Post by LandieMark on Jun 8, 2017 12:52:51 GMT
I downloaded a brochure last year for the Discovery 4 and I recently had an email offering me a half day Land Rover Experience in the new Discovery.
Sadly, the allocated car became "unavailable" (presumably a euphemism for having broken down) and my apologetic instructor upgraded the experience to a Range Rover Sport.
First impressions was that it doesn't really suit white, but all the experience cars are white. It is also a big thing - especially compared to my little Defender. The car is packed with technology. It has the usual terrain response, but that has been upgraded to make it fully automatic (although you can override it); reverse towing assist - this wasn't demonstrated, but basically you turn a knob to tell the car which way you want the trailer to go and it reverse steers itself. I would probably crash using this method as reversing a trailer is second nature to me; massive but well integrated touch screen which controls most of the car's functions. There are the usual rotary controls for the climate but these had a glass front with their own display inside. Very smart. The instrument binnacle was the expected TFT or equivalent screen and displayed whatever information on the car's systems you desired.
Going off road, you could switch the centre screen to the surround camera system and it also showed what the differentials and wheels were doing in terms of slip etc. Being large, the bonnet is quite hard to see over and the cameras, far from being a gimmick, are invaluable off road. The Defender is small and square , so it is easy to see the edges, but there were places on the course where I would either be getting out to have look, have a spotter telling me which way to steer, or have to lean out of the window to see where the front wheels needed to be so as not to fall off the track.
Also impressive was the wading sensor which came on automatically when you entered water and showed the maximum depth and the actual water level.
Needless to say, the car performed superbly off road and handled whatever the course threw at it in virtual silence and luxury. The ride over rough surfaces was simply excellent. I didn't have a go on the road, but there is no reason to expect it to be anything less than superb.
I did manage to have a poke around a new Discovery. My impression was that I actually preferred it to the RRS. I though the interior was a nicer place to be - the seats were certainly better and I preferred the dash design. The styling, initially seeming awkward, grew on me as we followed one around the course over the morning. I definitely want one, but a fully specced up example in HSE Lux with a few extras is coming up to £70k. I could never, ever justify nor afford spending that on a car unless I got a lottery win!
Sadly, the allocated car became "unavailable" (presumably a euphemism for having broken down) and my apologetic instructor upgraded the experience to a Range Rover Sport.
First impressions was that it doesn't really suit white, but all the experience cars are white. It is also a big thing - especially compared to my little Defender. The car is packed with technology. It has the usual terrain response, but that has been upgraded to make it fully automatic (although you can override it); reverse towing assist - this wasn't demonstrated, but basically you turn a knob to tell the car which way you want the trailer to go and it reverse steers itself. I would probably crash using this method as reversing a trailer is second nature to me; massive but well integrated touch screen which controls most of the car's functions. There are the usual rotary controls for the climate but these had a glass front with their own display inside. Very smart. The instrument binnacle was the expected TFT or equivalent screen and displayed whatever information on the car's systems you desired.
Going off road, you could switch the centre screen to the surround camera system and it also showed what the differentials and wheels were doing in terms of slip etc. Being large, the bonnet is quite hard to see over and the cameras, far from being a gimmick, are invaluable off road. The Defender is small and square , so it is easy to see the edges, but there were places on the course where I would either be getting out to have look, have a spotter telling me which way to steer, or have to lean out of the window to see where the front wheels needed to be so as not to fall off the track.
Also impressive was the wading sensor which came on automatically when you entered water and showed the maximum depth and the actual water level.
Needless to say, the car performed superbly off road and handled whatever the course threw at it in virtual silence and luxury. The ride over rough surfaces was simply excellent. I didn't have a go on the road, but there is no reason to expect it to be anything less than superb.
I did manage to have a poke around a new Discovery. My impression was that I actually preferred it to the RRS. I though the interior was a nicer place to be - the seats were certainly better and I preferred the dash design. The styling, initially seeming awkward, grew on me as we followed one around the course over the morning. I definitely want one, but a fully specced up example in HSE Lux with a few extras is coming up to £70k. I could never, ever justify nor afford spending that on a car unless I got a lottery win!
