Form Identity

Is It A New Range Rover? Is It A Disfigured Discovery Sport? We Try The New Discovery 5 Anyway

- Raunak Ajinkya

You did it. You just sunk half an SUV,’ I remember thinking. But before my mind went into severe panic and decided to make me call for help, I figured I’d give it one more shot. My elevated heartbeat aside, the day was calm and pristine. A gentle breeze made the trees around me sway, and the cows didn’t seem perturbed by the fact that there was a Land Rover Discovery at a 45-degree tilt with two wheels submerged in what seemed to be (from my eyes, at least) a shallow patch of water. The old ‘chuck a stone into the water to see how deep it is’ trick proved otherwise, of course. That, and the fact that the Discovery was at a 45-degree tilt to its left. Oops.

This, I believe, is a good way to start this story. It’s also a good test of its claimed 900 mm water-wading depth. The short and long of it is that its claim is verified. Yep. Time to move on. What you’re looking at isn’t to be confused with a Range Rover. It’s not even a Range Rover Sport. It’s, in fact, an SUV that sits atop the Discovery range, which is itself a handy thing to have off the road. So what’s the deal with this new Discovery 5, you ask? Well, Land Rover wants you to think of it as the best of both worlds, really. Terrific offroad cred coupled to bonkers luxury. That’s the brief at least. I have a job today because it’s up to me to figure if there’s any truth in that proposal.