2017 / 2018 Land Rover Discovery 5 Review
 

Just read this review of the 2018 Disco 5 by The Car Connection: https://www.thecarconnection.com/ove...discovery_2018
I found it very detailed and was wondering what you guys think of the Disco 5 and whether the review does the vehicle justice. I'm thinking of purchasing a HSE this coming weekend and the excitement is very real..

Quick summary of what the Car Connection rated the Disco 5:
Styling - 7

• The Disco is losing it's boxy shape and trading it for aerodynamics. Inside, however, it still feels very boxy
• contemporary design

Performance - 8

• impressive standard gas V6 and optional turbodiesel V6
• speed is not the gas engine's strong point
• optional turbodiesel V6 costs $2000 more but is faster and uses less fuel than gas engine

Comfort and quality - 9

• off road vehicle that has been smoothed out to be a comfortable family vehicle as well
• 3 rows of seats (optional 3rd row)
• refrigerator and lots of storage cubbies

Safety - unknown

• not tested yet

Features - 8

• available in 3 trim options, 2 engine options, and 2 drivetrain options
• reasonably priced packages
• tow option

What do you guys think? Anyone have one and have any issues/complaints with there's? Anyone highly recommend the Discovery 5?

Styling - I really love the look/feel. Loved the LR4 and the v5 is much different, yes, but love the feel. It feels a bit more open than my wife's Highlander inside but about as large to park. The rear was the only thing that took time to love.

Performance - I believe they/you meant to say gas was faster than diesel. I have the diesel and while 0-30 seems slow, once that turbo kicks in that car hauls ass. Pretty sure the gas version has significantly more HP with a loss in torque over the diesel. If you try to get up and go in the 0-30 range you can feel the turbo lag.

Loving mine, been making notes for my own review in a few months. This is all I have:

Minus

• InControl System
  • Phone must be hardwired for Apps
  • Only app worth a damn is Spotify
  • Spotify Connect should be built-in without need for phone plugin (3G data)
  • On that line, why a phone is even required for operation is foreign, having a small android device built-in that can run these apps should have been a no-brainer at this cost point.
  • A weather radar overlay for the navigation map, or a MyRadar style tie-in would complete the package. Even the Accuweather app gives just very basic hourly details, and is hardly much of an improvement over the built-in weather.
  • There is a strange disconnect between using the Spotify app and the Music icon on the dash. It works, but the audio button should have the combined features of the Spotify App
  • I have been able to get the unit to lockup once, but it had to do with Bluetooth pairing issues. Hard reset fixed it.
• Startup/Shutdown
  • Perhaps I just haven't gotten the hang of it. Sometimes I will stop the car, and the automatic engine shutdown will initiate, it is confusing whether or not I need to hit the power off button or not when exiting the vehicle. Sometimes this turns the A/C power back on when I want to exit the vehicle. I believe turning off the auto-off to save gas feature would correct this.

Exterior is definitely worse than LR4, LR3
Interior is more comfortable, less utilitarian.
The ventilated seats are quite good.

>Drives fine off road, not as fun as earlier cars at all. Lots of computer magic and pretty jerky trans in low speed.
>Stupid move to do the crazy electronic seats, the LR3, LR4 platforms were super with the perfect fold flat seats, which were extremely useful for moving stuff.
>The dial type transmission selector is even more stupid. Almost all of the interior controls now make the driver more likely to need to look at what they are operating instead of on the older cars you could find controls while still concentrating on driving.
>Stupid move to go from the split tailgate to the current D5 lift gate.
>Unfortunate they lock the two speed transfer case option to a trim package.
>No 18" wheels is disappointing.
>They made it harder again for any aftermarket fitting of accessories. The exterior design is less conducive to modification.
>Engine options better than the old models we got, at least there is a diesel. Ingenium looks promising.

My opinion anyway. Probably great to live with, annoying if you've had an LR3 or LR4 before that. Those just seemed more well laid out, as if engineering was given a free hand to implement good ideas.

