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2017 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY
2017 Land Rover Discovery Price: $49,900 Price as tested: $74,380 Seating: 7 Engine: 3.0-liter V-6 or 3.0-liter turbodiesel
A thrilling new off-road SUV
Horsepower: 340 (V-6); 258 (turbodiesel) BY JIM PRUETER
Fuel economy: Not available at press time Fab features: Terrific new styling Luxurious, spacious interior Unstoppable off-road prowess
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resh off a complete redesign, the boxy Land Rover LR4 also has a new name: Land Rover Discovery. This fifth-generation model sports a new look and features a slew of technological advancements, including a lightweight body construction, making the Discovery about 20 percent lighter than the outgoing LR4. Gone is the boxy look in favor of a more rounded, aerodynamic flowing design. But a few historical lineage cues remain, like the offset rear license plate and the signature, stepped roof that’s now a mere ripple. Inside, the Discovery reflects the look, feel and quality of Range Rover MAY 2017 |
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models, giving it a much stronger sense of luxury than before. Elegant touches of supple hand-stitched leather, brushed metals and natural charcoal oak veneer enhance the upscale feel. There are four available trim levels: the base SE, HSE, HSE Luxury (tested here) and First Edition. The Discovery has seating for seven adults in three rows of heated seats, with the new model introducing the world’s first Intelligent Seat Folding technology. Seats can be configured remotely from anywhere in the world, using a smartphone-enabled InControl Remote application. Also new is the 258-horsepower, 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel engine. It’s a superbly smooth, quiet powerplant from which 443 pound-feet of off-road, nearvertical, boulder-climbing torque emanates. A supercharged 340-horsepower, 3.0-liter V-6 engine is standard. Both engines are matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission. To test the claim that Discovery is the most capable off-road vehicle ever from Land Rover, I drove more than 300 miles in rugged dry river beds and muddy undulating trails in the deep powder sand of Utah’s Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park – and even icy road conditions near the north entrance of Grand Canyon National Park. Not surprisingly, the Discovery was unstoppable in all conditions. It can also ford water up to 35.4 inches deep. The Terrain Response system offers five settings, and an auto mode removes the guesswork by giving the vehicle more than 1,000 bits of road condition information per second, allowing the computer to select the best mode. While most owners will likely never take the Discovery through these extreme conditions, I think they should. With all of its built-in capabilities, comfort and safety features, the SUV allows drivers to explore a lot of places most people will never see.