We grabbed the keys to the latest generation of the Land Rover Discovery in D300 Dynamic SE guise and embarked on a road trip with challenging inclines, rough tracks and cold temperatures to put it through its paces. While at the time of writing this article, we cannot disclose the reason behind this road trip just yet, we implore you to follow our social media channels and keep an eye out for a very special piece of content coming to the AutoTrader YouTube Channel soon.
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Now, before we get into the details of the Land Rover Discovery in the D300 Dynamic SE guise, let me remind you that you can sell your car quickly and easily on our website here. Also, if you are in the market for a capable seven-seater off-roader, you can search for new or used Land Rover Discovery models on AutoTrader here.
Styling
The Land Rover Discovery has elevated its road presence as a premium SUV with its aggressive styling. Upfront, the Land Rover Discovery offers refined styling with a purposeful design. In each corner, owners can expect these 21-inch alloy wheels as standard; however, they can optionally specify either 20-inch or 22-inch units.
With those wheels and the large greenhouse, the Land Rover Discovery is tall, 1 888 mm. But the proportions are really good, with it being 4 956 mm long and 2 220 mm wide, including the mirrors. And while you might think it is quite a large vehicle and will take a good time to get used to the proportions, with all the cameras, sensors, and high driving position, it is actually a quick process.
The most controversial area of the Discovery is at the rear, where the numberplate is offset to the side. While many might not want this asymmetric design, it is a styling choice to pay homage to earlier Discovery models, where the numberplate was offset due to the spare wheel being stored on the tailgate. As this writer appreciates automakers celebrating its history, I didn't mind this design at all.
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Space & Interior
It is on the interior where things get interesting. While the fitment and materials inspire confidence in its durability, it is a luxurious space. The artificial leather contrasts with bright stitching and textured materials across the dashboard. The smooth brushed aluminium trim on the centre console, steering wheel, and door trim further bolsters the premium feel.
The perforated front seats are very comfortable, after completing around 700 km with few comfort breaks, I still felt fresh and energised. Shortening the trip was listening to music or podcasts on the premium Meridian sound system, but more later. In terms of space, the Discovery has a lot of it. You can fit up to seven occupants, with the rear bench spacious enough to occupy three adults on shorter journeys.
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Comfort & Convenience
The centralised system features the impressive 11.4-inch Pivi Pro infotainment system, which allows you to control most of the vehicle's functions. It comes installed with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and is paired with a Meridian surround sound system. The system also features 4G Wi-Fi hotspot functionality, which allows up to eight devices to be connected, meaning that all seven passengers can connect their smart devices.
One of this writer's favourite features of the Pivi Pro system was the ClearSight Ground View technology, which utilises cameras around the vehicle to provide clear images of what is happening around and just underneath the front. This helped tremendously while navigating some of the off-road trails navigated during the test period. The cameras also provide the driver with a 360-degree view in tight parking spaces, which is a great function.
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Performance
At the time of writing this article, Land Rover has replaced the Discovery D300 series with Discovery D350 variants. However, even these D300 derivatives offer ample performance. The 3.0-litre, turbocharged inline-6 Ingenium diesel motor produces 221 kW and 650 Nm of torque. It sends power to all four wheels via a smooth-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission. It has a claimed 0-100 km sprint time of 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 209 km/h. While we didn't test these figures, the power delivered from the engine inspires confidence in those numbers.
While the Discovery D300 has a lot of get-up-and-go, it is not geared to speed as much as it is off-road performance. When the Terrain Response 2 technology picks up what surface you are on, it automatically adjusts how much torque and power to send through to which wheel or wheels. Considering that the writer put it through its paces on rocky terrain, high elevations, loose sand terrains and many more, the Discovery D300 had every bit of power needed to conquer.
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Fuel Economy
After a week of open-road driving, spirited throttle inputs, high-elevation climbs, and gruelling offroading, the Land Rover Discovery D300 returned an average fuel consumption figure of 9.5 L/100 km. However, if you commute on the highways and monitor your throttle inputs slightly, you will get a figure much closer to the manufacturer's claimed 7.8 L/100km.
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Safety
The Disco offers a variety of safety features and driver assistance systems to bolster its safety credentials. As standard, occupants benefit from 6 airbags, front and side units for the front occupants and curtain airbags to protect the front and rear occupants. As expected from a vehicle in this segment, ABS brakes have electronic brakeforce distribution features and traction and stability control.
In terms of driver assistance systems, adaptive cruise control is standard, which results in blind-spot monitoring, lane departure warning, and lane-keeping assists. There is also hill-start assist and hill descent control. Our test unit had the optional tyre pressure monitoring system and full-colour head-up display. Also, standard items are a driver fatigue monitor and ISOFIX anchor points on both the outer rear seats and the front passenger seat.
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Price *
At the time of writing this article, Land Rover has replaced the Discovery D300 variants with more powerful D350 derivatives. Thus, if you are in the market for a new Land Rover Discovery D350, the pricing includes a 5-year /100 000 km warranty and a 5-year /100 000 km maintenance plan and is as follows.
*Please note that the pricing was correct when this article was written; however, it can change at any time and without notice.
| Model | Price (incl. VAT) |
| Land Rover Discovery D350 S | from R 1 808 400 |
| Land Rover Discovery D350 Dynamic SE | from R 1 929 000 |
| Land Rover Discovery D350 Dynamic HSE | from R 2 054 700 |
| Land Rover Discovery D350 Metropolitan Edition | from R 2 178 000 |
Competitors
Competitors include rugged models such as the Ineos Grenadier and luxury SUVs such as the Audi Q8. If you prefer the off-road-ready looks of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, you could get one for a similar price. One model that could come close to combining refinement with capability such as the Land Rover Discovery, I would recommend taking a look at the Nissan Patrol.
Verdict
The Land Rover Discovery name has a reputation for being a very competent offroad vehicle. While past models have seen some refinement inside the cabin, the current generation takes it to the next tier. The comfort levels, premium materials, and digital systems behind the scenes are truly impressive. Combine this level of comfort and convenience with the performance of and off the road and that lovely Ingenium motor that provides a lovely grunty noise, and there is very little that you can criticise.
However, I recommend potential customers specify the correct wheel size for what they will be using the vehicle for. If you are planning on doing some serious offroading or overlanding, I would recommend the 20-inch wheels rather than the 21-inch units that were fitted on our test unit, purely because you are very worried about scratching or damaging them. The smaller radius will greatly reduce the risk.
Would I recommend the Land Rover Discovery D300? Most certainly. After my experience with it, I have even found myself searching AutoTrader for new and used models.
