On the cosmetic level there's a front end treatment which comes straight out of the Range Rover themes, with a much sharper grille and lights treatment, as well as the incorporation of distinctively-shaped LED daylight running lights. The bumper work is coherently incorporated into the whole, as well. Changes have also been made to the rear lights.
Overall there's a bit more presence, although that characteristic wasn't lacking in the previous version.
Those latter are substantial improvements. The main instruments are now a little larger and more clear thanks to better contrast on the graphics. And what was a somewhat intimidating centre stack layout of switches and buttons is now much less baffling to somebody getting behind a Disco wheel for the first time.
The Terrain Response rotary control has also been moved from behind the shifter to a spot in front of it, much easier, and safer, to operate while on the run. It retains the now-familiar to LR fans various pre-sets for pretty well any kind of driving that might be required.
The review car had full leather and an auto trans managing the power from LR's new 240hp 3.0 diesel. It's a big car, with really good room for the main five occupants, and not bad accommodation at all for the two who might occasionally have to rough it in the very back.
And, of course, that's the thing about any current LR product: it will take to the rough with the same equanimity that it displays on ordinary road travel. I have driven Discos in places as disparate as the snowfields of Iceland, the rain forests of Laos and the high Andes of both Bolivia and Argentina. They just get on with the job no matter what you ask. Anywhere in Ireland, on or off road, is a doddle after that.
Discovery 4 is a luxury car as well as a working one, and the refinement of this 3.0 fits right along with that in a way that would make owners of earlier generations of Discovery shake their head in wonder. Along with the tweaked for economy autobox it is one of the smoothest oil-burner motors out there.
It is also commendably nippy, offering a 0-100km/h of 9.6 seconds, no mean feat for such a big hunk of motor car. The fuel consumption over the days I had it worked out at a tad over 10L/100kms, or about 29mpg. Right on the button for what the makers claim, and a very good performance for a car of its size and capability.
It is a strange world just now for this kind of car. The concerted anti-SUV hype of the last few years, along with the green shift to CO2-based taxation, pretty well stalled the market for this segment. In Ireland more than most European countries.
But there's a place for pretty well every kind and size of car, and where there is a user requirement for a vehicle that can take the roughest work in its stride, and still offer a strong level of comfort, there's a place for a Land Rover Discovery.
Land Rover, as much as any manufacturer, is working hard at cutting its overall emissions, and the improvements in that aspect of the Discovery 4 are just a part of this programme.
Maybe, at the height of the Celtic Tiger's rampage, there were people who bought cars like this for their looks and presence more than what their capabilities are. I reckon, though, the buyers now are getting behind the wheel of the likes of the Disco 4 because they know what they need.
