Is the 2021 Land Rover Discovery a Good SUV? 5 Pros and 4 Cons
If you’re in the market for a luxurious SUV that feels equally at home pulling up to the valet stand at Nobu as it does pulling off the pavement entirely, you may find what you seek in the Land Rover Discovery. The mid-sizer splits the difference between Land Rover’s highfalutin Range Rover and down ’n’ dirty Defender.
Related: 2021 Land Rover Discovery Review: Big Adventure for Small Families
The Discovery returned for 2017 after an extended stint in the U.S. as the LR4. For 2021, it gets revised exterior styling and a sophisticated new multimedia system that keep the Discovery imbued with a sense of discovery — but some of the updates work better than others.
For our full take, check out Cars.com reviewer Jennifer Geiger’s comprehensive critique via the related link above. Alternately, for a rapid-fire rundown of the stuff we enjoyed and the stuff that annoyed, keep reading. Here are five things we like, and four things we don’t, about the 2021 Land Rover Discovery:
Things We Like
1. Understated Elegance
Geiger’s test car was upholstered in “rich” leather in a Light Oyster and Ebony color scheme — but not a bunch of hey-look-at-me luxury flourishes. Instead, it opts for a low-key, act-like-ya-been-there-before elegance that doesn’t equate shine with fine.
2. Infotainment Excellence
The new-for-2021 multimedia system spans 11.4 inches and occupies a prime position for ease of access and ease on the eyes. To the latter end, it also boasts large icons, vivid graphics and a user-friendly menu structure.
3. Just Say It
Land Rover’s voice recognition system, which can control media, navigation, phone and climate functions, is surprisingly reliable. (More on why you may find using your words preferable to using your hands momentarily.)
4. First-Rate Second Row
Man, woman or child, the backseat refuses to take a backseat in terms of comfort and amenities. Newly cushed-up second-row seats enhance comfort, headroom and legroom to accommodate occupants of all sizes — including those in car seats thanks to easy-to-access lower Latch anchors and accessible top tether anchors. Meanwhile, nine available USB ports distributed throughout the cabin, available Click and Go tablet holders integrated into the front seatbacks, and an onboard 4G Wi-Fi hot spot capable of linking up to eight devices all conspire to ensure passengers needn’t have their online lives disrupted for so much as a drive down to the Chick-fil-A.
5. Off-Road Options
It’s a Land Rover, so if we’re not loading up on all-terrain functions we may well never actually use to their intended functionality, what are we even doing here? To name but a few: standard all-wheel drive; the Terrain Response 2 system with Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud Ruts, Sand and Rock Crawl modes; and the new Wade mode for crossing rivers that avails itself of the SUV’s 35.4-inch wading depth capability.
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- Who Makes Land Rover?
Things We Don’t
1. Control Issues
Slick though it may be, the multimedia system is also slow — slow to engage, slow to switch tasks and slow to connect smartphone mirroring. Meanwhile, there’s no tuning knob, volume-knob access is impeded by its placement in front of the shifter, buttons require too much force, navigating climate functions via the touchscreen takes too many steps — and remembering the physical climate controls’ complex matrix of twisting and turning is like having to remember the cheat code to “Contra” (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Select, Start) every time you wanna adjust the air.
2. Third Row No One’s First Choice
Hey, gaining access to the third-row seats, then negotiating your way into it via a tight pass-through may be difficult, but once you’re back there … legroom is tight even for smaller people, the seats are firm and the environs are claustrophobia-inducing. Other than that, though …
3. Cargo Short
In further third-row frustrations, the wayback juts way back into potential cargo space. The Discovery’s stingy 4.6 cubic feet behind the third row and 18.7 cubic feet behind the second row ranges anywhere between roughly 2 and 7 cubic feet less than competitors. (Better charge passengers extra for carry-on.)
4. Keep Givin’ It Gas
At 18/24/21 mpg city/highway/combined with the six-cylinder engine, the Discovery’s EPA-rated gas mileage isn’t anything to brag about to your eco-conscious acquaintances. And although it’s in fairly inefficient company among rivals, this mild hybrid (emphasis on “mild”) also fails to offer shoppers with an electrified fuel-sipping variant as some rivals do.
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