Land Rover Discovery 3 - Probably the most comprehensive car in the world

There are not many models in the Land Rover lineup, but each one is a super off-road expert. Buy a Land Rover that can take you through tough environments that ordinary cars can't reach. But the question is, how many people actually have this need? More and more surveys have shown that SUV users spend most of their time driving on the road, especially when the off-road performance and road performance of the car are considered to be contradictory, and Land Rover, which emphasizes high-strength off-road performance, has always had to sacrifice the road. Performance goes up and down, who would pay for Land Rover in pursuit of such unrealistic off-road capability?

Over the past decade, Land Rover has undergone a change of ownership (from BMW to Ford) and product changes, but its operating performance has not improved significantly. In the newly launched products such as Freelander and Range Rover, the high-strength off-road performance is still maintained, but how to provide more selling points to attract more "civilians" while carrying forward this tradition is what Land Rover has been trying to do. topic to conquer.

In fact, on the Freelander and Range Rover, Land Rover has added a lot of new selling points, such as fashionable image, luxurious cabin, some unique thoughtful design and so on. If compared with the most classic Land Rover Defender (Defender), the modern Land Rover has been improved many times. However, these new additions are still not enough to form a completely strong product. The models of the Land Rover family still have too obvious advantages and disadvantages, and they can only please a certain type of people. In other words, they are still not comprehensive enough. ——Until the advent of this Discovery 3.

Discovery 3 was launched at the beginning of last year, earlier than the Range Rover Sport we tested in Spain in the last two episodes; it is Land Rover's most revolutionary product in the past ten years. The new technology platform and the new design style reflect the A new Land Rover idea.

The shape is worth the money

Discovery 3's breakthrough tradition has been fully expressed from the shape. Like the outline of a square box with a simple and flat body surface, the design language is very distinctive, and its design guiding ideology is actually "minimization" - unnecessary lines are omitted, such as the waistline and scratch-resistant strips on the side; Never use two where you can use one, such as the grille at the front and the air intakes only on one side of the fender. Simple things are always the most attractive and noble, Land Rover is right to go this way, and the most touching thing about the Discovery 3 is that it uses a new design approach, and the whole car is still no compromise. The "Land Rover", whether it is the overall visual effect, or several details of the body - such as the stepped roof and rear window glass, the side windows that extend to the top of the third row, all have the DNA of the previous Discovery car series. In this new Land Rover, we see the design vitality of a new generation of British cars - they no longer blindly stick to tradition, but find a way to bring tradition into the future. I personally feel that Land Rover has surpassed Jaguar and Bentley in the styling design of the Discovery 3, and is comparable to the new Rolls-Royce under the guidance of BMW.

Road performance

To expand the market, road performance is the selling point that Discovery 3 must develop. The previous-generation Discovery suffered from road performance due to its insistence on front and rear non-independent suspension, and its handling and comfort were far lower than its rivals. The Discovery 3 completely switched to four-wheel independent suspension, plus height-adjustable front and rear air springs, making the car more suitable for driving on the road. The feeling of driving the Discovery 3 on urban roads is that the stability of the body is good, and it no longer sways like a boat when accelerating and braking; the second is that the shock filtering performance of the suspension is very similar to that of a European car, which tends to be solid and tough.

The strength of the steering wheel is medium to heavy. Although it is slightly hollow, it has a good sense of proportion and is not as loose as a traditional off-road vehicle. Braking before the corner, twisting the direction to enter the corner, and then refueling to exit the corner, the whole process is quite smooth, one does not feel that the operation is slow, and the other does not feel that the body movement is unsafe. Overall, the dynamic response of the Discovery 3 on the road is close to that of a sedan, and it can even satisfy your desire to sprint a little.

Land Rover debuted a Jaguar-sourced powertrain on the Discovery 3, another example of its determination to improve road performance. The V8 engine transplanted from the Jaguar XJ8, the displacement has been increased from 4.2 liters to 4.4 liters, coupled with Jaguar's very smooth Z_F 6-speed automatic transmission. Knowing that it is produced by Jaguar, the performance has given people confidence. However, at the beginning of the start below about 20km/h, the engine has a kind of "huhu" sound, which feels a little stagnant. I don't know why this sound occurs, but as long as it runs a little, the power system will completely enter the harmony. Quiet and smooth like a Jaguar. When cruising on the highway, the speed rarely exceeds 3000rpm. Only when you use the manual mode to increase the speed will you know that its engine sound above 5000rpm has a very similar decent and texture to the Jaguar XJ8.

The 300-horsepower Discovery 3 is sure to outperform its predecessors on the highway, but we only pushed it lightly to 160km/h on one of our test runs. At this time, the power is still very calm, but the reason for not wanting to accelerate any more is the wind noise is quite large. Its wind noise starts to appear as early as 110km/h, which is a bit surprising, and by 150km/h it has enveloped the cabin. It's not too sharp and intrusive, but it doesn't feel luxurious enough. The reason why the wind noise is so obvious, I believe everyone can guess, is its square body shape.

Practical and luxurious

The cabin and overall character of the Discovery 3 fit well. The materials are not as luxurious as Range Rover, not even a bit of mahogany, because it considers durability when off-road, but the texture of plastic and leather is still excellent. There is no fancy equipment in the compartment, but the audio set is of high specification. There are 12 speakers in the whole car, and there are independent headphone jacks for the passengers in the rear two rows, which gives a very intimate sense of care.

