15 minute read
MOTORS Land Rover’s Discovery
MOTORS
YOUR VOYAGE of DISCOVERY
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Luxurious. Capable. Practical of course. Posh, too. There’s nothing to dislike about Land Rover’s Discovery, but as the car enters its mid-30s, the poor thing is facing a bit of a mid-life crisis. Happens to the best of us, I suppose...
Words: Rob Davis.
THINGS WERE SIMPLER ‘back then,’ we tend to say, with soporific nostalgia. Close your eyes and think back to 1990, before Britpop, or Blair, prior to the opening of the Channel Tunnel or mobile phones and Instafacegram.
In those simpler times, if you wanted a Land Rover, it was a simple choice; for capability, choose a Defender. For luxury and capability choose a Range Rover.
Land Rover in 1989 saw fit to introduce the Discovery, and it went on sale the following year, as a sort of half-way house between outright utilitarianism and comfort.
Suffice to say it was a roaring success; a car that could provide on-road comfort, huge offroad ability, and once that would eventually enable you to take the whole family along too, thanks to the option of seven seats. Little wonder that Land Rover wanted to capitalise on its bright idea seven years later with the smaller but more affordable Freelander, a car that was also enormously well-thought of.
But too much of a good thing isn’t always great, and today’s Jaguar Land Rover lineup is complex. The brand is split in three, for a start, with Land Rover & Range Rover as well as Jaguar all producing models that occupy the same price point in the market.
If you’ve £55k to spend on a 4x4, Land Rover’s Discovery, Discovery Sport and Defender, plus Range Rover’s Evoque and Velar, and Jaguar’s F-Pace will all fit the bill, despite sharing the same engines and interior technology. So how on earth is a consumer supposed to choose? >>
Sibling Rivalry: A Trio of Alternative Land Rovers...
Range Rover Velar D240SE £57,660: You’ll choose this Range Rover if you value a stylish looking car and on-road dynamics. A Discovery-matching budget will see you drive off the forecourt with a D240 engine designation, a 2.0 four cylinder engine good for 135mph, 60mph in 6.8 seconds and a fuel economy figure of 48.7mpg. It’s a five seater – not a seven seater like the Discovery. In SE trim you’ll enjoy powered heated leather seats, navigation and a 360° camera. It’s sprung on coil suspension and doesn’t have low-range gears. n
Range Rover Evoque Autobiography P300e £52,110: You’ll choose this Range Rover if you spend more time in urban settings than off-road; if space isn’t a priority; if you appreciate technology; or you’re a company car driver. Smaller than the Discovery, with styling cues taken from the Velar – e.g. pop out door handles – a flagship P300e is in budget. Plug it in and you’ll enjoy 34 miles of electric-only driving. It’ll do 132mph, reach 60mph in 6.1 seconds and achieve 143mpg. Autobiography trim means adaptive cruise, 360° camera, heated and cooled seats, heated steering wheel, power tailgate and automatic parking assist are all standard. n
Land Rover Defender 110 HSE D250 £61,180: This is the Land Rover you’ll choose if you’re looking for off-road performance that’s beyond peerless, practicality and the option of five, six or seven seats. It’s a bit more expensive in HSE trim but strong residuals should level the playing field when you receive the finance quote. Low-range gears and air suspension, 3.0V6 engine for lots of grunt. Top speed of 117mph and 60mph reached in 7.9 seconds. Fuel economy of 32mpg. HSE trims brings adaptive cruise, and panoramic roof. n >> The dilemma leaves the newly facelifted 2021 Discovery with a bit of an identity crisis – or rather, a lack of identity crisis. It has seven seats; but so does the Discovery Sport. It’s sporty, in some trims; but so is the F-Pace. It’s posh; but so is the Velar. Perhaps the best thing you can say about the Discovery, though, is that the car’s breadth of talent is fairly evenly spread. It’s perhaps the sweet spot in the company’s entire portfolio between value, luxury and practicality. As standard the Discovery has seven seats all trimmed in leather, four wheel drive, Terrain Response electronics, a 3D surround camera, power tailgate, sat nav and heated front screen and front seats. You’re lacking in little, though we’d be inclined to add the optional Driver Assistance pack.
In terms of engines, the base D250 is a three litre six cylinder unit good for a GTi-matching seven second 60mph dash and 120mph top speed.
Perhaps more relevant is the 570nm of torque you can put to good use towing and off-roading. You’ll still achieve 33mpg on long journeys and you’ll do so in comfort.
