New Land Rover Discovery on sale August 1

The wait is over for adventure-seeking family SUV buyers with Land Rover Australia today announcing its fifth-generation Discovery will go on sale from August 1.

As detailed last year, the lighter (-480kg), aluminium-intensive range will be offered in five model grades with three turbo-diesel engines.

The line-up begins with the Discovery S Td4, priced from $65,960 (plus on-road costs), and tops out at $131,871 (plus ORCs) for the First Edition Td6. An extensive range of cosmetic, technology and capability option packages are also available (see below).

Looking similar to the upper-crust Range Rover Sport, Land Rover Australia assures us the latest Discovery loses none of the off-road SUV’s famed ability. But there’s a catch…

All variants offer an eight-speed automatic and permanent all-wheel drive system as standard, though not all variants include the off-road-focussed Terrain Response 2 system and air suspension as part of the deal.

Likewise, braked towing capacity varies between models. Td4 variants offer 3000kg of braked towing ability, the remainder of the range a best-in-class 3500kg.

Land Rover says its latest Discovery is the most technologically advanced yet, and includes JLR’s InControl infotainment array across the board.

It’s also the brand’s most flexible. There’s now the availability of five and seven-seat variants across the range, all offering from 258-1231-2500 litres of luggage space. Missing, however, is the outgoing model’s two-piece tailgate.

With a recently announced five-star ANCAP rating, and a considerable arsenal of active and passive safety equipment, the latest Discovery is also Land Rover’s safest. Highlights include full-length curtain airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure warning and adaptive cruise control, to name but a few.

For the first time since the Discovery Series 1 (1989-98) it is offered with a four-cylinder engine option. The 2.0-litre Ingenium unit is offered in two specification levels, the Td4 making 132kW/430Nm and the Sd4 developing 177kW/500Nm. Combined cycle fuel economy for the pair is listed at 6.2 and 6.4L/100km respectively.

A 3.0-litre V6, dubbed Td6, is also available. It produces 190kW/600Nm and consumes 7.2L/100km on the ADR Combined cycle.

“There have been around 140,000 Land Rovers sold in Australia since 1991,” said Land Rover Australia’s general manager of marketing, Tim Kreiger. “65,000 of these have been Discoverys; that’s almost one-in-two Land Rover sales in the last 25 years.

“Since the previous-generation Discovery launch in 2004, it has accounted for almost 33 per cent of the model mix, and towards the end of its lifespan this actually increased.

“Normally sales volumes decline over the vehicle life cycle. However, that was not the case with the Discovery. In fact, in 2015, we sold 2900 units of the car, and it was the top-selling Land Rover model.

“This is now the age of the digital Discovery. A new generation that remains true to its roots, but reflects the needs and wants of today’s customers,” he concluded.

Globally, more than 1.2 million examples of the Land Rover Discovery have been sold since its introduction in 1989. Locally, sales of the Discovery have fallen to just 227 year-to-date (2017) in anticipation of the new model. Last year the Discovery finished fifth in its segment with 2470 sales.

Launch Review of the all-new 2017 Land Rover Discovery.

2017 Land Rover Discovery pricing:
S Td4 five-seat — $65,960 (plus ORCs)
S Td4 seven-seat — $71,560 (plus ORCs)
S Sd4 five-seat – $71,560 (plus ORCs)
S Sd4 seven-seat – $77,960 (plus ORCs)
S Td6 five-seat — $78,721 (plus ORCs)
S Td6 seven-seat — $84,671 (plus ORCs)
SE Td4 five-seat — $77,050 (plus ORCs)
SE Td4 seven-seat — $81,590 (plus ORCs)
SE Sd4 five-seat — $83,450 (plus ORCs)
SE Sd4 seven-seat — $87,990 (plus ORCs)
SE Td6 five-seat — $90,161 (plus ORCs)
SE Td6 seven-seat — $94,701 (plus ORCs)
HSE Td4 five-seat — $87,150 (plus ORCs)
HSE Td4 seven-seat — $90,550 (plus ORCs)
HSE Sd4 five-seat — $93,550 (plus ORCs)
HSE Sd4 seven-seat — $96,950 (plus ORCs)
HSE Td6 five-seat — $100,261 (plus ORCs)
HSE Td6 seven-seat — $103,661 (plus ORCs)
HSE LUXURY Td4 five-seat — $100,261 (plus ORCs)
HSE LUXURY Td4 seven-seat — $104,350 (plus ORCs)
HSE LUXURY Sd4 five-seat — $107,350 (plus ORCs)
HSE LUXURY Sd4 seven-seat — $110,750 (plus ORCs)
HSE LUXURY Td6 five-seat — $114,061 (plus ORCs)
HSE LUXURY Td6 seven-seat — $117,461 (plus ORCs)
FIRST EDITION Td6 — $131,871 (plus ORCs)

2017 Land Rover Discovery option package pricing*:
Black Design Pack – $900 (SE, HSE, HSE Luxury)
Business Pack – $3900 (S only)
Capability Plus Pack – $3200 (SE, HSE, HSE Luxury)
Cold Climate Pack – $2500 (S, SE, HSE) / $1100 (HSE Luxury)
Cold Climate Pack Seven Seat – $3200 (HSE only)
Climate Comfort Pack – $2500 (HSE only)
Drive Pack – $500 (HSE, HSE Luxury)
Drive Pro Pack – $3800 (S) / $4800 (SE, HSE, HSE Luxury)
Dynamic Design Pack 1 – $3800 (HSE, HSE Luxury)
Dynamic Pack 2 – $2000 (HSE, HSE Luxury)
InControl Connect Pro Pack – $2200 (HSE, HSE Luxury)
Luxury Climate Comfort Pack – $4900 (HSE) / $4500 (HSE Luxury)
Luxury Climate Comfort Pack Seven Seat – $5600 (HSE) / $5200 (HSE Luxury)
Remote Intelligent Seat Fold Pack – $4800 (HSE, HSE Luxury)
Seven Seat Pack – $5600 (Td4 S) / $6400 (Sd4 S, Td6 S)
Technology Pack – $4400 (S only)
Technology Plus Pack – $3200 (SE, HSE)
Versatile Climate Comfort Pack – $3900 (HSE) / $1400 (HSE Luxury)
Vision Assist Pack – $2700 (S, SE) / $2500 (HSE)

*A comprehensive range of options and accessories are available individually, including metallic and premium paints, and alloy wheel designs.