Put my build in for the Discovery with the p300 and over the past few days started checking out reviews, videos ect...

My concern is the p300 is underpowered for on-road driving, want to make sure I have the pickup to pass someone with ease. After all it is a 70k car, it should have some giggy up to it. I remember the v8 I had in my Disco 2 wasn't that quick off the line. My current car is 2014 jeep grand cherokee 6 cylinder 0-6 is rated at 7.9 seconds, but I'd say it has pretty good pick up for an SUV..

P300 is rated at 6.9 seconds. On paper Discovery should be quicker.

So point of the post.... What are your thoughts on the p300 for my build? Is it really worth the extra 4k for the p360

 

I have the P300 engine on a 2021 D90 (4,720 lbs curb weight) and personally have no issue with it. Drove it 5,500 miles on highway from UT to FL and had plenty of chances to test it in passing situations and it performed really well (this was with 4 passengers and their luggage).

Having said that, the D5 is about 250 lbs heavier. I also have a D5 with the previous 6 cylinder engine (which has a couple hp less than the P360) and don’t feel I could go with the smaller engine. It’s probably adequate, but as you pointed out you don’t want a car like this to be just adequate. Not sure about the P360, but mpg between the P300 and the P400 that is available in the Defender is pretty much the same (they are both less than impressive), so there is no real benefit other than the lower price and the lesser complexity between the two engines (P360 and P400 are both MHEV). In the case of the Defender I was looking for lower complexity and also the “cheaper” version hence going for the P300, but now that I have been toying with replacing the D5 with a new one, would definitely go for the P360.

 

I can’t imagine spending that much and not getting the P360. It gets better highway mileage too.

Just think which you are more likely to regret—if you spend 4K extra and then somehow decide it wasn’t worth it, or if you feel like you didn’t get enough power despite spending so much on this vehicle.

 

My choice was a P360 and is a MY '22 HSE. Here is why - and again, this was just me....
1- P360 is a lot peppier than a P300. It has a MHEV which picks up a lot when you start, and helps the engine a lot ( the hybrid part ). It feels that the engine does not even break a sweat.
2- I have driven a P300 ( MY 2020 ) as a loaner from the dealership. Almost 1 month daily driver. Yes, is a beautiful engine and vehicle, yes it has power and picks up and go, but not like the P360. It feels like it is working for it.
3- on my P360 I got about 22 MPG on a cruise speed of 75 MPH (with small stretches of road, where I reached 80)
If I would have to chose again, I would choose a P360 any day. If the $ 4K is a deal breaker, then I perfectly understand that too. After all, both are great vehicles. However, it depends very much what are you going to use the vehicle for. Daily driver, yeah, you can get the P300 and be happy with it. If you would like to do some offroading, the P360 and the MHEV will help more than you think. Over all, you can't go wrong with any of them.

 

I personally think the P360 is worth the upgrade.

Adequate power - I when I test drove the P360, I thought it was decent with its driving behaviours
Smoother power curve - The MHEV really helps the low band power with the electric supercharger before the turbocharger kicks in
Consider when you carry extra load - I figured once I add passengers and/or some cargo, it might get bogged down
Residual value and resell-ability - Consider that it may help with the residual and ability to resell down the road too
Purely FOMO - You can drive tamer with the P360 but you can't drive harder with the P300 (I know, total FOMO statement)

 

If you haven't already test drive the other JLRs with that motor in various states of tune: Disco Sport, Disco, Evoque, Velar, Defender. Discos are big heavy cars to get up to speed. If you're living on the boost, the I4 will chew through gas. To be fair, very few people buy Landys for their motors, it's all the other stuff that is magic.

 

One comment about 0-60 times. 0-60 is only part of the story of how much power you feel.
As an example, a few years ago I was buying a sedan and test drove an BMW M3 and an Audi S4, both manual transmissions and really great cars overall.

According to their respective manufacturers, the peak horsepower of the Audi was 333 and the BMW was 414. Very surprisingly the Audi felt dramatically more powerful, I think because it’s power band was so wide (it was awesome) thanks to the superchargers on the V6. The BMW was a naturally aspirated V8 that had to be revved super high to feel the power. No doubt it would put down a faster 0-60 than the Audi, but to do so requires a style of driving you (probably) aren’t using during your daily commute.

I ended up driving the Audi for several years before replacing it with this Disco which is a nice change of pace for me, especially being a dad now. :-)