So far then it’s all favourable. This is a car that’s practical, offers decent tech, luxury, enough poke and favourable economy for its class. But... look! A Land Rover Defender, giving me those come-to-bed eyes and a sultry smile from across the dealership. In 110, D240, HSE trim, it’s just £5,000 or so more, probably less on finance since it’s less likely to depreciate, being highly sought after right now. The Defender is also better equipped in this trim and it’s absolutely phenomenal both off-road and on-road too. Discovery may be a great car, but next to the Defender, and not quite a Range Rover, it’s increasingly tricky to justify. n
LAND ROVER DISCOVERY
Price: £53,090. (On sale now). Drivetrain: 3.0V6 MHEV diesel, 250hp, 570Nm torque. Eight speed automatic gearbox, all wheel drive, low range gears. Performance: 0-62 mph: 7.6 seconds. Top Speed: 120mph. Economy: 33.5mpg, 221g/km CO2 . Equipment: Leather upholstery, heated seats, satellite navigation, climate, cruise, seven seats. n
GET ON THE BLOWER
This is the Bentley Blower. First made in the late 1920s, it’s recreated here using design and engineering techniques as faithful as possible to the original. It’s ‘car zero’ and just 11 more will be made. Each one will sell for £1.5m and if that sounds expensive, consider that a replica of the car is currently on sale in the UK for £700,000, whilst an original Blower sold at Bonhams in 2012 for £4.5m.
2,000 individual parts have been hand-made especially for the cars. Together, they’ve taken 40,000 hours to design and build. 126 Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin, was one of the 1920s’ original Bentley Boys, born not too far away from here in Nottingham. He raced in a Bentley Blower, a modified version of Bentley’s four-and-a-half-litre car, the re-engineering of which he was heavily franchised in. Bentley had increased the original car’s displacement to 6.5 litres, with less success, and Tim himself was a keen advocate of forced induction rather than increased displacement. Forgive me if that sounds like waffle... but 90 years on, ironically the same trend is evident in motoring. Manufacturers are abandoning 3.0V6 engines in favour of 2.0V4, and 2.0V4 in favour of smaller units. Indeed, even Ford’s sizable Focus is now powered by a 1.0 engine, relying on forced induction (in that case a turbocharger) just like the Blower did in the 1920s (Tim added an Amherst Villiers supercharger which also helped to give Bourne racing driver Raymond Mays’ cars a big of extra shove).
There’s retro, and then, there’s this Bentley Blower. It’s a brand new vehicle engineered and designed as faithfully as possible to the original Bentley Blower – on sale 90 years ago – as modern legislation will allow. This was the car that Ian Fleming’s Bond drove in the original novels and the same model raced by Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin in the roaring 1920s. The car pictured is ‘car zero.’ It’s the first of just 12 cars due to made, and with a price of £1.5m exclusivity carries a premium... but what price nostalgia?
Words: Rob Davis.
The car has been crafted from the design drawings and tooling jigs used for the original four Blowers built and raced by Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin in the late 1920s. Specifically, Bentley’s own Team Car (Chassis HB 3403, engine SM 3902, registration UU 5872 Team Car #2) has provided the master model for the Continuation Series, with every single component laser-scanned to ensure sub-millimetre accuracy in their dimensions. The chassis has been created in heavy-gauge steel, hand-formed and hot riveted by the specialists at Israel Newton & Sons Ltd. Other companies created the Blower’s key components, like the mirrorpolished, solid nickel silver radiator shell and the hand-beaten fuel tank formed in steel and copper, plus the car’s ash frame, and of course, its 4.5 litre engine. Whilst £1.5m seems like a lot to pay for a vehicle, there’s no doubt that this is more than just a classic car. This is history, recreated lovingly, faithfully, in exquisite – and very British – detail. n
BENTLEY BLOWER
Price: £1,500,000. Drivetrain: 4.5 litre four-cylinder OHC with Amherst Villiers roots-type supercharger. Interior: Oxblood red Bridge of Weir leather stuffed with 10kg natural horsehair. n
Maximising Minimalism It’s small, but my goodness, it’s perfectly formed... and it’s made in Britain! The Lotus Elise Cup 220 is the perfect embodiment of a sports car; rorty and impractical but with handling hewn from pure driving pleasure...
Most cars have a shelf life Most cars have a shelf life of about 10 of about 10
years, with a mid-life facelift to keep it years, with a mid-life facelift to keep it fresh. The Lotus Elise, meanwhile, has fresh. The Lotus Elise, meanwhile, has been around for about 25 years. Probably been around for about 25 years. Probably because it has a fiercely loyal fan base, and because it has a fiercely loyal fan base, and very few competitors that can match its very few competitors that can match its back to basics appeal. back to basics appeal. With a manual gearbox, With a manual gearbox, this is a proper, this is a proper, raw driver’s car. There’s no dual-clutch raw driver’s car. There’s no dual-clutch automatic gearbox, no four wheel drive automatic gearbox, no four wheel drive – – only the rear wheels are driven – there’s noonly the rear wheels are driven – there’s no power steering, no traction control. power steering, no traction control. ABS brakes were added but only under ABS brakes were added but only under duress of legislation... and as for creature duress of legislation... and as for creature comforts like air conditioning, sat nav, comforts like air conditioning, sat nav, heated seats and parking sensors... forget it. heated seats and parking sensors... forget it. As for the latter, you won’t need much As for the latter, you won’t need much assistance given that the Elise is a mereassistance given that the Elise is a mere 3,824mm in length and 1719mm wide; for3,824mm in length and 1719mm wide; for context, a Ford Fiesta is longer and slightly context, a Ford Fiesta is longer and slightly wider too. wider too.
