Land Rover Discovery 2004-2016 engines & performance

It was to Jaguar’s credit that Land Rover’s loss of BMW petrol and diesel engines at the beginning of the last decade actually granted it access to even finer in-house powerplants for the Discover.

Essentially the same engine as fitted to the Jaguar XF saloon, and revised once again in 2011, the 2993cc V6 turbodiesel in the Discovery produced 252bhp at 4000rpm and 442lb ft at 2000rpm. It was the only engine available in the UK market and came with a ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard.

Weight inflicted large compromises on the Discovery’s straight-line performance potential. This wasn't a quick car, or a quick-responding one either. You couldn't, for example, squirt it into gaps in traffic with abandon.

All was not lost, though. Land Rover countered by providing unparalleled refinement and a transmission capable of wringing maximum efficiency from the last turn of the crank. 

So despite taking 9.6sec (claimed) to hit 60mph, the impression was of a car that had enough grunt if not an indulgence of it, combined with impressive deportment for one so large.

The gearbox's ratios were intelligent, too, making what performance available feel more ample than it might.

At idle the Discovery’s engine emitted only the faintest noise and no vibration. It was occasionally perceptible on the move, but only as the pleasant hum of a cultured V6.

Throttle response was good and, crucially, it had much more step-off thrust than the original 2.7-litre car.