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Tim Britten17 Mar 2018
REVIEW

Land Rover Discovery 2018 Review

A fifth-generation Land Rover Discovery for just under $66,000? Yes, but there's a catch.
Review Type
Road Test

Land Rover has laid down a challenge in the premium SUV segment with its base-spec Td4 Discovery S. Are buyers prepared to accept a fifth-generation Discovery without a low-range transfer case and simple coil springs? Land Rover's position is uncertain, as this test car lacked the latter and was heavily optioned to obliterate the base price. At $65,960 before on-road costs, the base Disco sounds tempting, but is it the real deal?

Discovery tour

Although it seems the very-basic S version of the fifth-generation Land Rover Discovery is defined more by what it isn't than what it is, it wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't. Truly.

Concocted to give the latest Discovery an appealing bottom line, it is motivated by the less-powerful 132kW/430Nm Td4 Ingenium 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine and eschews things like a dual-range transfer case and air suspension to trim the recommended retail price down to $65,960.

Step up to $72,050 for the more powerful 177kW/500Nm 2.0-litre Sd4 turbo-diesel available in the Discovery S (the 190kW/600Nm 3.0-litre TD6 turbo-diesel V6 is optional too) and suddenly the dual-range transfer case becomes optionally available. To get air suspension, you'll need to spend another $2110 - or stretch to the $79,550 SE model where it is standard.

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Is it really a bogger?

Do these omissions in the bogger Discovery S separate it from many of its competitors?

Not at all. Check out the opposition and you'll find, at base level, that not everybody offers dual-range off-roading abilities, and not everybody offers air suspension. For that matter, there's also a growing list of premium SUV contenders - BMW's sDrive25d X5, for example - that are merely two-wheel drive.

It's probable that Land Rover doesn't expect the Disco S, in un-optioned form, to light everybody's fire. Especially at the premium end of the SUV market, it's rare to drive out of the showroom without an extensive printout of extra-cost items stuffed in the glovebox.

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So even the Discovery S reviewed here was optioned-up, more than a bit. A quick ticking of the boxes saw the pre on-roads price jump from $65,960 to $89,700 - and there was still no dual-range transfer caser (not available with the 132kW Td4 engine anyway, at any price), no leather and no powered seats.

In some ways the review car was a test bed for seeing how luxe a Discovery S can be made without completely drying up the bank balance.

The extra $23,740 was spent on ditching the standard coil springs and replacing them with the $2110 air suspension, adding third-row seats ($5600), sat-nav ($1610), a "Vison Assist Pack" with surround-view cameras ($2700) and various niceties such as a $560 powered inner tailgate and a $2500 "cold climate pack" with heated seats in the front and second rows. The Corris Grey metallic paint added a steep $2010, almost as much as the air suspension.

Discovery S safety elements include (low-speed) autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian avoidance and lane-departure warning, along with six airbags and a five-star ANCAP rating.

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Is it a worthy COTY?

But let's go back to what the fifth-generation Discovery is. Even if it's not loaded with the extra gear the dealer would love you have, the base car still has the fundamental niceties that played a big part in the Discovery's garnering of the carsales car of the year award in 2017.

If you remember the Disco 4, you'll be familiar with the problems Land Rover had with its weight. The thing was great off-road, but the fact it weighed close to two and half tonnes hindered it on the tarmac. It thrashed the BMW X5 in the bush, but couldn't keep it in sight on a twisty road as the suspension, brakes and V6 turbo-diesel struggled to accelerate, stop, and maintain cornering speeds when all the leaden 4x4 wanted to do was continue in a straight line.

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Seeing the light

That's all in the past with the new Disco, and it's that weight reduction which makes it so impressive for a large off-roader. Extensive use of light alloys and high-strength steel everywhere, from the aluminium platform to the seats, gives the new car a lightness of being that was lacking previously. Yet it still remains a formidable performer off road. No-one has come closer to offering the best of both worlds in quite the same way.

