Many many moons ago when I was a teenager set to conquer the world I was persuaded by a good mate to go halves with him in buying an old Mk1 Land Rover. It was a beast that only two adventurous kids could love.
It used more oil than petrol, a fully laden semi trailer could – and did – out-accelerate it going up a hill and it looked nothing like a Land Rover. By the time it came into our possession it had a combination aluminium and timber body, it was painted bright orange and it was definitely never going to be a chick magnet.
But it went and it took us to places our cars wouldn’t take us and somehow I wish I still had that monster.
But time moves on and even today’s Land Rover looks nothing like the Mk1 Landies of long ago. Today they reek of comfort and prestige but they’ll still get you to places most other vehicles will never reach.
So let’s have a quick look at what the press is saying about today’s modern Land Rover Discovery.
The Discovery comes with a choice of three engines. There is a V6 and V8 Petrol and a V6 diesel that was designed by Jaguar. The standard transmission is a 6 speed automatic that includes a variety of settings that takes into account the ground conditions that you’re travelling over.
The Good Points
Rides and handles well in most conditions
It will go places in two-wheel drive where others need four
Good cabin space
Quiet inside the cab at highway speeds
Good fuel consumption from the diesel.
The Not So Good Points
Good equipment levels but the quality of the equipment was not up to the same standard as competitors
Cheap looking seat fabrics and dashboard
Fuel consumption in the petrol versions
Presented as a premium vehicle in a class where it doesn’t quite match the competition
You can find more in-depth reviews here and here.
And from all that you might see that the Land Rover Discovery is an honest vehicle that doesn’t quite meet the competition and somehow that reminds of that old Mk 1 Landi I once co-owned.