Lotus Elise 220
Price: £41,695. Engine: 1.8V four cylinder inline, 245hp. Performance: 0-60mph 3.9 secs, top speed 154mph. Interior: Soft top, cloth seats, cruise control, Bluetooth/DAB radio. Alcantara/leather £1,495. n
Whilst the Fiesta weighs in as 1,113kg Whilst the Fiesta weighs in as 1,113kg though, the Elise is a distinctly trim 914kg though, the Elise is a distinctly trim 914kg and instead of the Fiesta’s 1.0 engine, the and instead of the Fiesta’s 1.0 engine, the Lotus has a 217hp 1.8 DOHC VVT-i 16 Lotus has a 217hp 1.8 DOHC VVT-i 16 valve engine under its bonnet... a space it valve engine under its bonnet... a space it also happens to share with a supercharger. also happens to share with a supercharger. The result is a wallop of power to weight, The result is a wallop of power to weight, and a 0-60mph time of under four seconds. and a 0-60mph time of under four seconds. It’s a pretty car too, like a supercar that’s It’s a pretty car too, like a supercar that’s been shrunk in the wash, but don’t let its been shrunk in the wash, but don’t let its looks deceive. Whilst it has the perfor-looks deceive. Whilst it has the performance to see off cars many times its price, mance to see off cars many times its price, and a driving dynamic to match, this is not and a driving dynamic to match, this is not a car to take too lightly. a car to take too lightly. It requires fundamental driving skills and It requires fundamental driving skills and good judgement, which is why many good judgement, which is why many purchase the likes of Lotus or Caterham cars purchase the likes of Lotus or Caterham cars purely for use on the track. As a daily driver purely for use on the track. As a daily driver there are better, but fewer than can match there are better, but fewer than can match
the fun and engagement of an Elise. the fun and engagement of an Elise. n n
Three Wheels Good
A WHEEL SHORT OF A CAR, BUT THIS MORGAN ISN’T SHORT OF STYLE...
MORGAN Short of a wheel, but not short on thrills, the Morgan Three-Wheeler may look like something Mr Toad would drive in The Wind in the Willows, but it’s proved a success for the firm with 2,500 sold since its launch in 2011. The current model is not long for this world, but to celebrate its success, this special edition has been launched prior to the car’s official approval of its S&S V-Twin engine coming to an end in 2021, preventing the model from being produced into 2022. The limited-edition P101 is priced from £45,000 and only 33 will be made. Production slots have already been allocated to Morgan dealerships in the UK, Europe and USA. Production of the model will continue alongside ‘bespoke’ Three-Wheelers during 2021. n
A luminous Rolls Royce...?!?
GOOD NEWS FOR THOSE WITH AN AVERSION TO SUBTLETY. YOU CAN NOW ORDER A ROLLS WITH LUMINOUS PAINT...
Cut your company’s costs with an electric Ford Transit...
FORD If you run a business, you’ve doubtless been looking for ways to cut costs in 2020. If that business involves making deliveries, this could be on your fleet very soon. Tax friendly and promising fuel efficiency, Ford’s reckons its electric Transit could soon account for a serious number of the 32m vans on British roads. It’s 11.3kW on-board charger promises tax and fuel savings, plus 34 minute charges, providing 217 miles of range which Ford says is three times most drivers’ daily distance. n
ROLLS ROYCE History is littered with examples of events that shouldn’t have happened but did. And the latest example – perhaps the best – comes with the news that Rolls Royce has released three ‘special’ editions of its car sporting luminous paint jobs. The three colours are ‘Lime Rock Green, a near-luminous hue naturally bestowed on the Australian green tree frog;’ ‘Eagle Rock Red whose hue mimics the flowers of ‘Ōhi‘a lehua, an evergreen tree native to Hawaii,’ and ‘Mirabeau Blue, which looked to an exotic butterfly, Rhetus periander for inspiration.’ n
MOTORING NEWS In Brief
WINTER MOTORING
STEER CLEAR OF A WINTER BREAKDOWN WITH SOME SIMPLE CAR MAINTENANCE...
Road Safety organisation GEM Motoring Assist is offering basic tips for drivers to ensure trouble-free journeys in winter. Giving attention now to batteries, tyres, antifreeze, wipers, lights and other vehicle essentials is the best way of ensuring reliability in the months to come, especially if you haven’t been using your car as much as usual this year.
Here are GEM’s five simple steps for reducing the chance of a breakdown or malfunction this winter: n Get the battery and charging system checked to ensure best performance. A number of winter calls to GEM’s breakdown control centre relate to flat batteries Cold weather puts a lot of strain on tired batteries, so consider changing it now to avoid the inconvenience of a breakdown. n Ensure your car’s cooling system has the correct levels of anti-freeze, which is vital to prevent the water in your engine’s cooling system from freezing. n Make sure all the lights on your car, are clean and working properly. n Check tyre tread depth and pressure weekly through the winter. Good tread depth will minimise your risk of skidding and losing control. n Check your windscreen wipers, front and rear. Make sure they are working properly, and top up your screenwash regularly.
