Ownership Diary - LR Discovery 5 R-Dynamic HSE

Thanks all!

Managed to wangle the trip with Wife & Son (she’s reschedule her job centre interview) so making a day of it on the train in and potentially pub lunch en route home.

 

So the car is home….

First impressions - super, luxurious, comfortable, refined, big(!), imperious and rather more efficient than it has any right to be! It was just over 50miles home and in spite of the Handover chap running the engine at idle for 15mins whilst setting up our phones and running us through the in car tech, plus 10miles of urban jungle before hitting the M11, we averaged 33mpg, which is super for a car this size - 2,300kg kerb weight and 300PS.

All is not quite so rosy though - I can’t 100% put my finger on it but suspect it has at some point been smoked in. I was told not when I asked the question over the phone before ordering. Only the smell of valeting fluid is mixed with something else. It’s not hugely unpleasant but it’s not a new car aroma that you’d expect from a 2.5yr old car.

Secondly, the carpet mats are wet and although I don’t think it’s as a result of leaks (more of the foregoing valeting desire to rid the vehicle of some other issue) it is sloppy and poor form. Plus not helping my need to relax into worries around JLR issues. I’ve got the carpet mats out of the car and hanging in front of the wood burner at home now and will stick some dehumidifiers in the car later this week to ensure it’s not symptomatic of something bigger.

Whilst the car was immaculately presented, 5miles into the return journey we had to stop to top up the tyres as they were all set 6psi below recommended pressures and one had set off the bong. Again, sloppy prep.

All in all though, we both absolutely adore it. It’s such a comfortable place to sit, to drive and to be driven in. It looks awesome when parked up too and several of our neighbours have already commented on how wonderful it looks - not too posh, or ostentatious (or drug dealer considering the colour scheme), but very classy.

Delighted with it. Going to send Rockar a fairly heavy email complaining at the bits I’ve mentioned. Hopefully the damp is nothing sinister but I do have 14 days to hand back and won’t hesitate in doing so if I have any concerns at all that there is a deeper seated issue.

 

Very smart but disappointing to hear of the niggles, extraordinary when you consider that it's their job to prep a car and yet dealers always seem to miss something. Anyway, enjoy the car!

 

Thanks guys.

Just back from an “acquaintance drive” and boy is this thing good! Was only planning on being out 20mins but got carried away - got home a bit over an hour after leaving.

Did a small stretch of the A11 in both directions and then a good mix of A & B roads. Wasn’t hanging around where the opportunity arose. The MHEV again like with the G05 working voodoo with the fuel economy. Finished up at 32mpg, at some points seeing close to 35mpg until I booted it again.



I’ll do a proper write up tomorrow when I’m on the train into work and have some time. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with the thought that it’s already up there with some of my best ever vehicles.

 

It’s definitely not as good / confidence inspiring in terms of changing direction. It feels very heavy in comparison.

That said, the ride quality is better than the X5 (which was already good in comparison to the Cayenne).

Overall, this feels heavy but in a good way, if that makes sense. It feels like it’ll go through anything.

It’s difficult to describe. But it’s a wafty, high-riding limo which picks up its skirt when you make a demand on it. And gains speed far quicker than you’d imagine possible given its heft. Odd! But good.

 

They are surprisingly nimble given their size and weight but you can easily find an uncomfortable limit, less about limits of grip but more about your willingness to put up with throwing it around. It can do it, it just doesn’t feel natural so my driving style in The Fat is dialled down a notch. Just makes it all that bit more relaxing.

I’m using mine far less nowadays and have pondered getting rid several times but after a 150 mile round trip today I’m reminded why I like it so much. The trip to Italy in it this year was just sublime and we’re doing a quick blat to Ravennaschlucht next month for the Christmas market, did it in The Fat last year and again, just wonderful.