Land Rover’s newest Discovery 5 has a pretty large pair (or better yet, two pairs…) of shoes to fill, coming on the well-heeled heels of the outgoing LR4, which itself was one not only well mannered on the road but also, more notably, one of the marques most capable off-roaders to date.
The new Discovery 5 brings a plethora of performance, safety, and comfort features, including all of the high tech features that one would expect for a modern, luxury SUV with a base price over $50,000.
Don’t be fooled by the Discovery’s sleek and distinctively non-utilitarian exterior though; like most Land Rover products, this one was designed and built with the rough stuff in mind, and Land Rover wants to make sure you know it.
As with many of their product launches, Land Rover took the time to put the new vehicles through their paces and demonstrate their off rod capability. And what better place to prove that prowess than the mountains of Utah, where Land Rover took automotive journalists on a junket across southern Utah and northern Arizona in the all-new Disco, touring stunning Zion National Park and coming within miles of the north rim of the Grand Canyon.
By all accounts, the 5th generation Discovery ticks all the boxes off-road- fitted with air suspension, it can achieve 11 inches of ground clearance, and approach, breakover, and departure angles of 34, 27.5, ad 30 degrees respectively. Wading depth, at 35.4 inches, is probably more than most people would be willing to do.
As has been widely reported, the new model weighs in at nearly 1,000 pounds lighter than its predecessor, yet can still hold its own in towing capacity, with the diesel version capable of matching LR4’s 7,700-pound limit and the petrol model pulling a bit more at 8201 pounds.
As has been the norm lately for Land Rover, an 8 speed automatic transmission is fitted as standard equipment and a two speed transfer box and rear locking differential can both be fitted as options.
The Discovery is due to turn up in dealer showrooms any day now. Units are moving quickly with advance orders already approaching 20,000 vehicles. Look for them on the school run nearest you. Or perhaps some less easily accessible location.
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