Land Rover continues to grow market share across the range and has just released the upgraded 2014 Discovery. The main mechanical change is the adoption of the latest eight-speed transmission from experts, ZF.
The V8 engine has also been replaced with a supercharged V6 with 250 kW and 450 N.m on offer. This naturally uses much less fuel than the V8 with an official figure of 12,0 L/100 km. The existing TDV6 with 155 kW and the SDV6 (also diesel) with 183 kW both continue with identical fuel consumption figures of of 8,8 L/100 km. All engines are three-litres in capacity. All models except the base XS TDV6 have air suspension. While one can raise the suspension for clearing obstacles, we only used this facility on a couple of occasions.
Styling wise, there is a new radiator grille, bumper and headlamps with very distinctive signature LEDs and the Land Rover badge on the bonnet has been replaced with Discovery. Another small but significant change has been the dropping of the “4” and a more prominent oval Land Rover logo. A good simplifying move. Then there is the satnav package that now incorporates Tracks4Africa, which includes most of the roads of Africa. Tracks4Africa was one of the reasons for a cross border launch, we inputted our destination of Livingstone, Zambia from Sivuti in Botswana.
Wade sensors have been added to the parking sensors and these monitor your water crossing progress on the touch screen. The maximum wade depth is 700 mm and we got enough time to test this feature in the extremely wet weather in Botswana. Other new features include blind spot monitoring, closing vehicle sensing, reverse traffic detection and T-junction cameras. The interior comfort is superb and the suspension and steering both are honed to match the smooth power delivery and the new ZF gearbox.
By the way, close to 1,1 million Discoverys have now been produced over the Marque’s 25-year history!
Prices range from R664 786 to R936 286.
*Specifications:
Model: Land Rover Discovery SCV6 HSE
Engine: 3-litre supercharged V6
Transmission: ZF eight-speed auto
Power: 250 kW @ 6 500 r/min
Torque: 450 N.m @ 3 500 r/min
0 to 100 km/h: 8,1 sec
Fuel consumption: 12,0 L/100 km
CO2: 285 g/km
Top speed: 195 km/h
Price: R936 129
Maintenance plan: 5 years/ 100 000 km
*According to Land Rover
