When’s a Land Rover not a Land Rover? When it’s a Range Rover. And what separates Range from Land? That has become hard to know. The brand’s line-up overlaps more than Trent Alexander-Arnold, although it is far better at defending.
In fact, the rebirth of the Defender as a premium SUV has left many wondering what the Discovery, once a happy halfway house between luxury Rangie and muddy Defender, is now for.
The introduction of the Metropolitan Edition probably won’t help that, either, as it tops the range at a Range price of £74,070 (for the P360, a 355bhp straight-six petrol) or £75,475 (for the D300, a 296bhp straight-six diesel, tested here).
That doesn’t mean it isn’t a very appealing specification to the sorts who like to Disco, mind you. No flared trousers, here, but there is a medallion hidden in the B-pillar, along with, uniquely, Bright Atlas grille detailing, Hakuba Silver lower-bumper inserts, gloss-grey diamond-cut 22in alloy wheels and black brake calipers; and inside, a sliding glass roof, a head-up display, a heated steering wheel, wireless phone charging, a cooled compartment, quad-zone climate control and rather attractive Titanium Mesh trim. That last item complements the standard Windsor Leather upholstery, in our car’s case coloured in a combination of Light Oyster and Ebony, which nicely breaks up the vast expanses as compared with the Ebony and Caraway options.
Vast expanses they are indeed, because this is a truly enormous car with a commensurately enormous interior. You sit a long way from your front passenger in your infinitely adjustable and very comfortable seat, while another two adults could very happily sit behind you and two children behind them again.
Also worth noting inside is the Pivi Pro infotainment system, with its big curved touchscreen. It looks very slick indeed, not falling into the trap of being overbearing or dissonant, instead blending into the rest of the interior architecture. And to use, it’s simple enough once you’ve got used to it, and not once in our week-long test did it get its knickers in a twist.
After a significant round of chassis updates in 2021, the Discovery continues to drive very impressively on the road for something that will go much, much farther off road than the comparable Audi Q7 or BMW X5.
Those may feel sportier to drive, but the big Landie still steers very neatly on country lanes (which it really needs to, considering its unnerving girth), while its motorway behaviour is that of a proper cruiser, dealing with long-wave compressions in a relaxed manner and generally adeptly glossing over small imperfections.
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I agree, this one looks like they've skinned a Panda, which is really not a good thing.
Every leather seat is some sort of skinned animal not matter the colour .
Its a colour choice but who knows how many will go for it.
Yes, the Discovery may have moved on from its more utilarian days but what it shows is Land Rover moving the goalposts and setting a benchmark by providing a hugely competent and practical 4x4 that is luxurious, refined and brilliant on and off road. The Range Rover Sport is the more dynamically focussed and more premium but less practical car but what a choice for the the consumer to have because both the Range Rover Sport and Discovery are both brilliant 4x4s. And lets not forget that, with the perhaps the exception of the Velar, every current Land Rover car is class best. No other manufacturer can claim such a high hit rate with their line up. JLR still builds world beaters.
I like their cars and especially as I grew up around an LR dealership as a child. However, I just cannot buy one due to their reliability issues. This was a problem when I was young and doesn't seem to have improved that much today! A shame as they make cracking looking cars but for troublefree motoring, they aren't a safe bet for me sadly! And that's a big sadly!
Just another tarted up Discovery taking the model range from it's workhorse origins,you wouldn't fancy going off roading with those 22" Alloys would you?
Even the motoring hacks have learned not to use the words 'off' and 'road'' in the same sentence when reviewing a Land / Range Rover producted these days.
Pass one of these things on a narrow road and the silly burgers who drive them won't even pull on to a grass verge to pass for the fear of damaging their 4x4 go anywhere vehicle. At least the Discovery used to have purposeful lookis but as for today's version? It's hideous. The proportions make it look like something out of a comic book.