First drive: Land Rover Discovery D300 Dynamic HSE

By Julian Kirk / 1 year ago / Road Tests / No Comments

Overshadowed by the new Range Rover family and the retro Defender range, the mildly tweaked Discovery risks being an afterthought in buyers’ minds.

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WHAT IS IT? Large SUV HOW MUCH? From £60,540 FUEL ECONOMY? 33.9mpg

The current Discovery range has been around since 2017, which means it’s nearing the end of its life in this current iteration.

The all-new Discovery 6 will sit on a new platform engineered for electrification and will also head further upmarket to distance itself from the Defender family. Which leaves the current Discovery 5 occupying a rather crowded area where it is being nibbled away at by the cheaper Defender family while also seeing sales drip away to lower-spec Range Rover Sport models.

So what better way to boost the model’s fading popularity than by throwing some extra kit at it to keep it relevant (and prop those residuals up to keep monthly rentals vaguely affordable).

Key improvements include mild hybrid technology on both diesel and petrol engines, giving 34.7 and 34.8mpg average economy in the D250 and D300 diesels, while CO2 emissions reside firmly in the upper echelons of the charts at 213g/km. The petrol P360 fares worse, as you’d expect. But let’s not kid ourselves that many employees are going to take a Discovery as a company car – the huge monthly BiK bills will see to that. So, this is a car aimed, in the fleet market, at cash-for-car drivers who want a big, capable family car.

And the Discovery ticks every box in that respect. The versatile seven-seat layout is the model’s staple, ensuring a myriad combination of people, pets and luggage can be carried with ease.

And while many rivals can also offer this capability, none do so with the panache and brand appeal of Land Rover, which is why residuals remain in the high 60s per cent range after three years and 36,000 miles.

Topping off the current raft of changes is the introduction of the Metropolitan edition, pushing the Discovery up towards the £80,000 price point through the addition of luxury optional extras such as head-up display, chiller box and panoramic roof.

Certainly, at this price point the Discovery makes a tough case for itself, especially when the Range Rover Sport is priced from £83,000, but further down the range the Discovery remains a class act for its combination of space, versatility, liveability and brand appeal.

I worry that with the arrival of the new model this legacy will be harder to maintain, especially as prices north of £70,000 for entry models will probably be the norm. Where the Discovery has always scored highly is in its affordability (I use the term loosely and in relation to other Land Rover products), but the price of progress means that the Discovery’s journey to Range Rover-lite will continue, taking it further away from its more prosaic origins.

Which model is right for you?

You can take your choice from three engine options, D250 or D300 diesel or a P360 petrol, along with four trim levels: S, Dynamic SE, Dynamic HSE and Metropolitan Edition.

Kicking off the range is the S, only offered with the D300 mild hybrid diesel engine. For £60,540 this gives you 300bhp, 0-62mph acceleration in 6.5 seconds, 35.2mpg combined fuel economy and CO2 emissions of 211g/km. Standard equipment includes leather seats, electrically operated front seats, LED headlights and 20-inch wheels. However, the latter look somewhat dwarfed by the Discovery’s size and optional wheel upgrades all cost in excess of £1,000.

Dynamic SE trim spices things up a little with some visual trim tweaks to make the car look a little more special, larger 21-inch alloys, a contrasting black roof and uprated stereo. This spec also opens up the availability of the P360 petrol straight-six engine alongside the D300 diesel. The P360 is also a mild hybrid, offers similar performance but has lower fuel economy (27.5mpg on average) and higher emissions of 232g/km – although at this level the gap is rather irrelevant. However, Dynamic SE trim is a big jump in price (around £7,000 on top of S trim).

Rather strangely, moving up to near the top of the range is where the Discovery makes more sense. Dynamic HSE trim, available with D300 or P360 power, also opens up the option of the £69,290 D250 diesel – a detuned version of the D300 mild hybrid offering very similar performance and a slight improvement in fuel economy (up to 34.7mpg). This trim also adds 22-inch wheels, matrix LED headlights, upgraded leather for the interior and 20-way heated and cooled front seat.

Finally, there is the Metropolitan Edition, which comes in D300 and P360 guises. Priced from £77,095, this model comes with exterior styling tweaks for a more premium feel, privacy glass, sliding panoramic roof, head-up display, wireless phone charging, front cooler box, four-zone climate control and a heated steering wheel. It would need careful selecting of the options list to see if this is better value than speccing up an HSE with the bits you really want.

The verdict

Climbing up into the Discovery’s cabin feels like an event, shutting the door with a satisfyingly solid ‘thud’ and then taking in the combination of classic British interior style blended with the excellent infotainment screens. Press the start button and you’re in no doubt that it’s a diesel engine ahead of you, but noise levels subside when you’re on the move.

What is impressive is the level of grunt available from tickover, pushing you forward on a tide of torque. For long-distance journeys there are few better cars, especially when combined with the excellent visibility afforded by the high seating position and the cosseting suspension. This is a car you can cover hundreds of miles in at a time and not feel impacted when you arrive at the destination.

Factor in the seven-seat versatility, huge luggage space, wonderful cabin and grunty diesel engine and you have a car which truly warrants the ‘great all-rounder’ accolade.