Land Rover Discovery V

After so many years, the new Land Rover Discovery is now in the open and with prices start at 43,495 Pounds, the new model is more affordable to own than the Range Rover. It's more practical as well because it's got seven seats fit for the family and surprisingly, better looking than the old Disco. So, what's it all about this new Disco?

2017 Land Rover Discovery

This should not to be mistaken with the smaller Discovery Sport, in case you got lost in British directions, because THAT is the new Discovery and by the looks of it, it's starting to gain some improvement compared to the previous, lackluster, Disco. Gone are the squarish looks and now looks more Range Rover-ish because from every angle, it looks very promising and very rewarding.

2017 Land Rover Discovery interior

While the exterior looks very masculine and very brave for a luxury off-roader, the interior is so much more than working nine to five. Although the Discovery is basically a family hauler for the weekends, this is basically fit for "Right, Honourable Gentlemen" from the Parliament and can be well fit to be part of a convoy made possible by those "Right, Honourable Gentlemen" while going through let's say the MI6, the MI5, Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, and so on. Think about this, when there's a rear-seat entertainment system on it, anyone sitting on the second row can feel as occupied as being inside of a Mercedes S-Class and eventually, it is as luxurious as a Range Rover with a price so reasonable enough to be called a cut-priced Range Rover. But unlike the Range Rover, save it for the RR Sport, the new Disco can seat up to seven people, be it family, friends, or those "Right, Honourable Gentlemen" from British politics, and when folded, there's more room for some stuff on the great outdoors, especially a trip to grandma's house, or stuff you bought from your recent thrift shop trip.

Need to say that since this is a seven-seater and when one of your family has kids, expect the sweet spots you want to sit at to be ruined by those dreadful child seats and pop goes the third row, unless if someone is generous enough to let you seat in the front, which beats struggling to accommodate the third-row seat if you may.

Having learned something from the Jaguar F-PACE, the new Discovery provides owners the Activity Key that can wear it on their wrist and can open without needing the key fob. It even comes with a special feature that can open the tailgate with the lift of your foot. That's science to you.

2017 Land Rover Discovery

The new Land Rover Discovery can be powered with a wide variety of petrol and diesel engines. It can either be the 2.0 Sd4 Ingenium diesel engine, 3.0L TD6 diesel, or the more powerful 3.0L Si6 petrol engine. All of these engines are mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox and it's not just the choice of engines is what I like about most, it's the all-aluminum platform that impresses the most because it's surprisingly 480kg lighter than the old Disco. Tough as well. And because this is lighter than the old Disco, the way it drives is pretty much like a Jaguar XF by a longshot.

Of course, being a luxury offroader, the Discovery is never complete without the very clever Terrain Response II which can adapt through any road condition no matter how good and bad it is with the utmost of its capabilities. Once more, it even comes with Wade Sensing technology which uses sensors that can notify drivers when water levels are near the 900mm maximum wading depth.

2017 Land Rover Discovery

So, thoughts about the new Discovery? While this is basically cheaper than the Range Rover, it's surprisingly luxurious on the inside, more versatile, more rugged, more technologically advanced, and above all, it's a proper Land Rover that you can take it anywhere and it's not afraid to be playing rough under the weather. I am very glad that this is a step forward from the previous, yet disappointing Disco from the past, and this is going to be a game-changer for Land Rover as this offroader will definitely set the new standards for daily drivers and offroaders alike so job well done, Land Rover.

Photo: Jaguar Land Rover

Land Rover Discovery Sport

2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport

The brand-new Discovery Sport is more than just the replacement to the ailing Ford car-based Freelander because this crossover heralded the new Discovery sub-brand, aimed squarely for leisure-seeking and family-oriented adventurers. Since this whole trend of crossovers is spreading like forest fires in the west side, looks like Land Rover really are in tune with the times to create a commoner's vehicle with some Land Rover stuff in it like the ability to go off-road or something.

Although it's made to be an affordable offroader, the pricing starts at around 32,395 Euros, which is somewhat two grand more expensive than the most affordable Range Rover money can buy, the Range Rover Evoque, but keep that in mind that the Discovery Sport has something that its cheap brother don't; seven seats. Well, usually a 5+2 seating configuration for the DS but this is more family-oriented than the Evoque, you can count on it.

2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport

While the car's design looks like it came from bits from every Range Rover model ever made, the only engine choice offered in the DS is not so Land Rover-ish, perhaps it's a Ford-derived 2.2L diesel engine producing 187HP of power and can be mated with either a 6-speed MT or a more heftier 9-speed ZF automatic gearbox. Although the engine feels so dated as people dressed as 80's people in the modern party, it's still goes very well because of its 44.8mpg fuel economy and 166g/km of CO2 emissions.

If you think this is the only engine offered for the DS, think again because you can expect new and fuel-efficient JLR's Ingenium engines first applied on the Jaguar XE saloon very soon. These new breed of engines will keep the DS more refreshed and rejuvenated.

2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport interior

2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport interior

On the road, the DS feels more as civilized as what every soccer mom's van should and since this is a family-oriented car, it's rather nice. It even comes with an available rear seat entertainment system so the kids seating at the second-row can watch so much cartoons while stuck on heavy traffic. Although quite a worrisome for the driver, this is much better than snooping on kids doing kinds of ridiculous stuff in the car. Stuff like "I Spy", tong-its, are we there yet, and whatever kids say the dumbest things. It's also the safest you can drive thanks to its new safety tech such as Pedestrian Airbag and Autonomous Emergency Braking System, which is rather kooky for this one.

Off the road, despite the lack of a low-range gearbox, it still has some Land Rover goodness in it even for a crossover of that size thanks to the very clever Terrain Response system which allows the driver to choose different settings that can adapt through every road surface, be it tarmac, gravel, snow, or anything. No matter how unforgiving the terrain you're facing with, the DS knows how to Play Rough. Get it? Play Rough! No wait that's too much of a fairy stuff to mention that word.

2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport

To evaluate the new Discovery Sport, the things I like the most is its off-road capability, its modern design fit for a crossover of that size, and it's as family oriented like any other vehicle a soccer mom can drive everyday. What I don't like about this car is its price that is more expensive than the more-expensive Range Rover Evoque, the third-row seating's not so spacious, and the diesel engine's too old for a new car but I'm sure the upcoming Ingenium engines will resolve that matter.

Available colors: Fuji White, Indus Silver, Corris Grey, Santorini Black, Loire Blue, Aintree Green, Kaikoura Stone, Firenze Red, Scotia Grey, Yulong White, Barolo Black, and Phoenix Orange.

Photo: Land Rover