Disco 5 hit with the ugly stick

[Davidinseattle]

Now that LR has lost the distinctiveness and has become like every other CUV/SUV brand will they be good enough to sell? Does LR build a better Q7? GL? X5? Who knows but it is a very competitive world.

Well, that's a very interesting question you pose...Let me come back with a question. If you experienced the same cost and frequency of repairs with a D5 as you do with a 4, would you keep it as consider it the cost of owning one?

My answer would be "no". I bet many others would say the same.

 

[PaulLR3]

For most of us LR4 owners, the cost of repairs is currently lower than the cost of new D5 payments. I'd rather pay for repairs on an LR4 I really enjoy rather than make payments on a new $75K D5 that "I can live with".

As for the previous question, I test drove the Q7 and D5 back-to-back 3 times. Q7 wins if you don't need off road capability or a spare tire. Audi SCV6 is just smoother, more responsive and sounds happy all the time. Audi technology is years ahead of LR. Q7 has excellent rear seat leg room and comfort but a useless third row. My kids hated the sunken rear seats in the D5 compared to the stadium seating in the LR4.

 

[Felixlatorre]

Happy new year. I'm totally agree with you guys. I remember see a Defender from far away and you can identify it. As well as LR’s. They had their own identity but now You have to get closer to find out this is a Ford Explorer. I don’t know what is happening with the Land Rover designers but I guess they are running out of ideas to keep the classic look blending with new technology. This is so sad.

 

[Adam Sch]

Those spy pictures make it look like a Land Rover branded Jeep Grand Cherokee.

 

[ryanjl]

I am actually excited with the new direction they are taking. I hope they make tons of money and sell tons of vehicles so that one day they can have the money to cater to the niche buyers like Mercedes has been able to do throughout the years. And if LR lays an egg with the new Defender then I'm not above moving to another brand...but for now I love my LR4 (even though I wish she was lighter and had a SCV8.)

I think you just proved everyone's point. People historically bought Land Rover because they weren't ******** cars. Now, Land Rover is putting all its heritage-eggs in the Defender basket, but if it sucks, people will move on to another marque, because Land Rover will be nothing but ******** cars that all look like one another and don't really differentiate themselves in any positive way from the competition.

 

[magnumforc]

That has been my take all along. If I wanted a Ford Explorer for 35K I would get one and not a look-alike Disco for 75K. JLR et al is going the BMW route, trying to fit a seat to every ass so no matter your spending level you can move into a Jaguar or Land Rover. Who wants to spend 80-90K on a vehicle that looks like something else. We bought Jaguars and Land Rovers because WE are distinctive people who want a distinctive vehicle. And don't even go the Range Rover route. We drove several and unless you are willing to pop 115K it's nothing to write home about. Even at that price I have lots more options to put in the garage.

 

[iSurfvilano]

I think you just proved everyone's point.

To be specific, I proved the minority's point in that reply. But that in itself is really the point I'm making. Per the guardian, LR has doubled it's new vehicle sales in the past 6 years riding the wave of their new "******** cars" --- They are not depending on this minority (we, the purists) to dish out the money for these new body styles and I doubt that the new defender would cater to this niche group since they are needing to sell 100k of these a year in a limited world release to break even (the old one sold 20k units a year worldwide excluding the US.)

Hate to burst everyone's bubble here but for each one of us willing to dish out money on a utilitarian, squared jawed vehicle, there are 4-5 others willing to dish the money out on the new crap. At least that is what the sales numbers are showing, especially in China and the US...and unfortunately LR is not in a market share position to lose money on a niche vehicle like how toyota does on the land cruiser and merc does on the g-wagon. So yeah, video killed the radio star.

 

[umbertob]

If you read between the lines and the sugarcoating of today's press release, 2017 wasn't that good of a year for JLR in North America. If it weren't for the new Velar (which surely cannibalized sales of the Sport somewhat, though) and the surprising double digit increase of the big Range Rover, sales numbers would look pretty lousy across the board. The Discovery's must be especially disappointing, as the press release doesn't even mention them - which is a pretty bad sign for a relatively new model.

http://media.jaguarlandrover.com/en...year-sales-record-114333-sales-2017-9-percent

In fairness, 2017 wasn't a great year for many car manufacturers, especially premium ones.

 

[mpinco]

Agree with umbertob. To not mention the Discovery 5 after a year of sales is very telling. As far as the increase in Range Rover sales I'm somewhat not surprised. Years ago when looking for my 95RRC LWB it became obvious where RR sales were located. That was NJ, FL and TX. Forget looking in CO or most midwestern areas. Now, this may or may not be a factor but who had significant weather related damage in 2017? Well TX and FL. I wonder how many of those sales were replacement buys.

As far as CO, I have yet to see a Discovery 5 on the road, have seen a few Discovery Sports and many LR3/4's.

 

[magnumforc]

Of course here in California so many brand new RR's are driven by soccer moms whose only off-road experience is running over curbs while looking at their phone. Never ceases to amaze me that with a 130K vehicle that has every hands free gimmick available they still have to hold their phone to their ears. Too stupid to learn how to use hands free I suppose.