No way in the past would you ever have imagined a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel, even one as good as the latest Ingenium engine, endowing a Disco with strong acceleration, easy cruising and impressive consumption and emissions figures. In the new car, all these things are achieved. 6.2L/100km ain't too bad for a full-size off-roader (we recorded 7.5L/100km on test), largely achieved by the fact the Discovery S's tare weight is just over 2.1 tonnes, which is way less than the Discovery 4 and less than, for example, the Mercedes-Benz GLE 250d (2291kg).

It's not far removed from the BMW X5 sDrive25d which weighs in at a feathery 1930kg and only has the rear wheels to drive (AWD adds something like 80kg).

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The lower-power 132kW Ingenium diesel is no slacker. It gives the Discovery plenty of punch off the line and out on the open road, and it's pretty smooth and quiet too. The only hint of its small capacity comes from the quick-shifting eight-speed auto transmission's eagerness to kick down and provide access to the best part of the power band.

Given that the 430Nm peak torque arrives at just 1500rpm, there are times when you ask whether that's always necessary. Personally, I'd rather have the transmission kicking down a little less readily and letting the torque to do its job.

And, with limitations, the single-speed transfer case Discovery has a nice sense that it's fundamentally an off-roader. The air suspension can be jacked up to give more clearance on rutted surfaces, or dropped down to allow easy ingress for passengers.

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Up to expectations

The total experience was pretty consistent with what we have come to expect with the fifth-generation Discovery.

The composed ride, the nicely weighted, responsive steering (2.7 turns from lock to lock) and the interior silence have become familiar in the same way as the airy cabin with its ample passenger space extending right through to the third-row seats.

No, there's no power adjustment for the (cloth-trimmed) seating, and it's difficult getting access to the rearmost section with its heavy, manual recline/fold mechanism and the tight space for feeding-through the lower legs. Once in place though, occupants will find the extra headroom provided by the signature stepped roofline, the legroom and the stadium-style seating give a nice sense of comfort and belonging.

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With its large glasshouse, it's not bad to see out of either, although the lack of air vents for third row passengers is disappointing (the second row has vents built into the B-pillars), as were the missing pockets behind the front seats.

A powered tailgate is optional at this level, yet loading-up is no chore: Land Rover claims the Discovery will take as much as 2406 litres of luggage, seats-folded, and that would seem pretty right, given the ease with which we invaded the review vehicle with all sorts of paraphernalia, including the obligatory mountain bike(s). And there's a full-size spare too.

The only shortfall is the cramped load space available behind the third-row backrests when in place.

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Simply brilliant

Taken overall, the fifth-generation Land Rover Discovery, even in its most basic form, continues to be imbued with brilliance. To transform a previously one-dimensional large 4x4 into something that does on-road and off-road with equal competence is a big achievement.

Frankly though, I'm thinking that to get the real Discovery deal, it's necessary to step up to the SD4 177kW Ingenium engined version where the dual transfer case is available as a $940 option. To spend $2110 on an air suspension upgrade is probably worthwhile too, although it's not possible to really confirm that without having had any experience with a coil-spring fifth-gen Discovery.

It wasn't quite the base Discovery that had piqued our interest in the first place, but the optioned-up Td4 S review car was, at the very least, entirely endearing.

Pricing and Features
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2018 Land Rover Discovery Td4 S pricing and specifications:
Price: $65,960 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 132kW/430Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 163g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

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Written byTim Britten
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Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Expert rating
75/100
Engine, Drivetrain & Chassis
16/20
Price, Packaging & Practicality
16/20
Safety & Technology
14/20
Behind The Wheel
16/20
X-Factor
13/20
Pros
  • Spacious, comfy interior
  • Ride quality
  • Agility
Cons
  • Over-eager transmission kick down
  • Tricky third-row access
  • Lack of dual-range transfer case
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