It’s with no small amount of sadness I report on the forthcoming 2017 Land Rover Discovery, which debuted in advance of the 2016 Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris. The reason for malaise? Full disclosure: I own an LR4, the vehicle that the new Discovery will replace.
My family loves our 2010 LR4. It’s as large and aerodynamic as the average brick wall. This quality, combined with an outdated, supercharged V-8 engine, produces fuel efficiency that is horrendous to the point of being shameful.
But the LR4 has its merits in a city such as Toronto. Visibility is superb. It’s surprisingly easy to drive and park. Because of its size, other drivers tend to give us an exceedingly wide berth. And regardless of anything winter may unleash in our general direction, the Land Rover has proven unstoppable.
Now, our family truckster is on the verge of being outclassed by the new Discovery.
The improvements begin in the bulk department. Although the Discovery is marginally bigger than the LR4, it’s also far lighter. The overall length of the new model is greater. The wheelbase has increased. The height has dropped. But the headline-grabber is this: The Discovery is expected to be 450 kilograms lighter than a similarly equipped LR4.
The secret to this success is aluminum construction. The unibody construction of the Discovery consists of 85-per-cent aluminum; of that, 43 per cent is recycled. By comparison, the LR4 utilizes a steel ladder-frame construction that makes for a more rugged ride. By incorporating lightweight materials, the engineers at Land Rover strived to improve on-road driving dynamics and off-road toughness.
The overall efficiency of the forthcoming full-sized SUV should be boosted further by two new engines, both available from launch: the Td6 turbocharged, 3.0-litre, V-6 diesel (254 hp/443 lb-ft of torque) and a supercharged, 3.0-litre, V-6 gas engine (340 hp/332 lb-ft). Regardless of engine choice, the