Land Rover Discovery 5 - The big Land Rover that really surprised me..

To be honest I wasn't going to bother reviewing the Landrover Discovery 5. Land Rover's oldest model has never been as popular as its predecessor and frankly its lunch has well and truly been eaten by the new Defender. Or has it? Three days with the car a famous motoring journalist once said looked like it had had a stroke, really surprised me. So is the Disco 5 still worthy of consideration alongside the other £75K newer models or should we just wait for Discovery 6? Watch to find out.

[@keithhughes2104]

Things JLR need to note for the D6: Keep the hvac buttons and switches, fit rear wheel steering and do not make it electric power only! Good review, thanks.

[@RossOnCars]

@@keithhughes2104 Thanks, rear wheel steering is a good call and yes, keep switches & buttons JLR

[@guyosborne2696]

I would add redesign the window regulators so they last longer than three years :)

[@guyosborne2696]

Just ordered a new D5 with the D350 engine to replace my current D5. Definitely the sweet spot for families. We like the Defender styling but inside the D5 is more luxurious, comes with more standard gear and the heavy side-opening rear door doesn't work for us. I cannot see the D6 being released in 2025 as JLR need to replace the Discovery Sport and RR Evoke first. Also rumours the D6 will be electric only in the UK.

[@RossOnCars]

D350 - nice call, I've been sniffing around this car also - the Metropolitan spec looks interesting, though even the basic spec is a winner. Electric only would be a punt for a long-range family car. One of the things I liked about it was the 600+ range, so Manchester and back without filling up. If I'd tried to do that trip in my Tesla, well..

[@guyosborne2696]

@@RossOnCars Yep, Metropolitan ordered but still needs some options including the off-road pack that includes low ratio and Terrain Response 2 plus spare wheel (still cannot believe the spare wheel is now an option).

[@RossOnCars]

@@guyosborne2696 Sounds great, I'm thinking Carpathian or black. I'd definitely option a full size spare wheel. Where is it kept these days?

[@guyosborne2696]

@@RossOnCars My current D5 is Santorini Black but new one will be Carpathian Grey - black difficult to keep clean and the Metropolitan not available with a black pack. Spare wheel under the rear as all D5s. Note: if you do not order the spare wheel at time of order you do not get the hoist, heat shields, jack, etc so not just a case of sourcing a spare afterwards.

[@RossOnCars]

@@guyosborne2696 side steppage?

[@Bjornlovesjazz]

The Discovery is easily the most slept on model of the Land Rover range.. having grown up with the Discos from the 1 to the 4, my first proper car i bought was the Disco 4. When that one is worn out, i'll buy a new Discovery. Best all-round car, bar none, in my eyes.

[@RossOnCars]

I loved our Disco 4. If 6 is anywhere near as good, I'll buy one too.

[@Bjornlovesjazz]

@@RossOnCars we can only hope and pray!

[@darrenjones1551]

We are on our 2nd D5 after D3 and D4s , for a family one of the best SUV.s out there. We where going to get a New Defender after having one for a few days we decided on another the D5 ( as you said RR in disguise ) great review

[@RossOnCars]

Thanks, I'm with you, Disco beats Defender for family life.

[@Discovery_Dad]

Main reason it isn't selling is because Land Rover prefer to sell you a Defender now as you can spec them way beyond the price of a Discovery. It took Land Rover over 2 years to build mine, so it's not a case of order one and it arrives. They've also played a lot of games in specs, etc. I don't think they want people to realise you get an awful lot of what you'll find in a Range Rover and most of the capability of Defender for less money. It's more comfortable than Defender, esp. off road. And if you have dogs, or put bikes on the tow bar, it's way more practical than a Defender too. It is, as Disco's possibly always have been, the sweet spot in the range and I'm not sure Land Rover want people to know. The only glaring omission when they updated it was to not add the camera to the rear view mirror. Like you say, when all there headrests are up the view is poor. I suspect the replacement will be moved upmarket again, but then it's going to bump into the RRS. I think LR need to remember people who aren't wanting to spend £100k on a car.

[@RossOnCars]

The dogs/tow bar thing is so true - that old style swinging door with the tyre on it on the Defender is not ideal for dogs and bike racks. My theory, is that Land Rover has long known they messed up the design of the Discovery 5 - it's been so less successful than the 4 - and they've instead concentrated on developing other models. The new Defender has been a wild success - but in the big Discovery's space. The boss of Defender/Discovery at JLR is saying the Discovery 6 will now have to move into it's own 'unique territory' - possibly becoming more of an MPV like the VW ID Buzz. So I'm not feeling very optimistic that the 6 will become the car the 5 should have been.

[@darrenprior6339]

I'm on my second Disco 5. This current model is brilliant. All the focus goes to the Defender due to its boxy looks but the Disco is quieter, more luxurious inside, more aerodynamic, slightly faster, more economical, handles better, holds seven people with more ease, has a more accessible boot and a LOT more boot space. I agree that the looks were a little polarising at first but I think they've aged really well. It's a terrific vehicle. BTW: If you access the system you can unlock all the dynamic handling and performance settings that are currently only available on the Range Rover. Totally transforms the car and it's all there. No modifications. Just unlock it.

[@RossOnCars]

Dynamic handling - thanks for the tip 🙏.

[@y.kazmiruk7368]

I have a month new D5 S model, how can I unlock the mentioned handling and performance settings?

[@leo-nj7cc]

I have this car now 4 months in its a pleasure to drive no issues at moment hopefully many more years ahead, couldn't agree more with your review.

[@RossOnCars]

Good to hear.

[@rupertsuren231]

The car always reminded me of a Victorian bath chair from the rear view. However, it has slowly grown on me just as they are about to phase the thing out. The asymmetric design goes back to the original Disc's rear window where they changed the 'dip' from the left to right hand side for later models to accommodate portly Americans who had problems reversing. By the way what mpg did you get out of the diesel on a long run?

[@RossOnCars]

Well met Brigadier. Yes it does! Around 31 mpg, mix of urban and motorway driving, + 600 miles on one tank.

[@noelcahill6707]

Does the D300 have the same crank problems as the sdv6

[@RossOnCars]

@@noelcahill6707 Good question! There are plenty of cautionary tales in forums about Disco 4 & 5 engines failing. I haven’t seen anything specifically on the D300.

[@gordonmac3616]

D300 and D250 are three litre in-line sixes (Not the Ford based V6) - super smooth, economical and in my case reliable.

[@Bioplast6]

Sorry, don't want an ingenium engine. The local specialist where I take my old Freelander is constantly full of Discos that need new engines or gearboxes replacing. Nice cars but cr*p engines.

[@RossOnCars]

Reliability is an issue for sure - Land Rover consistently score low on this.

[@arinzeakutekwe5126]

The petrols are more reliable, just less mpg than the diesels but also cheaper to tax, plus cheaper petrol.

[@guyosborne2696]

@@arinzeakutekwe5126 In the UK the D5 is only available with the D350 engine nowadays

[@leedorey1490]

It didn't break down during this review, impressive 😅

[@RossOnCars]

Unfortunately JLR does still have this rep 😉

[@hamishlovesit4731]

It's another shit box admit it 😂

[@RossOnCars]

Harsh 😂

[@geriatricmotorcars9516]

@@hamishlovesit4731 why watch then