6 MOTORING FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER 2009THE SCOTSMAN
The new Land Rover Discovery has echoes of the salubrious Range Rover models about its front end
JUNE NEARY
I WASN'T keen on the original
Land Rover Discovery. It may
have been able to move moun-
tains but it handled spirited
driving on twisty Tarmac like a
Channel ferry in a blustery gale.
Itwasalso,inturbodieselformat
least, notably unrefined � at least
in luxury sector terms.
If Solihull really wanted to
court BMW and Mercedes cus-
tomers, something better was
needed � and duly provided by
the latest version.
To be frank, the Discovery3
was the first Discovery I would
have countenanced buying. Pre-
viousmodelslookedtooagricul-
tural for me. Fine if you were a
school mum or a farmer, but
otherwise portraying a rather
clunkyimage.Thiscarisverydif-
ferent � and more appealing still
in the further developed Discov-
ery4 guise I've been looking at.
The basics, though, remain as
before, but this time, instead of a
single 188bhp 2.7-litre V6 diesel
option, there's also a 242bhp 3.0-
litre V6 diesel to tempt those
with deeper pockets. Both these
engines are borrowed from
Jaguar and make astonishingly
little noise yet develop truck
loads of torque for towing and
heavy off road work.
THE PRACTICALITIES
You won't mistake even this Dis-
covery for anything else. Land
Rover say that this was deliber-
ate: their research suggests that
the "Disco's" shape is one of its
mostappealingfeatures�atleast
to potential buyers.
The marque's styling treads a
classy, predictable path and its
customers wouldn't have it any
other way. Today's Discovery has
more than a hint of the salubri-
bearing look of the car. Some of
the detailing, particularly the
deep grove along the edge of the
clamshell bonnet, serves to cre-
ate a lower, sleeker effect.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The cabin quality has been
stepped up at least a couple of
notches, with improved materi-
alsandasimplifiedcontrolinter-
face. The Terrain Response con-
sole takes pride of place in front
ofthegearleverandthesteering-
wheelhascontrolsfornumerous
functions, reducing the amount
of time drivers need to spend
with a hand off the wheel.
Technology is everywhere, if
you have the cash for a posh trim
level and a trawl through the op-
tions list. Systems are controlled
via the centrally-mounted touch
screen and the driver gets a sec-
ond LCD display in the instru-
ment cluster through which
major functions can be accessed
via the steering-wheel-mounted
controls. The Portable Audio In-
terface allows MP3 players and
USB devices to be connected and
there's a DAB radio option.
I was lucky enough to try the
Discovery4 off-road and was im-
pressed by its patented Terrain
Response system. This is virtu-
ally akin to having an expert sit-
ting alongside you, helping to
get the best out of the vehicle, on
or off road. You choose one of
five terrain settings via a rotary
knob mounted on the centre
console.There'sageneraldriving
programme plus one for slip-
pery conditions and three spe-
cialist off-road modes. The sys-
tem will automatically select the
optimum set-up for the elec-
tronic controls and traction aids.
So you get ride height, torque re-
sponse, hill descent control,
electronic traction control
and transmission settings.
The latest system adds a
launch control function design-
ed for deep sand, as well as im-
provements to the Hill Descent
Control and the Rock Crawl
mode to ensure tricky manoeu-
vres are that bit easier. Superb.
VALUE FOR MONEY
This level of excellence doesn't
come cheap. Discovery4 prices
start from around �32,000 but
most buyers will end up paying
in the �35,000-�40,000 bracket
fortheircars.Youcanpaycloseto
�50,000ifyougofortheplushest
version: for that money, I'd
rather have a Range Rover.
COULD I LIVE WITH ONE?
Easily. The size is not something
you notice after a bit and the
"Disco" still seems more solid
than its Japanese rivals.
This sleek upgrade is
a fantastic Discovery
"Terrain Response
system is virtually akin
to having an expert
sitting alongside you"
ous Range Rover models about
its front end, with the industrial
mesh grille and the big square
light clusters which now feature
LED technology. There are more
LEDs at the rear and redesigned
bumpers at both ends, the front
one incorporating a wider air in-
take to help the powerful 3.0-
litre engine breathe.
The tall shape is typical Land
Rover, with its instantly recog-
nisable squared-off lines and
clean surfaces, but the designers
have tried to reduce the over-
The official fuel consumption figures in mpg/(l/100km) and CO2
emissions (g/km) urban 17.9 (15.8) - 30.6 (9.2), extra urban 33 (18.6) - 45.5 (6.2), combined 25.2 (11.2) - 37.7 (7.5). CO2
194g/km - 265g/km. Prices correct at time of printing.
Range RoveR
From �64,695
Call today to arrange a test drive
Range RoveR SpoRt
From �44,895
diSCoveRy 3
From �31,995
FReelandeR 2
From �21,295
deFendeR
From �19,865 (inc VAT)
pentland land Rover 1 lanark Road, edinburgh, Midlothian eH14 1tg.
tel: (0131) 273 2000 www.john-clark.co.uk/landrover
tHiS weekend only
drive on the land Rover
off-Road terapod

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