Review of the new Land Rover Discovery3 TDV6

Land Rover Discovery diesel. That used to be a phrase that would send me under the desk to rectify a non-existent wiring fault whenever the press demonstrator was delivered. Excuses needed to be formed. Dental appointments needed to be booked, fences needed to be creosoted: anything was preferable to being lumped with a diesel Disco for the week. How things have changed. Nowadays the delivery drivers get ambushed before they even swing a leg out of the vehicle.

With Ford money bankrolling the design process, Land Rover undertook to build the best possible family 4x4 when it came to designing the Discovery3. With the Range Rover commanding serious money, there was a yawning gulf in the market for the Discovery to stretch into, charging premium prices for a premium quality product. With the market for big petrol engines nearly dead in this sector, the big growth has come in the diesel sector and the ongoing profitability of the Discovery project rests on the success of this 2.7-litre V6 diesel variant, the only powerplant now on offer in this model. Prices start at £27,315.

The engine itself is a variant of the unit that powers Jaguar's S-TYPE. Whereas the Jaguar is equipped with a pair of turbochargers in order to make 207bhp, the Discovery makes do with one and 190bhp. The reasoning behind this is to improve low-end torque rather than concentrate on top end power. The turbo itself is fully sealed for wading purposes and features variable geometry vanes to further boost torque.

The engine has been beefed up to cope with arduous off-roading, with an aluminium ladder frame at the bottom of the crankcase to improve rigidity. Baffle plates prevent oil foaming and surge when subjected to extreme manoeuvres and the oil pick-up point has been designed with acute vehicle angles in mind. Attached to the ladder frame is an industrial-strength pressed steel sump. It's an impressive piece of engineering.

"There's a refreshing absence of 'lifestyle' flim flam about the latest Discovery"

Due to its massive weight, the Discovery 2.7 V6 isn't particularly quick. It'll get to 60mph from rest in a leisurely 12.5 seconds and run on to a top speed of 109mph. This will be enough for most target customers although those expecting a car to rival the performance and handling of a BMW X5 3.0d may come away a little crestfallen. Economy isn't stellar either with everyday driving seeing the Discovery struggle to make 20mpg. The long-travel accelerator pedal makes the Discovery seem even slower than expected and needs a determined prod to stir the car with any great alacrity. When floored, you'll hear a muted diesel roar from up front but at normal cruising speeds the Discovery is supremely refined. The benefit of the throttle's long swing comes when you take the car off road. You need no longer be intimidated by the hair-trigger responses of some big diesel 4x4s. Instead power can be meted out in manageable dollops.

Unambiguously a Land Rover product, the Discovery looks like a Range Rover from the front and a Freelander on growth hormone from the side - no bad combination. Design director Geoff Upex is proud of his team's work. "Everything you see has been done for a reason. The priority was to give the passengers and driver a superb cabin environment with more headroom and greater comfort. It has big, deep glazing because that provides greater airiness and a better view." Most importantly, it does a good job of refreshing the brand's styling without diluting the look and feel. "An absolute priority was that nobody could mistake this vehicle for anything else." said Upex. "It had to look modern, bold and distinctive." The Discovery 3 certainly ticks those boxes. An optional third row of seats is available with fold flat functionality in both the second and third rows giving the Discovery some serious load lugging abilities.

A six-speed automatic gearbox with 'intelligent shift' is offered as an option for the 2.7-litre diesel, a more conventional six-speed manual being fitted as standard to this variant. Fully independent suspension all round and an Integrated Body-frame structure is twinned with air suspension on seven seat models. This is height adjustable to assist entry and exit and to boost ground clearance when off roading. All of the latest models also feature the Land Rover Watch stolen vehicle tracking system.

Guaranteed to provoke curiosity is Land Rover's patented Terrain Response system. This is virtually akin to having an expert sitting alongside you, helping to get the best out of the vehicle, on or off road. The driver chooses one of five terrain settings via a rotary knob mounted on the centre console. There's a general driving programme plus one for slippery conditions (dubbed 'grass/gravel/snow') and three specialist off road modes (mud/ruts, sand, rock crawl). The system will then automatically select the optimum setup for the electronic controls and the traction aids. This encompasses ride height, torque response, hill descent control, electronic traction control and transmission settings. This sort of joined up thinking is virtually impossible to implement from anything but a clean slate, so it will take a significant investment in both time and money on the part of rivals to get anywhere near this level of sophistication.

Despite its sleek design, there's a refreshing absence of 'lifestyle' flim flam about the latest Discovery. There's a vent on one side of the car because the car only needed one vent. Likewise, many of the 2.7-litre V6 diesel model's engineering solutions may seem counter-intuitive at first but in fact make a great deal of sense. In crediting the customer with the noddle to work through these issues, Land Rover should be highly commended.

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