The interior has a strong traditional Land Rover pattern--high sitting posture, straight center console, large instrumentation, thick steering wheel... Users who are familiar with Land Rover will recognize it as soon as they sit in the driver's seat. it.

But it's rare that even a user unfamiliar with Land Rover will be impressed by it when sitting in the cabin of the Discovery 3. The buttons in the front row are clear and easy to use, the storage compartments in the center console and door panels are numerous and large, the two-level glove box design is very practical, and there are subtle details such as hidden cup holders. The middle-row seats make people feel comfortable as soon as they are seated, because the seat shape is straight, the softness and hardness are moderate, and it gives a loose feeling. Pulling the uncomplicated backrest to sit in the third row, the space is even more unexpected. The stepped floor and roof give the third row a very comfortable sitting position and view, and can enjoy the same independence as the front passengers. A sunroof, head restraints, three-point seat belts, cup holders, adjustable air vents and a not-so-small lidded storage compartment. It can be said that the third-row seat of the Discovery 3 is more comfortable than many MPVs, and it is definitely the first in the SUV.

In addition, the design of the seats shows a rare wisdom in European cars, and the rear two rows of seats can be completely folded down to form a fully flat load platform. The folding of the seat can be completed with only one or two latches, which is also convenient. The third-row headrests are full-sized, which can provide adequate safety protection for the occupants, and can be retracted down to a height that does not affect the driver's rear view when not in use. Such a careful and humanized design is rare in European cars.

Off-Road Capability

As is usual with Land Rover, we spent a lot of time experiencing the off-road performance of the Discovery 3. A construction site that is being reclaimed, you can taste the capabilities of Discovery 3. As for the test? I'm afraid there won't be any place to "test" it within the city limits.

Discovery 3 uses a platform newly developed by Land Rover. The manufacturer said that this platform will become the basis of Land Rover's new cars in the next ten years. It can be seen that it has considerable technological forward-looking. However, in terms of hardware composition, Discovery 3 has not actually broken through. Its reinforced load-bearing body, four-wheel independent suspension, adjustable air springs, central and rear axle differential locks, and up and down hill control systems have all been used before. It has already appeared on the Range Rover. The real breakthrough with the Discovery 3 is in the software. Land Rover has designed an unprecedented all-terrain response program (Terrain Response), through a knob on the center console, you can choose "road", "snow", "muddy", "sand" and "stone" Five terrain modes.

In different modes, a computer acting as the commander will control all controllable components such as engine, gearbox, differential, air spring, etc., so that they work together in a state of coordination to provide the most suitable The driving performance of the environment at that time. For example, if you select the "snow" mode, the output of the engine will be lowered, the gearbox will be shifted to a higher gear earlier, and the differential lock will increase the sensitivity to reduce the possibility of slipping together; for example, when you select the "stone" mode, The gearbox will be forced to use a low gear, the downhill control system will be automatically opened, the differential lock will be fully locked, the vehicle speed will be limited to below 8km/h, the air suspension will automatically rise, and the characteristics of the non-independent suspension will also be simulated. The other side spring is inflated when compressed to ensure enough ground clearance to pass obstacles...

I reckon the computer is actually tweaking more things in this system than I've mentioned here, but it's The advantage of this design is that the user no longer needs to understand the function of each system, just tell the car what you want it to do. The situation is the same as the point-and-shoot digital cameras that everyone uses now. You don't need to know how to adjust the aperture and shutter, as long as you can choose those built-in "night scene", "sport", "bright" and other modes, and this is the vast majority. Everyone will use it.

The condition for this all-terrain response system is that every part of the car is electronic and variable. That's exactly what Land Rover has been making in recent years with its new products like the Range Rover. Although some people criticize that real off-road vehicles should stick to the most reliable pure machinery and should not have so many electronic things, but now that Land Rover's all-terrain response system comes out, the advantages of electronic technology are immediately presented, and I believe that those opponents will again It's time to target Land Rover again.

Will the full electronics affect the reliability of the car? According to our four-wheel-drive expert Chen Gang, the reliability of the previous generation of Discovery's electronic equipment is indeed not very good, and the failure report rate is quite high; but in the new generation of Discovery 3, the manufacturer said that they have used a large number of optical fibers to replace wires, which are replaced by cables. This greatly reduces line failures, and even electronic equipment failures that may be caused by off-road water crossing are greatly reduced. In fact, the implementation of electronic technology is a consistent development trend of major automakers around the world. If it is not, it will be considered backward. This is also the only way for Land Rover to expand the market.

Probably the most comprehensive car in the world

Discovery 3 is the car we've been waiting for, and probably the car the Chinese market has been waiting for. A sleeker profile coupled with vastly improved on-road performance makes it a better fit for most people than any Land Rover of the past. After testing the car, we can't pick out any obvious weaknesses of the Discovery 3. It is easy to drive, has plenty of power, can run, has a powerful chassis, can climb, can carry 7 people, is practical, multi-functional, has a trendy image, and a high-end brand... It can be driven Go shopping, go to parties, go to the wild, such a car is not easy to find.

What's even more gratifying is that Land Rover has used a very solid price to promote the Discovery 3 this time. Its current price is 860,000 (body price), which is lower than the Volvo XC90 V8, Volkswagen Touareg 4.2, and BMW X5 4.8i that use the same V8 engine, and its off-road capability is much more serious than the XC90 and more than the Touareg. And the X5 has two more practical rear seats. Today's Discovery 3 is really the most comprehensive and worthwhile car in the history of Land Rover.