Sprint Review: Land Rover Discovery HSE TD6

A gigantic new car, lots of information in short paragraphs.

What you need to know: I’m not supposed to write a review on this brand-new, fifth-generation Land Rover Discovery but as a former Landy owner I felt obliged to at least get a sneaky Sprint Review in. That urge intensified after I spent a few hours with this imposing maroon metallic press car.

Some more facts: I’m not going to bore you with geeky facts, like the development of this L462 model, but rather report on more sensual experiences. As an obvious start, yours truly was sad to see yet another Rover wear Evoque make-up. *insert lengthy sigh here* The boxy Disco 3 / 4 was so wonderfully square, unique and practical!

Added to that, the Discovery used to be just one-up the pecking order from the rustic Defender. Now it’s… uhh, sort of nowhere. Lost in a sea of Evoque facsimiles, half of which have the absurd name “Sport”, it costs a bleeding fortune and only distinguishes itself with an off-centre rear number plate which gave my wife a small epileptic fit.

Where we went: I didn’t go very far, nor did I brave more than a bit of muddy dirt road. In all fairness, that’s probably more off-roading than most new Discovery owners will ever dream of. For the record, this N$1.3 million Land Rover is armed with intelligent all-wheel-drive including air suspension, low range, clever cameras and other off-road assistants.

Speaking of which, the top-of-the-line models (or extras list) can spoil you with self-levelling this, automatic that and intelligent everything else. A few highlights in our test car were fully electric seats (yes, ALL seven), adaptive LED headlights, two sunroofs and a superb infotainment system with flight status and weather apps.

Watch out for: Those 20-inch tyres won’t be easy to replace over New Year’s in Khorixas, nor will the leather-clad and computer-laden interior put up with much dirt or dust. Unlike its hardy ancestors, I somehow don’t see these new models being bought and souped-up by 4×4 enthusiast in a few years.

Why you’ll want one: Modern SUV perfection with seven seats and everything that opens and shuts automatically. This new Disco feels more agile than its forefather and obviously shows improvements on almost every other front. It also includes a 3-year/100,000km warranty and 5-year/100,000km maintenance plan.


FULL SPECLIST

Engine:                   3L V6-cylinder turbo-diesel

Transmission:        8-speed Automatic, i-AWD

Max. Power:           190kW @ rpm

Max. Torque:         600Nm @ 1,750 rpm

Avg cons.:               6.9L/100km (claimed)

0-100km/h:           8.87 seconds (claimed = 8.1)

Top Speed:             209km/h (claimed)

List Price:               Starting at N$ 1.3 million




Performance:

0-10km/h: 0,56 seconds
0-20km/h: 1,03 seconds
0-30km/h: 1,56 seconds
0-40km/h: 2,28 seconds
0-50km/h: 3,01 seconds
0-60km/h: 4,00 seconds
0-70km/h: 5,02 seconds
0-80km/h: 6,11 seconds
0-90km/h: 7,45 seconds
0-100km/h: 8,87 seconds
0-110km/h: 10,37 seconds
0-120km/h: 12,28 seconds
0-130km/h: 14,42 seconds
0-140km/h: 16,74 seconds
0-150km/h: 20,25 seconds

0-100m: 7,02 seconds @ 86,76km/h
0-200m: 10,63 seconds @ 111,29km/h
0-300m: 13,66 seconds @ 126,43km/h
0-400m: 16,37 seconds @ 138,57km/h

100-0km/h: 3,94 seconds @ 41,58 meters (once-off)

——————————-

0-10mph: 0,84 seconds
0-20mph: 1,70 seconds
0-30mph: 2,87 seconds
0-40mph: 4,48 seconds
0-50mph: 6,16 seconds
0-60mph: 8,29 seconds
0-70mph: 10,96 seconds
0-80mph: 14,14 seconds
0-90mph: 18,23 seconds

1/4 mile: 16,43 seconds @ 86,26 mph

Maximum acceleration G-force: 0,55G

Altitude: 60m

All data captured by Racelogic® Performance Box



Leave a Comment