Land Rover Discovery 3.0 S/C HSE (7 Seats) Review
Manly Extensions of the Rugged Kind

There was a time when Land Rover boldly proclaimed that they were the makers of the “The Best 4 X 4 By Far”. At almost 70 years of age, and famed for the likes of their Series-derived Defender go-anywhere vehicle, which recently ceased production (due to modern day safety concerns… pfft), we do however look forward to its replacement.

The fifth generation Discovery has some very large shoes to fill. The new design is a bold departure from the traditionally blockish styling the previous generations carried, and is certainly a refreshing change.

While rounder in styling, there is some nifty pen work done to this SUV, with head and tail lamps stretching into the fenders, and with that stroke of genius of clever light placement, there is no real need for repeater lamps on the side of the car.

The frontal styling features a carry-over of the hexagonal patterns from the grille of the previous car, albeit half-hexagons… I wonder what those are called then. The new face features slimmer, high-mounted headlamps, with styled daytime running LEDs, and a large bumper area, all of this which visually brings up the beltline of the car.

On the side, the new Discovery features its characteristic large forward-sloping C pillar, which visually breaks the passenger cabin away from the cargo area. Then again, this car is a full seven-seater.

In doing away with the upward-wrapping rear window, the Discovery now features a rearward wrap-around design, which gels almost seamlessly with the rear windshield.

One thing which Land Rover had also kept is that quirky asymmetrical tailgate design. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it certainly makes the car easily distinguishable from the now-crowded SUV market. Additionally, the new car loses that split tailgate, and instead gets a powered internally-mounted one.

The HSE model comes standard with a set of 20” split spoke. One of 15 different designs you can spec the car with, including some designs which feature a high gloss finish.