Land Rover Discovery review

Driving position

From the moment you step inside the Discovery, it’s clear that this is a big SUV. Outward visibility is great and you can see over the roofs of most other cars, but you’ll notice the car’s width and high bonnet line for better or worse.

Our car had 20-way electrically adjustable seats, but even the 14-way affair you get on post-facelift cars sold from 2021, you’ll have no problem getting comfortable.

You also have captain-style armrests for the front seats in classic Land Rover style, and there’s a large central armrest in the centre console if you prefer.

Rear visibility is also solid, as you’d expect. Just keep in mind that the second- and third-row seat headrests can eat into the view, as they would in any seven-seater SUV.

Tech and features

Equipment on even the most basic S trim is excellent. You get heated seats, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control, all-round parking sensors and a 360-degree parking camera as standard.

Besides offering a few standard and ultra-wide views, the camera setup has a few predetermined layouts designed to help you navigate tight spaces when off-roading, towing, or just parking in your local Waitrose car park.

The standout feature in the latest Discovery is the updated Pivi Pro infotainment system, which replaced the frankly disappointing system fitted to most Land Rover cars before 2021.

Land Rover now has one of the best infotainment systems in the business – it’s packed with features, super responsive, and integrates with the digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel to show key information.

Rather handily, key controls like climate and media adjustments still get physical controls, so you won’t find yourself awkwardly prodding away at the screen on the go.

Being a Land Rover, you also get an array of off-roading tech and a clever system that takes the thinking out of reversing a trailer.

You simply use the pop-up drive selector to direct the trailer and never have to worry about using opposite lock with the steering wheel again.

Engines and power

Sometimes, the most obvious choice is the right one. That’s the case with engine options for the Discovery – the trusty 3.0-litre diesel, now with mild hybrid technology to reduce emissions, is the one to go for.

We tested the D300 engine, which has 300hp. It sits between the D250 and D350 models, and has enough pace to rival even some hot hatches. Newer cars are only available with the punchier D350 unit, which is no bad thing, because it's noticeably quicker but no more expensive at the pump.

Over the years, there have also been 2.0-litre diesel variants and 2.0- and 3.0-litre petrols, but the bigger diesels’ low-down shove suit this car best.

Unlike many of the other models in Land Rover’s books, the Discovery isn’t available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, which is disappointing.

There are a few petrol options, but these are so rare that they’re not worth covering in this review. There’s no V8 engine like the Range Rover Sport SVR.

Handling and ride comfort

There’s no denying this car feels its size, but you’d be forgiven for forgetting it weighs around 2.4 tonnes.

The air suspension, which is standard on most models, does a good job of softening the blow of uneven roads and potholes.

You can customise the ride height for off-roading and to make getting in and out easier, either via the central touchscreen or a control panel in the boot.

It’s hardly the most planted car for fast and twisty roads because of its high centre of gravity, but it’s still confidence-inspiring and doesn’t leave you hanging on when you take a corner slightly too quickly, which is more than can be said for some SUVs.

Boot space

Precise metrics depend on the model year you pick. For us, it meant our seven-seater mild hybrid variant had 922 litres of space in five-seat format, which is plenty for a week away in the woods.

On paper, the small amount of space behind the third row isn’t far off what you’d get in a Ford Fiesta, but its awkwardly narrow and tall shape means fitting anything behind all seven passengers can be a struggle.

The (electronically deployable) barrier in the boot, which is meant to imitate a split tailgate, does a grand job of holding in loose odds and ends.

With the rear and middle rows folded flat, you unlock a van-like amount of space, which may lead to a very expensive shop at IKEA.

Besides a small storage area under the boot and a few hooks for shopping bags, there’s not an awful lot else going on.

Rear seats

Good news for rear-seat passengers – the middle row is made of three individual seats, so three adults can fit side-by-side comfortably.

Headroom, even in models fitted with the panoramic sunroof, is more than sufficient, but legroom is surprisingly average for a car of this size.

