The Discovery may well prove to be extraordinarily capable, but the range of its ability does not come without penalty: it weighs
at least 2494kg and dependent on specification can tip the scales at 2718kg. Even at 2,500kg, that's 300kg more than 4Car's kerb-weight figures give for key rivals like the Mercedes M-Class and Mitsubishi Shogun. That may not matter so much in the Middle East or United States, but in Britain and the rest of Europe, hugely important Land Rover markets, the Discovery's excessive weight and the resulting poor fuel consumption may have major implications on its sales success.
 |
| Fuel economy may be a shock |
 |
No surprise, then, that Land Rover hasn't yet released any fuel consumption estimates even though it has approxiamated other performance figures. It won't be good: in our experience the petrol Range Rover (also approximately 2,500kg) struggles to return anything better than high-teen mpg, with diesel models in the low twenties, so the latest Discovery is likely to be the thirstiest model in its segment by a margin.
 |
| City multi-storey not its finest habitat |
|
Three engines will share the burden of consumption, but we'll only get two in Europe. They're a 2.7-litre V6 turbodiesel and a 4.4-litre V8 petrol, both developments of units first seen in Jaguar's range. The 4.4-litre V8 is a bored-out version of Jag's 4.2, with the extra 200cc liberating low-down power and torque - 295bhp at 5500rpm, and 315lb ft at 4000rpm. It's the most powerful engine Land Rover has ever fitted to a car. It also has the advantage of now being the same capacity as the BMW-sourced unit in the V8 Range Rover which it will eventually replace. The 2.7-litre turbodiesel, meanwhile, is a single-turbo version of the twin-turbo V6 unit which recently became available Jaguar's S-Type. The sole turbocharger has variable vane technology to boost low-down pulling muscle and this too, will replace the Range Rover's 3.0-litre unit. We guess Land Rover's avoiding sounding weedier by using the TDV6 badge rather than 3.0d. Its output is 190bhp at 4000rpm and 325lb ft at 1900rpm, but it doesn't comply with Euro IV emissions regulations yet; Land Rover hasn't made it driveable or efficient enough while meeting the new demands, so for now it only meets Euro III, which means an extra three percent penalty on benefit-in-kind taxation.
A V6 petrol engine will also be available in the North American market, and maybe the Middle East, where fuel consumption and prices are not as prohibitive an issue as they are in Europe. In the EU, the diesel will take the lion's share of sales, with most of those customers opting for the six-speed manual gearbox; few will take the five-speed auto, fewer still the V8 petrol.
