The 2017 Land Rover Discovery is one of the most anticipated new cars of the year, and Land Rover has slightly altered the recipe for the Range Rover’s more rugged sibling. With a fluid new shape and a posher cabin, it’s pitched a little further upmarket and closer to the Range Rover, though purists shouldn’t be too concerned – it’ll keep its fabled off-road capability and workhorse reputation. The fifth-generation Discovery was revealed last year at the Paris Motor Show, with Land Rover keen to draw attention to two big mechanical updates – the fresh Discovery sits on a new platform and gets a revised engine line-up, which Land Rover says should usher in a new level of efficiency, refinement and comfort. • Read our first drive review of the new Land Rover Discovery The new Discovery is on sale now and is appearing in Land Rover dealers across the UK, and we’ve also had our first taste of the new SUV off-road and on tarmac. 65 • Paris Motor Show 2016 With full UK prices and specs revealed, the entry level model is available for an opening price of £43,495. The new car will be British-built at JLR’s facility at Solihull in the West Midlands.

It also looks like the Discovery is shaping up to be a sound purchase down the line, as experts at industry body CAP are predicting the SUV to retain more of its purchase value than anything else in the class. The new Discovery is expected to retain 59% of its initial purchase price after three years and 36,000 miles. That's a mild improvement on the previous model, which even towards the end of its life would retain over 56% of its value. Crucially, though, it outstrips the competition by quite some margin - an Audi Q7, for example, would only retain about 46.6% of its initial purchase price after three years. Even the desirable Volvo XC90 only retains 54.9%. • Car finance deals explained Low depreciation is good news for car buyers, as it leads to improved rates on finance deals - particularly PCP agreements. New Land Rover Discovery design and dimensions Gerry McGovern’s design team at Land Rover has given the new edition of the 26-year-old model a more sophisticated, softer-edged look that moves it away from the blunt styling that’s gone before and brings it into line with the Discovery Sport. This risks alienating existing long-term Discovery enthusiasts, who may consider the new car too upmarket for daily abuse like towing horseboxes and caravans.

However, the latest Disco leaves room in the Land Rover range for a more rugged seven-seat model that’s likely to form part of the reborn Defender family, due to start arriving before the end of the decade. And in any case, Land Rover points out that the new car’s towing capacity is still a hefty 3,500kg. The new mk5 Land Rover Discovery in all its glory... Posted by Auto Express on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 The Mk5 Discovery is 4,970mm long - or around 14 centimetres longer than the fourth generation car - but sits slightly lower, with a roofline of 1,846mm, compared with the outgoing model’s 1,912mm. • Bear Grylls and the world's biggest LEGO set welcome the new Land Rover Discovery Land Rover Discovery weight saving, engines and performance The Discovery’s switch to Land Rover’s aluminium construction slashes around 480kg from the car’s weight. This, in turn, has allowed Land Rover to plumb in additional safety kit, plusher materials and greater soundproofing - as well as introducing Jaguar Land Rover’s Ingenium 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel to the line-up. 65 The four-pot Discovery will be the cleanest model in the line-up at launch - although it seems inconceivable that the car won’t benefit from some of JLR’s extensive work on plug-in hybrid technology during its lifetime. Badged SD4 and paired with a ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox, the 2.0-litre model will have 237bhp and 500Nm of torque - enough for a 0-60mph time of 8.0 seconds - but return 43.5mpg and 171g/km of CO2 emissions.

That’s considerably cleaner than any previous Discovery, but some way north of the likes of Audi’s V6 TDI Q7 and D5 versions of the Volvo XC90. The other two engines in the UK market will be a pair of 3.0-litre V6s - a diesel called TD6, with 255bhp/600Nm, and a supercharged Si6 petrol with 335bhp and 450Nm. The more potent diesel beats its smaller brother to 60mph (7.7 seconds) and gets close on efficiency, with fuel consumption of 39.2mpg and 189g/km of CO2 emissions. 65 The petrol, meanwhile, is likely to be a tiny seller in the UK; it’s the fastest model in the range, with a 0-60mph time of 6.9 seconds, but its combined fuel economy of 26.0mpg and 256g/km of CO2 emissions will make it an expensive option. Land Rover Discovery off-road tech The Discovery has a strong reputation for off-roading ability and Land Rover claims the new edition is even more capable in poor conditions. The combination of double-wishbone front suspension, an integral link at the rear and air suspension (standard across the range) means ground clearance can be extended where required, to up to 283mm. The approach angle is up to 34 degrees, the departure angle is 30 degrees and the car can cope with a wading depth of up to 900mm.

A two-speed transfer box is standard on all editions, allowing low-range gears for tricky off-road manoeuvres. Land Rover’s All-Terrain Progress Control tech is also standard; first seen on the Evoque, it allows the driver to set a crawl speed of up to 19mph and focus on steering while the vehicle controls braking and throttle functions. 65 Land Rover is keen to keep the Discovery’s appeal as a towing vehicle, and it gets a couple of new tech features to help in this area. Advanced Tow Assist is a new feature Land Rover is banking on making the new Discovery one of the best tow cars on sale, and it uses semi-autonomous technology to split the task of manoeuvring trailers, horseboxes and caravans between car and driver. Activating the system means that the car will steer itself, automatically calculating where to go and how much steering lock is needed while the driver focuses solely on what’s hitched to the back, guiding the trailer directly through the dial on the centre console. There's also Trailer Light Test, which ‘pulses’ trailer lights from within the vehicle, allowing the driver to check they’re working without help from another person. Land Rover Discovery cabin and practicality In the UK, the Discovery will be sold as a seven-seat model only. Its boot capacity with the third row in place is 258 litres, but with only two rows in place there’s a useful 1,137 litres of storage. Folding down the third, fourth and fifth seats increases the Discovery’s load bay to an impressive 2,406 litres.