Discovery gets five stars

Land Rover’s brand-new fifth generation Discovery has scored top marks in the latest round of Euro NCAP crash tests.

The new seven-seater (which we’re told should not be called Discovery 5), was awarded a maximum score its “comprehensive range of cutting-edge safety features including Pedestrian Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB)”.

The vehicle is also notable as provided up to four ISOFIX mounting points. In contrast to other three-row seven-seaters, the new Discovery has ISOFIX child seat anchorage points on the outboard seats of both the second and third row.

“We have a history of introducing new safety technologies, such as Anti-Lock Brakes fitted to an SUV for the first time in 1989, so it’s only right New Discovery continues to lead the way with new safety-focused technologies that meet and exceed global safety standards,” Nick Rogers, Executive Director, Product Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover stated in a release accompanying the NCAP news.

Interestingly, NCAP’s detailed report on the Discovery stated the car was penalized for the airbag preventing the driver’s head 'bottoming out' against the steering wheel. In addition, in the barrier test, the driver's door became unlatched, for which the car was also penalised. Similar issues beset Ford’s Mustang in testing recently.

Overall, however, NCAP praised the Disco’s crash worthiness. The big SUV was rated at 90% for adult protection, 80% for child, 75% for pedestrian and 73% for safety assist.

The latest Discovery’s AEB technology operates at speeds ranging from 5-80km/h and “applies full emergency braking to avoid or mitigate an impact if it detects a collision risk”.

NCAP stated the system “performed well with impacts avoided up to 35km/h and the impact speed reduced up to 50km/h”.

AEB, lane departure warning and rear camera are standard on all grades of the new Discovery range. The line-up kicks off at under $66K Down Under, but the top variant, the First edition is more than double that.

Although praised for its on-road manners, the vehicle has already drawn criticism for its perceived move away from true off-road ability.

The latest round of NCAP testing saw Fiat 500 and Citroen C3 both downgraded, the former to just three-stars. Ford’s Ka+ supermini (not sold in Australia) was also panned.

“The 500 is an old car by now and the small improvements that FIAT have made on the facelift don’t hide that. Consumers may be better off waiting for the all-new 500 and hope that FIAT will take the opportunity to offer a vehicle that competes on safety with its competitors, as the original did 10 years ago,” Euro NCAP’s Secretary General, Michiel van Ratingen said.