P360 HSE R-Dynamic 4dr 4x4
2021 Land Rover Discovery

It’s easy to forget about the 2021 Land Rover Discovery. There’s the fresh, ever-so-cool Defender sucking all the air in the room, and the vast Range Rover lineup offering subtly different degrees of pure luxury and off-road capability. Meanwhile, the Discovery is attending its own little disco in a corner, hoping to draw some eyes away from other luxury three-row SUVs like the Volvo XC90 or Lincoln Aviator. Land Rover hasn’t entirely forgotten about its asymmetrical friend yet, though. The 2021 Land Rover Discovery is one of many Jaguar and Land Rover products to get a thorough freshening this year. Despite so little appearing different at first glance, the changes amount to a minor repositioning of the model in Land Rover’s busy lineup. Instead of moving with the market (and the Defender 110) toward more rugged looks and capability, the Discovery doubles down in the more luxurious, street-friendly direction this latest generation has set from the beginning. Land Rover says the updated Discovery is "more engaging to drive" due to a totally re-tuned suspension with new, continuously adaptive dampers.  Unfortunately, by trying to go toward the sportier end of the spectrum, the 2021 Disco has a new, harsher ride. One might expect the adaptive dampers to soften things up, but Land Rover seems keen on extracting handling improvements over ride comfort. At the same time, the tall, heavy Discovery is still far from a good-handling SUV. It leans all about with slow steering, and those Pirelli Scorpion tires begin protesting lateral Gs right away. The stiffer suspension means it rides harsher and less comfortably than it did before. Highway frost heaves and potholes in the road's surface cut right to the bone in a jarring way that we’re not accustomed to feeling in SUVs of its stature. Just about every other three-row SUV out there in the Disco’s competitive set rides better (not to mention the surprisingly plush Defender), and the pre-refresh version was more forgiving, too. At least it still has the same vault-like solidity and luxurious demeanor as it travels down the road that Land/Range Rovers are known for. The new, less truck-like powertrains are more successful. The base engine is JLR’s widely-used 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 296 horsepower, and the upgrade engine is a 3.0-liter 355-horsepower turbocharged inline-six that's paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. The base supercharged V6 is gone, and so is the likable turbodiesel V6. Land Rover claims the new inline-six gets the Discovery from 0–60 mph in 6.2 seconds, which is 0.7 second quicker than the old supercharged Disco.  We tested the inline-six and found it to be smooth and stout company. Land Rover’s intensive sound deadening and cabin insulation make hearing it difficult, but you get a modicum of drama with your foot down, revving it out to redline. If the diesel put you off previously with its inherent clackity character, this inline-six is just the change the Discovery needed. We prefer it over the supercharged V6, too, as it’s both …
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