Voyage of Discovery | PH Footnote

Nobody likes to be upstaged, but that is what happened to the Land Rover Discovery. No sooner had it been launched to pretty widespread acclaim, and appetites duly whetted for an SVX flagship, than the V8 plan was cancelled… and then there was the new Defender. No longer a farm runaround, the latter was transformed into a stylish, family-friendly SUV with excellent road manners and a name known the world over. It could even seat seven (or eight, in 130 spec). Which was traditionally the job of the Discovery. So, almost a decade after launch and with some kind of replacement surely imminent, where does that leave the Disco 5 in 2026?

There’s no escaping the richly deserved, runaway success of the Defender, meaning there’s surely no way that a Discovery 6 will be the same sort of thing again, because with two very similar SUVs on sale, buyers are only going to choose one – and we all know which one that is right now. The Disco range is down to just the D350 engine (the best one, at least), with last year seeing the introduction of Gemini and Tempest special editions to sit alongside the Metropolitan, S, SE and HSE. 

The car you see here is a Tempest, right at the top of the range (from £83k) with 22-inch diamond turned wheels, Petra Cooper accents, the 20-way adjustable massage driver’s seat and everything else you could possibly get on a Disco: an electric third row of seats, Meridian sound, Matrix LED lights, four-zone climate… You get the idea. It’s a Range Rover Discovery, really, as plush as they come. And £20k more than the entry-level model. 

So what can a Discovery offer, if anything, over a Defender? Well, without wishing to sound too obvious (or trite), not being a Defender must be a strong selling point for the Discovery right now. Leave the bodykits, black wheels, daft accessories and recruiters to the Defender; the Disco, once upon a time the upstart, has arguably become the traditional, subdued Land Rover offering. And how innocent the days of 2017 now seem, when an offset numberplate was the greatest crime ever committed against SUV design. Far more egregious acts have occurred since. Indeed, while the 5 is plainly not as pitch-perfect as its predecessor, like so much from the last decade that’s still on sale it doesn’t scrub up too badly. What once seemed OTT has mellowed quite nicely.

Same goes inside. Where cars like the Range Rover Sport are now focused on being a ‘modern expression of reductive luxury’ (and to heck with usability), the Discovery boasts novel (and actually handy) features like storage behind the physical HVAC controls. Just to confirm that the claims about ditching buttons freeing up space really is nonsense – you can have both. There’s obviously acres of room, Pivi Pro continues to function nicely for infotainment, and the driver’s seat – complete with Captains’ armrest – makes for a superb driving position. Your arms can relax with hands still perfectly placed on the wheel, visibility is great, and the relationship with the pedals is ideal. No matter how daunting a journey seems, just getting into that seat allays a lot of the apprehension. 

As does a projected range of 575 miles. While the idea of a large diesel unit in a bulky 4×4 is hardly a new one, it remains terrifically well-suited to moving lots of stuff a long way with a minimum of stress (until it comes to paying for more diesel). The D350, despite not being the freshest compression ignition unit around, still impresses with its refinement, performance and efficiency: it’ll cruise at 40mpg for as long as you can. The eight-speed auto is still the perfect sidekick, even when taking manual control with the beautiful (and totally unnecessary) paddles.

Furthermore, while a Discovery absolutely still ranks as a very large, very heavy machine, it’s always a car you can drive with confidence and – should the food hall be about to close – some vigour as well. Every major control is accurate and well weighted, so while you’ll never scythe through any S-bends or stop on a dime, you’ll also never have second guess what the car is doing. It’s a clever compromise to deliver supreme comfort while not totally distancing the driver from what’s going on, and it’s very neatly judged by the Discovery. It’s still a pleasure to be behind the wheel of, basically, and that’s without venturing off-road at all. 

And the but? We all knew it was coming. The simple fact remains that a Defender does everything a Disco does, but just that little bit better. It would be lovely to report that the old ways were better, but that isn’t the case. A Defender can also have its ADAS turned off more easily, can accommodate a family with ease, drives very adeptly on road and exceptionally well away from it. Maybe the Defender image isn’t the greatest – a victim in many ways of its own success – though there’s no denying that it’s the superior car, and a better looking one, too. While a Tempest is undoubtedly a very lovely Discovery (and deals will surely be out there), it’s difficult to recommend it at more than £85,000. 

Land Rover will know this, of course. The current Disco is presumably nearing the final curtain, and special edition models are likely meant to encourage repeat buyers to trade up before that happens. Given the smart money is on a battery-powered replacement, they may feel inclined to do just that, and will be delighted to learn that the 5 is as capable and likeable as it ever was. Hardly a shock given its maker’s reluctance to make wholesale changes, but also a fair reminder of just how good it was out the box – even with a weird numberplate. Get the 350hp diesel, get the Captains’ armrest, get the big wheels if you really want to, and the Disco will make fine family transport for a long while yet. Easy to spot in a car park full of Defenders, too.

Engine: 2,993cc, inline-six, turbocharged, diesel, plus belt-integrated starter generator
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 350@4,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 516@1,500-3,000rpm
0-62mph: 5.9 seconds
Top speed: 130mph
Kerbweight: 2,316kg (DIN)
MPG: up to 33.4 (WLTP, combined)
CO2: from 222g/km (WLTP)
Price: £83,720 (OTR RRP as standard; price as tested £88,740 comprising Secure Tracker Pro for £475, 22-inch full-size spare wheel for £1,010, Advanced Off-Road Pack (High/low-range transfer box, All Terrain Progress Control, Terrain Response 2, Configurable Terrain Response, Active Locking Rear Differential) for £1,610), Cold Climate Pack (Heated washer jets, headlight power wash) for £310, Towing Pack (Advanced Tow Assist, Electrically deployable tow bar) for £1,615)