Since I had a 2017 HSE that was recently replaced with 2018 HSE. I can point out some main differences

What changed on HSE?
InControl Pro is upgraded from 3G only to 4G (HDMI port is deleted on my 2018)
Fixed piston brake caliper vs floating caliper
Digital IC vs Analog IC
New remote keyfob is now bigger and less prone to scratches
Collision Avoidance is now standard (JLR bumped up the MSRP for this new standard)

If you park your Disco V next to a Ford Explorer. You will notice their resemblance. Disco V Interior is fantastic.

Haha, same here. Every time I pull into my drive way the engine just shuts off on it's own and I have to ask myself "So ...are we all good then? Can I just get out?"

I do wish the D5 kept the LR4 exterior styling as I like the utilitarian boxy look over whatever it is that happened to the back-end of the D5. I do like the fact the D5 is a lighter then the LR4 though, and happy with the turbo diesel option.

Don't want to get political, but that gave me a big LOL. Freudian slip?

You are much better than R. Mueller :laugh:

Does it make refueling on gas a bit more of a struggle? Since it may be hard to tell if the engine is off?

Not an issue if you have 2018 and up since your digital IC goes completely off when your vehicle is shut.

I have kind of gotten use to it. There is some logic behind it. For example it seems if you stop the car, put it into park and then remove your seatbelt and remove pressure from the break it shuts off. If you keep your foot on the break, it won't shut off. I would have to make a list of the identified conditions but I have started getting use to it and it is very obvious if you look at the console or the Touch Pro, as it says "Climate off" when it shuts the engine off permanently.

No, it's clear when the engine is off. What was initially confusing is that sometimes when you put it in Park the engine automatically shuts off and sometimes it doesn't. I've found that in my case it's the level of A/C that is in use. If it's on heavy cool and fans are blowing the engine will stay on, but if the air is low it will turn the engine off with the air staying on. If I wait too long without opening the door the engine will turn back on, but if I open the door then the engine is off for good. It does make sense after a bit of getting used to it.

My experience as well, though I feel like there should have been a pamphlet included up front. The most unexpected thing is that I now actually enjoy the engine shutting off at stoplights and everything going quite for a minute; it's a moment of zen.

My wife still finds this very confusing. Sometimes it turns itself off, sometimes it's just the stop start and when she lifts off the brake the engine starts up again...
We tried to find the sequence of gear in park, foot off brake, undo seatbelt and open door. If you do them in the right order if turns off every time. But in real world driving when you do those together it can throw you
At least on ours (2018) it's very clear when the dash display goes totally blank then it's fully off...

My 2018 Td6 has auto shutoff. The auto on/off system is pretty easy to live with in traffic and has worked without consequence. As soon as your foot comes off the brake it restarts. When stopping and it turns itself off automatically and you intend to shut the vehicle down anyway, just put it in park, open the door, get out of the vehicle and take the key fob with you. It will stay off - at least mine has.

What an annoying and useless feature. Surely must decrease battery and starter life, particularly with compression and rotating mass of diesel. I click it off when I fasten my seatbelt. I have closely monitored my fuel economy while using it and with it disabled, cannot see any relevant change.

Wonder why they decided to make it that way. Perhaps it's not a big issue though, if fuel economy does not noticeably get affected.

Probably some emissions number looks better in city driving with the feature, but honestly don't see the point on the D5 (especially the TD6). Hybrids make a lot of sense to do this, but not on a larger engine big SUV. Wish there is the ability to permanently turn it off. Haven't gotten the D5 yet, but knows it is going to drive my wife nuts.

It is for improving emissions and is a required feature to meet their emissions disclosures. Hence they cannot turn it off for you
It does make a meaningful difference in both petrol and diesel vehicles. Of course if you only do long freeway driving it won't make much difference - but it also won't operate so you shouldn't mind it. Around town it's very significant. You get used to it pretty quickly