Try it, Land Rover Discovery D300: a true 7-seater off-road vehicle?

Try it, Land Rover Discovery D300

The British brand Land Rover was born in 1948 and since then it has never stopped producing cars that, although more and more luxury-oriented, amaze with their amazing off-road capabilities.

This is precisely the case with Land Rover Discovery which with this latest generation launched in 2016 has been able to combine revolutionary innovations including the modular aluminum platform - shared with both Range Rover Sport and the much more expensive Range Rover - and interior comfort worthy of a luxurious flagship; the design is completely overturned, abandoning the angular and spartan lines that have characterized the Discovery range since its introduction to conform to the more luxurious sisters proposed by the brand and thus make it attractive to a wider audience.

Federicovecchio.com 2021 version brings with it great innovations such as a redesigned engine park, a totally revised infotainment, aesthetic changes such as the new LED groups and aesthetic changes to the bumpers, all making this Discovery an interesting proposal starting from 63,500 € for the basic version P300 while for the D300 SE it starts from € 79,700 and reaches € 88,158 in the configuration we tested.

As for the engines, Land Rover has decided to introduce Mild Hybrid technology on all new engines with 6 cylinders that allows to recover, store and redistribute the energy that would otherwise be lost in the deceleration phases.

This novelty is introduced starting from the D250 Diesel with 250hp and 570Nm of torque and also makes its way in the D300 with 300hp and 650Nm of torque up to the P360 petrol with 360hp and 500Nm of torque while it is not foreseen for the entry level version P300, the last remaining 2000cc four-cylinder, which delivers 300hp and 400Nm of torque.

Federicovecchio.com The engines are decidedly proportionate to the Discovery given the weight of 2400kg, the dimensions are also important reaching 4.95m in length and 2.22m in width (with open mirrors) while the height is variable according to the mode chosen for the air suspension which can be electronically controlled from the central screen, going from 184cm in Access mode - to facilitate entry and exit from the car - up to 196cm in Off-road mode 2, the most extreme present on this vehicle; in addition, Discovery is capable of wading up to 90cm of water detectable by a sonar, an incredible figure that demonstrates how the focus has still remained on the vehicle's capabilities and not just on comfort.

The lines chosen by the designers the British manage to make this vehicle immediately recognizable as a Land Rover branded product and on the side the Discovery suggests that it is not a simple 5 + 2 SUV but a real 7-seater; in fact, on the roof we find a sort of bulge near the last two seats in order to give even more space to the passengers in the last row, usually the most penalized in each vehicle but not on this one.

Some design elements they are also one of the most controversial points of the Discovery which, thanks to its decidedly iconic rear, cannot please everyone.

Focusing on the interiors, the last two seats are able to accommodate two adults in a more than dignified way, making the pleasant journey even for a 1.80m person thanks to the dedicated panoramic roof, the air conditioning vents on the uprights and the presence of two 5v chargers placed in two storage compartments; moreover, all the seats are electronically controlled by the touchscreen - optional - in the central dashboard which allows them to be folded and raised with a simple touch.

Federicovecchio.com Federicovecchio.com The internal load capacity is surprising, guaranteeing 258 liters also available with 7 seats in position, going up to 1137 liters by lowering the last two seats, up to a good 2391 liters with only the front seats available.

Technology is a fundamental part of the Discovery that it is equipped with numerous cameras and sensors to facilitate its maneuverability both on the road and off-road, all visible and controllable from the new 11.4-inch touch-screen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a much needed novelty in 2021; from the same screen it is possible to control many functions of the car itself including the direction of the air, the controls for music and navigation as well as multiple options in the menus.

In our test of almost 900km, we have used the vehicle on mixed routes, ranging from the city to the off-road vehicle just to test its extreme versatility; the comfort is decidedly high and even if it is a generously sized car, there are no annoying aerodynamic noises on the motorway and it is possible to maintain respectable fuel consumption by touching 8.5l / 100km on motorway routes.

Federicovecchio.com Alla driving the Discovery 2021 you feel master of the road thanks to the height of the driver's seat, the steering wheel is also very light in city maneuvers and allows you to position without stress the huge 275/45/21 tires it is equipped with in this SE trim. Furthermore, everything is made even easier by the numerous sensors available which alert the surrounding encumbrance; the brake pedal is calibrated in a longer way than many other cars so as not to give jolts in daily braking while it is reactive in emergency braking which are in any case automatic thanks to the numerous safety systems present on the vehicle.

Using it in the city, the 3.0 V6 300hp engine of the D300 is decidedly more thirsty going to almost 14l / 100km, a figure which is however understandable for a car of this size; the average consumption in our 900km was 12l / 100km, considering a 70% of city use we believe that it is in the norm for this kind of car.

As mentioned, we had the opportunity to test it in off-road and features such as reduced gears, the automatic setting of the car in the optimal way for the terrain on which we were with a simple click through the Terrain Response 2 and the very useful Hill Descent Control descent assistance system guaranteed total safety and a great fun in these short off-road phases.

Federicovecchio.com Federicovecchio.com The car we tested was equipped with about 8,500 € of options including the InControl Secure anti-theft system (703 €), the light Luxtec fabric interiors and the Cold Climate Package (559 €) which includes the heated steering wheel, heated windshield and heated windshield washer jets but strangely not the heated seats, a choice of very unusual on a car of this caliber, we also recommend the choice of adaptive cruise control (€ 1,207) to be able to relax more on long journeys.

The other options present were the 4-zone air conditioning (€ 1,059), the refrigerator in the center console (€ 437), the electronically lowerable seats (€ 544), the privacy glass (€ 578), the mats Premium (€ 219), oak finishes (€ 491) and some options that we would prefer were included in the standard equipment in a car of this type such as the transmission with reduced ratios (€ 437), the Terrain Response 2 (€ 219) and the All Terrain Progress Control (289 €).

In general we were very satisfied with the behavior of this Discovery in every situation and we consider it a valid purchase for those who want comfort for a large family without sacrificing pleasure off-road.