Test Review: Land Rover Discovery (2018) TD6, and a bike

Let’s not beat around the baobab; ahead of time we received what many would consider a Christmas wishlist and December holiday to make your neighbours jealous. A confluence of Land Rover, Thule and Specialized are mutual synergies to a fitter, healthier and more adventurous you with a discerning eye for quality and endurance.

I called up Land Rover, recalling an image I’d seen with the new Discovery lifting some expensive-looking bicycles into the air. The paraphrased conversation went like this ‘I’ve entered into the Tshipise cycle race in Musina. I have never cycled competitively but do you think I can borrow some of that equipment?’

Some hesitation, then a few questions which seemed to cast doubt over my chance of completing the cycle race, rather than the logistics of getting me there. I couldn’t argue that, but Land Rover is built on the notion of challenging this sort of unknown. Only this time, that unknown was my chance of survival.

With our Thule cycle rack lopping off a few degrees of departure angle but obscuring the Disco’s unattractive rear-end styling we cruised confidently up the N3 to the northern most town of Limpopo with the border to Zimbabwe visible in the distant shimmering haze.

I use just one of the several driving modes the entire trip. It’s, well, frustrating. I get that buyers like to be prepared for anything, the chest-beating confidence that stems from being unstoppable but to my mind, it juxtaposes the mountain bike I’m carrying here; lightweight, never a gramme too many, never a fraction too tough. The Discovery is all excess and while it can mask some of these traits with a measured finesse, I ponder whether that scope of buyer has migrated to the sportier SUVs. You can watch us take the Discovery off-road in South Africa here

The other USP about the Land Rover Discovery is comfort. Like being the captain of a gigantically powerful and handcrafted power boat in the ocean’s frothy and churning swells. Driver involvement is far down the list; you sit too high for that, your elbows flop on the armrests in a wonderfully disengaging manner. Movements are slow, slightly aloof but all the while relaxing. Modular design, rugged in a way a Range Rover isn’t. Shame it doesn’t have lane keeping assist or active cruise control, we’d happily exchange some of the off-road aids for intelligent on-road autonomy.

The diesel engine is quiet and on the open road smoothly massages the torques in its highest gear at an average of 9.2l/100km. It needs to, because the small 60 litre tank permits a realistic range of 600 kilometres. Significantly less if the wheels are battling traction on a road loose or slippery. As a car purporting to travel away from the trodden tourist route where diesel availability, then appropriate quality, is a lottery, it seems a confusing misstep for the archetypal luxury off-roader. 

Yet I see the appeal of the 2018 Land Rover Discovery: Impregnable quality, seven-seater boxed around a design that has some fantastic elements, spoiled slightly some rather asymmetrical absurdity.

The only uncertainty was my fitness, the Discovery would never falter, pathetically tested by its lofty standards. It’s a car completed by other accessories, like this bike, to show its true abilities, simply because the combination forces you outdoors. ANDREW LEOPOLD

SPECIFICATION

• 2993cc, 6cyl turbo diesel, 4WD, 190kW, 600Nm
• 7.8l/100km, 207g/km CO2,
• 0-100km/h in 8.1secs, 209km/h
• 2230kg
• Tester’s notes: Over-engineered for the majority of driving. A cocoon in the outdoors