Land Rover Discovery

Land Rover launched the all-new Discovery in India just a year after its global debut at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. The Discovery has not changed much in the last 25 years since its inception in 1989, with the all-new Discovery 5 being only the third generation of the British marque.

The Discovery 5 takes its design cues from the 2014 Discovery Vision Concept. The new Disco moves away from its characteristic rectangular motif and adopts a more stylish and curvy design language set up by the new Evoque. Land Rover’s honeycomb grille is now flanked by sleek and modern LED headlamps. The imposing front bumper retains the skid plates and the necessary air vents.

The flared wheel arches define the characteristic silhouette of the Disco. The decked up roof is now a little less stepped-up compared to the older car. The tailgate is no longer horizontally split and has been replaced with a conventional top hinged tailgate with a slightly raked rear windscreen. The tail lights too are more modern sleek LEDs.

The Discovery features Jaguar Land Rover’s new aluminium infused chassis thus losing at least a couple of quintals in weight. The new chassis-body design opens up more space for the seven occupants in the three-rows the Discovery is known for.

The new Discovery measures 4,970mm in length, 2,220mm in width and stand 1,846mm tall, making it 141mm longer but both narrower and lower than before. Its 2,923mm wheelbase has increased by 38mm, thus creating generous cabin space.

The “family SUV” continues the modern approach on the inside as well. The dashboard is dominated by an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which reduces the number of buttons compared to the older model. The standard features in the SUV include the InControl Touch Pro integrated into the infotainment system, a 14-speaker Meridian digital surround system and four 12V charging points amongst others. The main highlight here is the Intelligent Seat Fold function, which allows passengers to reconfigure the second- and the third-row seats using switches inside the tailgate, the C-pillar, the infotainment touchscreen or even remotely using a smartphone. The stepped up roof provides ample headroom for the middle and third-row passengers. The panoramic sunroof is also offered while the rest of the cabin remains very practical.

The new Land Rover Discovery is powered by a supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol mill churning out 335bhp at 6500rpm and 450Nm of torque between 3500-5000rpm. There's also a 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine option which produces 254bhp at 3750rpm and 600Nm of torque from as low as 2000rpm. While the latter will be powering the TdV6 trim, the former will power the Si6 variant. The SUV comes loaded with Land Rover’s off-road hardware.

Land Rover pitches the all new Discovery 5 against the likes of Mercedes GLS, BMW X5, Volvo XC90 and the Audi Q7. Price for the new Discovery ranges between Rs 68 lakh and Rs 1.03 crore.