The Land Rover Discovery has gained a strong following since its Australian launch in 1991 among 4WD fans, and with good reason.
All offer genuine off-road abilities, with the original and its 1998 successor derived from the first Range Rover (1970); the go-anywhere Discovery 3 of 2004 was developed under Ford ownership, as was the '4' facelift. Yet, the '5' – the first under Tata control – launched in 2017 ditched the ladder-frame chassis for a monocoque body, ushering in better on-road manners and a more luxurious and spacious interior, while maintaining superb 4x4 prowess. Petrol and diesels are available across the line, along with the excellent 'Terrain Response' off-roading system. Since 2020, in-line six-cylinder engines have replaced the four-cylinder units, further pushing Discovery upmarket. The base model starts from $117,219, rising to $146,048 for the most expensive version. Fun fact: the latest Defender is loosely based on and built alongside it in Slovakia.
I wouldn’t be concerned about the cylinder configuration of a particular engine. What’s more important is how much power and torque that engine makes, and how towing-friendly that power delivery is. By which we mean how smooth and flexible is the delivery. What you don’t want is a peaky engine that needs to be revved before it delivers the good as that puts a strain on everything and make the vehicle tricky and unpleasant to drive.
The good news is that all the vehicles you’ve nominated have good, solid powerplants that are well suited to towing a caravan. Modern turbo-diesels – especially with an automatic transmission – are ideal for this task.
What you should go for, however, is the vehicle with the highest towing rating. In this case, that’s any of the Grand Cherokee, MU-X or older Discovery, all of which have variants that can handle a towed load of 3.5 tonnes. The Everest is almost as good with 3.1 tonne, but only almost. The problem is that the van you’ve nominated can easily weigh between 2.2 and 2.8 tonnes which, with a 3.1-tonne limit, leaves you very little headroom for water tanks and camping gear. You’d be amazed at how much a fully loaded caravan weighs, so don’t rely on the brochure, load the van and take it to a weighbridge to make sure the vehicle you have can legally tow it.
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Land Rover still refers to the third-generation, L462-series model as the Discovery 5, but the number was dropped in some markets to distance it from the L319-series LR3 and LR4, which were the North American names for the Ford-era Discovery 3 (2003) and Discovery 4 (2009) respectively.
Though not officially confirmed, it is believed that the name change in both instances was due to the poor reliability reputation that the earlier models gained. The same fate befell the Freelander badge, when its successor became known as the much-more-chic Evoque.
Thank you for getting in touch.
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Indeed it will so get in quick.
With its mix of classic Range Rover and a Rover Group parts-bin bits, Morris Marina door handles, Austin Montego van tail-lights and Buick’s ancient alloy V8 all part of the mix, this thing is pre-BMW/post-BMC era British engineering genius.
Also, the original Disco is cool, with its lovely two-door wagon body, stepped roof with skylights and airy, inviting cabin offering minimalist, attractive design. And please don't forget the Land Rover's formidable 4x4 capabilities.
All-in-all, a '90s classic worth collecting. Land Rover doesn't make 'em like this any more.
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The Discovery is offered with seven seats in a 2/3/2 configuration. The front passenger seat adjusts manually and the drivers seat is powered with memory and a folding armrest. Middle row has an electrically folding 40/20/40 split on the backrest and the base slides forward in a 60/40 split. Third row has a manual 50/50-split and folds flat.
Upholstery is a mix of real and synthetic leather throughout most of the grades until you hit the top-spec Tempest grade, where you get Windsor leather upholstery. Heat and ventilation functions are available for the front and middle row outboard seats on some higher grades.
The Discovery is available in eight colours - 'Fuji White', 'Santorini Black', 'Eiger Grey', 'Lantau Bronze', 'Varesine Blue', 'Carpathian Grey', 'Charente Grey' and 'Sedona Red'.
Standard accessories include keyless entry, push-button start, rain-sensing wipers, heated rear window, 20-inch alloy wheels, full-size spare, LED headlights and DRLs, powered drivers seat, electric folding middle row seats, dusk-sensing headlights, rear fog lights, trailer stability assist, dual-zone climate control, electric steering wheel column, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, sat nav, digital radio, wireless charging pad, seven USB ports, two 12-volt sockets, 360-degree view camera system and a powered tailgate.
The boot of the Discovery is practically shaped being long and tall and offers up to 1137L of storage capacity when the third row is folded flat. There is a full-size spare, powered tailgate and a 12-volt socket but no underfloor storage area.
The cabin of the Discovery looks capable and well-built with a plethora of soft-touchpoints throughout the car. The seat upholstery is supple under hand but some of the trims across the doors and dashboard lean more towards the synthetic end for its price point. The dashboard is headlined by an 11.4-inch media display. Some grades enjoy dual sunroofs but otherwise, despite looking premium the cabin still lacks any defining personality.
All Discovery grades share the same D350 4WD powertrain. A 3.0-itre six-cylinder twin-turbo diesel engine is paired with a 48V mild hybrid system to produce up to to 257kW/700Nm.
All Discovery grades share the same D350 4WD powertrain which can do a 0-100km/h sprint in 6.3-seconds and a top speed of 209km/h.
The official claimed combined fuel cycle usage is 7.8L/100km and with its 89L fuel tank, you should see a theoretical driving range of up to 1141km.
All Discovery variants accept diesel.