This is especially true if you slide the middle row forward (in a 60/40 configuration) to free up more space for those in the third row, where middle-row legroom becomes impacted.

Fortunately, the two rearmost seats have enough head and legroom even for adults in the standard configuration, at least for a short trip. Children will be fine.

Storage solutions

Besides the usual array of cubby holes and cupholders built into armrests, the Discovery’s door bins are big enough to store a large bottle or the contents of a handbag.

There’s also a handy secret storage area behind the climate controls on the centre console, which is big enough for a few phones or some snacks for your journey.

Our test car also had a refrigerated area under the central armrest, which did a stellar job of keeping our sandwiches cool on a long trip to the coast.

Unfortunately, while it may be good for a few standard-size cans of your favourite pop, the space is too shallow to fit even 500ml bottles.

Towing

Towing a braked trailer with a standard car is capped to 3,500kg in the UK, so long as you keep to other technical limitations and the restrictions of your license.

As you’d expect, most Discovery models sit at the top of this limit. Take note that the earlier 2.0-litre petrol model is limited to 3,000kg.

Most other large SUVs can also tow up to 3,500kg, but keep in mind that some models with smaller engines or hybrid setups may not be as capable, including some from Land Rover’s own range.

Off-roading

The Land Rover Discovery offers approach, departure and breakover angles of up to 34, 30 and 27.5 degrees respectively, though this depends on the configuration.

Models with air suspension are the ones to go for if you need to do any proper off-roading. The adjustable ride height helps boost ground clearance up to a maximum of 283mm.

You can also wade through up to 900mm of water, which is about as good as it gets this side of a lorry.

The Discovery may sit in the shadow of the extremely impressive Defender off-road, but it outperforms other rugged rivals like the Toyota Land Cruiser and premium alternatives like the Volvo XC90.

Safety

When the latest model, sometimes referred to as the Discovery 5, was launched in 2017, it was awarded the full five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP.

Back then, the testing agency made plenty of positive remarks about its adult and child occupant protection and the systems it uses to keep other road users and pedestrians safe.

Since then, and particularly during the major 2021 facelift, the Land Rover Discovery has been updated with even more standard-fit safety kit.

Fuel economy

There’s no denying that this car is expensive to own – depending on the configuration it can weigh a tonne or so more than small family hatchbacks.

While the 300hp diesel fitted to our test car made shifting the car’s heavy weight an effortless job, fuel economy was hampered.

Land Rover reckons the D300 engine, which has mild hybrid technology, should do around 34mpg. We exceeded that on a motorway trip when the Discovery was filled with four occupants and around 200kg of scuba diving kit in the boot.

Spend most of your time around town or towing, and you’ll be looking at mpg figures in the 20s – not great, but in line with most of its rivals and fairly normal for such a big SUV.

The reality is that any of the 3.0-litre engines will perform similarly.

While the 2.0-litre diesel has an impressive 240hp, it has less torque than the six-cylinder engines, so you’ll likely need to work it harder to pick up speed.

Land Rover claims around 38mpg for this model, so it’s unlikely to be much more efficient in the real world.

Reliability

Land Rover has had its fair share of reliability concerns in the past, but it has done a lot of work to address this.

One of the biggest disappointments of older models was the infotainment system, so if a high-tech interior is important to you, go for a facelifted post-2021 model. These cars now have one of the slickest and most intuitive systems in the industry.

Some owners of older cars have reported powertrain problems, such as with the engine or gearbox, but these are generally few and far between.

Land Rover’s warranty provides peace of mind – although it’s an industry-average three-year warranty, there’s no mileage limit imposed.

Insurance groups

The insurance group will depend on various factors, including specification, power and list price. Expect it to be in the mid-40s.

This may sound high if you’re coming from a hatchback or crossover, but other large SUVs like the Audi Q7 and BMW X7 can occupy even higher groups.