The Discovery manages that rare feat – to be all things to all people. During the week, it will handle the school run with ease thanks to its spacious, seven-seat cabin. The stadium seating, which places each row a little higher than the one in front, means everyone gets a good view out.
Once you’ve dropped off the kids, the Disco drives as well as most executive saloons, giving a smooth ride and unflustered performance that will have you arriving at work feeling better than when you left home.
Come the weekend, it will happily tow at 60mph all day. There are plenty of quicker 4x4s, but the Discovery never feels out of its depth. In a straight line, stability is commendable, although the Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg were more comfortable through the lane-change test. However, neither of those big German 4x4s can hold a candle to the Discovery’s ride comfort. With or without a van in tow, it smoothes away bumps that are felt with a thump in many other 4x4s.
Big off-roaders come in for a lot of stick from the green lobby, and Land Rover has responded to environmental concerns by offsetting the emissions of your Discovery for the first 45,000 miles (the same is true of all Land Rover models). Sadly, the company won’t also pay your fuel bills, although 27.2mpg is about what you’d expect for such a big car.
Our test car came in plush HSE trim, which pushes the price tag above £40,000. If that’s a bit rich, prices start from under £30k.