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AUTO REVIEW

2018 Land Rover Discovery

By Stephen Schutz, MD

After following tradition for 24 years, the 2018 Land Rover Dis- wheel drive tricks like locking hubs, fixed axles, and the aforemen-
covery has moved decisively into the SUV mainstream, and for some tioned body-on-frame structure.)
purists that’s a problem. Whatever, the Discovery emphasizes on-road comfort over rock
The biggest change is a switch from the previous Discovery’s steel crawling because that’s what customers want, and I was impressed
body-on-frame platform to a unibody structure infused with as by how smoothly the Discovery rides even on rough roads. His-
much aluminum as possible. While the new structure saves hun- torically, Land Rover has maintained separation between Range
dreds of pounds, and is shared by the Discovery’s up market cousins, Rover and non-Range Rover models, and in many important ways
the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, it diminishes the Discov- they still do, but when it comes to ride quality, there’s not much
ery’s off-road credibility in some minds. of a difference.
As the Discovery went through its first two generations, it main- The cabin is also whisper quiet, even with the diesel my test vehi-
tained a distinctly utilitarian personality: think driving off-road to cle had. Part of the credit for the Discovery’s quiet interior experi-
your favorite fishing hole, tossing your fish and gear in back when ence goes to the all-new, and very aerodynamic, exterior design.
you’re done, and then hosing out the inside once you’re back home. While the previous four generations of Discoveries looked like the
In its third and fourth generations, the Discovery, inexplicably box they came in, the fifth gen model is surprisingly rounded. In
called the LR3 and LR4 in the U.S., became much more of a soccer fact, it’s not wrong to call it pretty, and for a vehicle with such a
mom mobile than double-track denizen despite maintaining its “truckish” reputation I wonder if current owners will avoid the
prodigious off-road abilities. That trend accelerated with the all new newest Discovery because it lacks the visual toughness they expect.
fifth generation Discovery, which really amps up the luxury. (For the Anyway, inside the cabin, the whole luxury SUV thing continues.
record, the newest Discovery maintains its prodigious off-road abil- The materials are first rate, and the sense you get from behind the
ities, though it relies more on software and less on traditional 4- wheel is of a luxury SUV with a British accent. Which has some

44 San Antonio Medicine • August 2018