Discovery 4 up to any challenge

Last week, Automotives gave you the lady's take on the Land Rover Discovery 4. This week, the vehicle gets the once-over from the male perspective.

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

Clocking between 135 and 137 kilometres doesn't seem that fast when you're driving the Land Rover Discovery 4 (please don't tell my mom) and when I glanced across at my co-worker Marcella Scarlett and ATL's market analyst, Sloane Jackson, they seemed quite relaxed, unaware just how fast we were going.

This had not been my intention, but in putting the vehicle through its paces, I had upped the speed and kept my foot on the accelerator as I cornered, daring the vehicle to hold its own. With each challenge it won, I put up another, with the score line showing Land Rover Discovery 4 winning all, me none.

As I neared the end of my leg of the test drive, I found another unexpected opportunity to prove I was the boss, once and for all. I opted to turn the vehicle for my colleague, and spun it after making sure the road was clear, then found myself locked in dance - with the Land Rover. I was caught off guard by the ease and turning ability on such a radius, which I had no doubt was because of my impressive driving skill. I turned the vehicle again, and again, and yet again. After no less than six consecutive spins, I finally straightened the vehicle and parked.

deceptively fast

Even though disappointed I had failed to put one over the vehicle, I found myself grinning from ear to ear. I was on a natural high from that ride, confounded in the first place by how deceptively fast the six-speed, three-litre, 256 horse-power, V-6 engine had proven. Then there was the surprisingly firm grip on the road surface as I cornered at high speed, hugging the inside curve and staying within the white line - waiting, anticipating some deviation from the true line I was holding.

I'm still waiting and, of course, Jackson was ready with the answers when I asked about the excellent handling capability. Finally, I was able to get a basic understanding of some of those fancy terms and abbreviations.

"The Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) is already working the wheels and working all the power though the wheels to make sure you are safe, so you do not have this running off the road. Your traction control system is now working your brake to make sure the braking is tighter on the inner wheels than it is on the outer wheels - you corner that much tighter. The brake assist (BA) is doing the same thing, applying the right amount of pressure to each wheel. Then you have your air suspension, which is tightening up in the different corners of the suspension to give you a tight corner," Jackson told Automotives.

However, you can have fun with this vehicle even before starting the journey. Just ask my colleague who, upon following Jackson's instruction to "just touch this button", was fascinated by the realisation that it had literally got higher, as indicated by the dashboard computer showing 'Off Road Height'. Then, of course, we had to wait while she put it through 'Normal Road Height' and back again, a couple of times. This is because of the pneumatic suspension which allows one to, at the touch of a button, adjust the height from anywhere between 400 and 700 millimetres, an arrow display showing the direction as the suspension pad is being raised or lowered.

Upon being told that the new Land Rover Discovery 4 would be available in eight-speed, I couldn't resist asking, "What does one do with all that power on a Jamaican road?" And, true to form, Jackson was quick with the correct answer: "It is there when you need it. You don't always have to use it. However, if you need it, you have all the power and torque to get it done, should you need, for whatever reason, to go fast."

a 'real' dream

Did I take his word for it? No way. Putting on the indicator, I swung out and powered past the vehicle ahead. Now I knew he was telling the truth, which naturally led me to question of fuel efficiency, given the rising cost of diesel.

Having driven the vehicle, Jackson claims to have got 37 miles per gallon (of course, pointing out that this is dependent on driving style), noting that women consistently achieve better mileage. To prove this, the dashboard computer showed my colleague averaged 35 miles per gallon, in comparison to the 25 I had done.

On a day when I just couldn't win, I sat back and enjoyed being chauffeur driven, impressed by the wide-ranging view I was able to enjoy sitting directly behind the front passenger seat. As I made myself comfortable, I noted the widespread use of genuine leather all over - seats, dashboard, arm rest, door knob and elsewhere, and the environmentalist in me cringed a little.

Given the many creature comforts, I see myself going for one of the Land Rover Discovery 4s, which sells for just under $10 million - and then, like Tom Jones, I awake and find that I was only dreaming. But that test drive was for real and no one can take that away.