I’m in the seven-seat top of the range V6 diesel this week and while I feel like lord of the manor I get some dirty, disapproving looks when I drive the massive machine in the city. Has the SUV simply grown too big?
The new ‘Disco’ is even heavier than the already massive Range Rover. To ease my conscious I made sure I took the thing off road (a little) to muddy up the wheels and regain a certain degree of righteousness.
The Discovery has a number of new features including a monocoque chassis, practical split tailgate (the spare is now found under the car) and electronic handbrake to name the most obvious. Under the bonnet there is a great 2.7 litre diesel available that was co developed with PSA (it’s also found in Jags).
The oil burner can hustle the beast along at pretty smart speeds. It produces 187 bhp and 325 foot pounds of torque. If you have money to burn on fuel there is a 4.4 litre V8 available.
Space inside the cabin is massive and even on the school run hard to fill. The angular blocky exterior has caused some controversy especially when viewed side on, as it looks a bit too ‘commercial’ van-like. This is definite design ‘no no’ when you are paying out so much for a posh off roader. Head on it is very in your face - in a good way.
On the go the Discovery 3 is a bit of a laugh. It is nimble, this fact is exaggerated somewhat as you sit high above the road steering 2.7 tonnes or two family cars! There is a gentle and acceptable amount of body roll at roundabouts and on twisty lanes.
Now the downside, all I can say is thank heavens for parking radar as the potential to do serious harm not only to the ‘Super Sized’ Discovery’s handsome rear end but other cars is ever present when parking.
With practice the new Disco is simple to use and park as my top speed car had auto dipping side mirrors (that dip when reverse is engaged) plus the smooth automatic gearbox with ‘Drive’, ‘Sport’ and manual modes made town and country driving very pleasurable.
The underbits of the Discovery are set to star in the new Range Rover Sport they are that good! At the European launch some months ago journalists got the chance to drive through, under and over every sort of terrain Mother Nature could think off and guess what the Disco passed with flying colours.
“Terrain Response” sounds like an TV action series but in fact it is the clever system Land Rover uses in the Discovery to make it so good off road. You can select one of five settings depending on the surface you intend traversing like Sand, Snow, Rock etc.
The car’s ride height can be adjusted with the flick of a switch to. I put this to great use great at traffic lights raising and lowering the Disco to cheer up bored kids on their way to school.
The Discovery 3 is a serious machine that is both luxurious on and off road. It is set to rival not only the class leading Toyota Land Cruiser but also Toyota’s luxury VX.
The Land Rover Discovery 3 is huge, rugged and I love it… Let’s hope it is as reliable as a Toyota!
- Michael Sheridan
