Land Rover Discovery TDV6 HSE - Practical Caravan

Practical Caravan's tow car guru reviews the Land Rover Discovery TDV6 HSE – it promises great space, pace, ability and comfort, but does it deliver?

Verdict

This is a supremely practical, big 4×4 and an extremely able tow car.

Pros

Cabin space is excellent
Ride comfort impresses
It is a solid tug

Cons

It is expensive, especially in HSE trim

We are big fans of the Land Rover Discovery here at Practical Caravan. It won the heavyweight class in the first Towcar Awards in 2007 and continues to impress with its ability to go just about anywhere in comfort. It’s a cracking drive with a caravan behind it, too.

Towing

Hooked up to an Abbey Expression 620 (MTPLM: 1655kg), the Discovery pulled from 30-60mph in 13.9 seconds. That’s a solid rate of acceleration, although the likes of the Audi Q7 and BMW X5 are noticeably quicker. They perform a little better than the Discovery in our lane-change test, too. Although the Land Rover stayed in control of the caravan it leaned heavily and needed some persuasion to change direction in a hurry. This is not a car which likes to be rushed.

Everyday Driving

Driven normally on a public road, though, there’s little cause for complaint. The Discovery holds a straight and true course on the motorway and makes even long journeys seem relaxed.

The Land Rover’s ride comfort is far better than the Q7’s or X5’s. It smothers bumps which are felt with a thud in most other cars, and leaves driver and passengers feeling unruffled.

Space

Talking of passengers, everyone gets plenty of space. Even in the third row there’s enough head and legroom for adults to get comfortable, and there’s generous luggage space even when all seven seats are in use. Fold the rear two away and the luggage area is huge.