Style Over Substance

THE DISCOVERY SD4 WAS JUDGED 4X4 OF THE YEAR IN 2017, BUT WHAT IS IT LIKE TO LIVE WITH? WE’VE HAD OURS FOR SIX MONTHS AND DON’T WANT TO GIVE IT BACK.

THE END of each year we here at 4X4 Australia gather the best new 4x4 vehicles from the past 12 months and take them out on a trip to determine our 4x4 Of The Year (4x4OTY). It’s always an interesting process and turns up some interesting results. The aim is not to find the best vehicle on the market, but the best new or improved 4x4 that was released in the past year. Back in 2017 the vehicle that stood out the most was the then-new Land Rover Discovery, specifically the Sd4. Unofficially dubbed the Discovery 5, as it’s the fifth generation of the 30-year-old model, the new Disco was considered by many to be a softer version than the previous ones. The 2017 Discovery rode on a new aluminium monocoque chassis with full independent, height-adjustable suspension, and even the design of the body was more swoopy and organic compared to the functional and boxy bodies on the Discovery 3 and 4.

As has always been the case with Land Rover and Range Rover models, the latest Discovery’s strength lies in its breadth of ability. As the Discovery has evolved it has forgone the functional and family friendly traits of the earlier ones to feature more stylish and luxurious designs and features, but there has always been that amazing breadth of ability. The Discovery has always had a premium feel, with large, usable interiors and grand visibility from its large glasshouses, but it has also had excellent off-road ability thanks to long-travel suspension design inherited from the upper-class Range Rover elders.