each person in the cabin will be able to keep their backside warm with a seat heater, charge their phone, find a space for their water bottle, keys, wallet, and other oddments, and connect to the wi-fi hotspot. There’s not much that hasn’t been thrown at the rear cabin of this car. Even the curry hook has been brought back.

Should I buy one?

Land Rover buyers now expect something luxurious, premium and unbeatable off-road as standard, and even from this early drive it’s clear that the new Discovery ticks all of those boxes.

In many regards it has been brought very close to the Range Rover models, but the differentiation comes from the fact that this new Discovery is pretty much as practical and versatile as cars come.

Land Rover Discovery TDV6 HSE Luxury

Location Scotland; On sale February; Price £64,195; Engine V6, 2993cc, diesel; Power 254bhp at 3750rpm; Torque 443lb ft at 1750-2250rpm; Gearbox 8-spd automatic; Kerb weight 2298kg; 0-60mph 7.7sec; Top speed 130mph; Economy 39.2mpg (combined); CO2 rating/tax band 189g/km, 37%; Rivals Volvo XC90, BMW X5

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Comments
95

cousinbillybob

12 December 2016
Is it going to be the side a Discovery should be, or will it be the size of the Freelander..?

sputnik

14 December 2016
"2406 litre boot space" It's huge.... The Discovery sport (freelander) has 800 lites less space in the back.

It is a very large machine just like the older model.

Bullfinch

12 December 2016
.

Ruperts Trooper

12 December 2016
Like Discovery needed any improvement in off-road ability - most buyers would flinch at taking such an expensive vehicle off-road - it's competitors are all better on-road, some by a long way and for many buyers it's not as simple as buy a Range Rover then. The more I read, the more pleased I am that I bought one of it's competitors and didn't wait for this - and it's not exactly lacking in the off-roading I do!

Cheltenhamshire

12 December 2016
We only care if it comes with Authentic Premiumniness.

Gerry McGovern actually lives in his own soundbite and marketing speak cave located inside his own bottom.

Marc

12 December 2016
Cheltenhamshire wrote:

We only care if it comes with Authentic Premiumniness.

Gerry McGovern actually lives in his own soundbite and marketing speak cave located inside his own bottom.

Excellent, couldn't have said it better. The guy is a legend.

Downunder

12 December 2016
Rupert, how do you know "it's competition are all better on road" when a complete test is yet to be done? For the record I have a D4 (second one) and take it off road frequently. And on road the ride is superb, although no sports car in the handling department of course. And much cheaper than the equivalent Toyota here in Oz.

Downunder

12 December 2016
The Co2 and consumption figures for the 3l diesel are no huge improvement considering the reduction in weight, lower cd etc.

Marc

12 December 2016
Downunder wrote:

The Co2 and consumption figures for the 3l diesel are no huge improvement considering the reduction in weight, lower cd etc.

They may just be more accurate (or honest).

Ski Kid

12 December 2016
That had been done about 21 year ago improving from 32mpg to 35 mpg so this extra to 39.2mpg is down to weight even the 2litre is only a bit more at about 43mpg.but it is more likely to be achievable than the almost criminal way that all the manufacturers are quoting fantasticaly high figures for hybrids and smaller engines 2 litre and less.If you get 35mpg with this in the real world I would say that was goods all these 1.6 and 2 litre diesels supposed to be getting 50 to 70 mpg are getting 30 to 45mpg in the main.It will be interesting to see what the new 240hp ingenium is like on fuel compared to 3 litre will it be 4 to 5 mpg better ?

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