Land Rover defends Discovery design

Outspoken Land Rover chief design officer Gerry McGovern has leapt to the defence of the new fifth-generation Discovery, rejecting widespread lack of enthusiasm among motoring media for the look of the seven-seat SUV.

“Well, I could be quite glib about it. I’m a professional designer and they’re not. I think it hangs together really well,” McGovern told Australian media at the global first drive in Utah last week.

McGovern said the new look was getting a stronger response from the public than its boxy predecessors, which he said was “polarising”.

“In terms of the overall feedback we have had [to the new Discovery], the reaction is really high in terms of positivity. There have been one or two detrimental words but there are always going to be. You take it on the chin, but it’s not going to stop the car selling.

“Some people will say this [new Discovery] has lost that very special look that Discovery had, but that to me is the specialist talking.

“We know for a fact with [the previous Discovery] — which personally I loved but I am not designing for myself, I am designing for the consumer — that is a design that didn’t resonate with a lot of people. It was very polarising.”

McGovern argued polarisation was something Land Rover and its partner Jaguar cannot afford as the group strives for sales and profitability.

“All the vehicles we create now need to sell a certain volume, get that investment back and reinvest it in the future,” he said.

“Now we are never going to be a massive volume but we need to get to a critical mass of volume, in order to sustain ourselves and that’s for both Jaguar and Land Rover.”

The rollout of the new Discovery started at the Paris show last September, continued with last week’s first drive and will reach Australia in July when the first models go on sale.

The new Discovery is just under 5.0m long and just over 2.0m wide, sits on an aluminium-intensive architecture shared with the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, and convincingly offers seating for seven adults.

McGovern conceded the amalgamation of style and size made the Discovery a challenging proposition for designers.

“When you are doing a vehicle this size with seven full-size adults … that is a big package and to be able to package that successfully and get a vehicle that is well proportioned, that is a difficult task. And still make it look like it's dramatic.

“When I talk about design it’s about aesthetics but also a whole lot of other things,” he added.

“It’s about the balance between aesthetics and form, like here [Discovery] where the aesthetic has followed the form to create the stadium seating.

“And also in terms of the proportions of the car to make it really efficient in terms of aerodynamics.

“Plus all the things … everyone has the same challenges in terms of legislation as well.

“But for me I think we do have a specific DNA which we have evolved over many years and … it is about taking the DNA, those ingredients, and cooking them up in a way that is absolutely relevant.”