I have had a loaner D5 for a week Ask Me Anything (LR4 owner)

[Agarabaghi]

The LR4 is base on LR3 chasis both have the same drivetrain and Suspension the diference between 3 and 4 is the power 4.4 , 5.0 and 3.0 Supercharger so at the end LR3 and 4 have similar road feeling but different 0 to 60 experience.The 5 is more city SUV and drive like a heavy Explorer with Lrover badge. I was at the deeler to upgrade to a 5 and is the first time i decline the offered .i have a 3 from 0 miles and at the time was the best of the Best i was so impress .Now the 5 is other SUV feel more light and less heavy Tank don't feel like the LR3 .i Park both and the LR3 look Masive and more Safari feeling the 5 look more innocent more refined and when you drive the 5 you feel was design for Women not for ******** off-road Man. At the end i feel the 3 and 4 was the end of the body on frame and the 5 is the next Generation for City Off road. If you have 3 and 4 and you want a 5 think in those the years when you cross a river o make heavy off Roading with jeeps and Land cruisers because the 5 don't bring that feeling of offloading supremacy.

Lots of wrong information in here:

LR3 / LR4 are integrated body on frame, as they dont have solid rear axles.

Wading depth of the Disco5 is 35" vs 27.5" of the LR4 stock...

Overal the disco 5 is on paper are far more off road capable vehicle, and time will tell if the issues we saw with the Lr3/4 have been resolved. Not sure what your LR3 has done to it, but the LR3/4 look very skinny and box compared to the disco 5

 

[mpinco]

Hmmmm ........

The LR3/LR4 are integrated body on frame but that is just a fancy way of saying the full frame has been integrated into a unibody. The body can be lifted off the frame. The D5 is unibody. Unibody and more extensive use of aluminum is how LR reduced the D5 weight.

IFS/IRS are a function of design choice, not frame or lack of frame. I would think you could add solid axles to a LR3/LR4 if you wanted, not that I would want to, while the D5 you could not.

The D5 air intake has been integrated into the hood. The LR3/4 have snorkels available. Other than that there is no real difference in wading depth.

Agree, the LR3/LR4 are boxy while the D5 is a bloated jelly bean, like all of the other SUV's today.

 

[rjchankalian]

I've had a 2011 LR4 and now a 2015. The wife and I went to look at the D5 today. Was my third time.

I love my LR4. I would drive them forever if I could. My lease is up in about 4 months and I'm really trying to like the D5 but I can't get there. Access to the third row is terrible. I know the D5 is longer but I feel like the third row is smaller. It's looks are OK, but the back is just not right and it looks like everything else.

I know the new trend is rounded SUVs but for those who liked the LR4 and all that it was, what trucks are you considering? I'm going to test drive a land cruiser next week. I know in some ways it's a step back in technology, however for what I want it may be my next tuck.

 

[Mario]

I've had a 2011 LR4 and now a 2015. The wife and I went to look at the D5 today. Was my third time.

I love my LR4. I would drive them forever if I could. My lease is up in about 4 months and I'm really trying to like the D5 but I can't get there. Access to the third row is terrible. I know the D5 is longer but I feel like the third row is smaller. It's looks are OK, but the back is just not right and it looks like everything else.

I know the new trend is rounded SUVs but for those who liked the LR4 and all that it was, what trucks are you considering? I'm going to test drive a land cruiser next week. I know in some ways it's a step back in technology, however for what I want it may be my next tuck.

Why don't you simply buy it, when your lease is done?

 

[Mario]

I have returned the loaner.

Quick Summary: The Discovery5 is 3x the luxury vehicle the LR4 is and 1/2 the Offroad machine. This would be a fantastic alternative to a minivan/Large Truck combo.

• I have to say it is built very well and is a great ride. Getting back into the LR4 I could feel the downgrade in the luxury department.
  • I would say go with a lighter colored headliner if ordering one. It will make the car feel taller.
• The technology is abundant and much better than the LR4.
• The D5 feels freaking heavy. I would say it weigh 800lbs more than an LR4 if I didn't know it was 400lbs less.
• The long nose is terrible. Hard to judge certain things.
• Reaching the glove compartment was nearly impossible. Is this thing that much larger than the LR4?
• Turn Radius subpar. I will actually go ahead and say it may be worst in class. This is a killer.. it was surprisingly so bad I would get irritated.
• Heating and Cooling is NOT good.
• Fit and Finish is better than LR4, Although choosing plastic instead of the rubberized finish was a VERY BAD choice.
• Seats are Better than LR4, but If you don't like RR style seating its a wash. I like both so its a wash to me.
• No mesh sunroof covers. I really like the mesh. ..I had no clue I would miss the strangest thing about the LR4..who knew?
• Looks grew on me like the Grinch's heart. So about 3x. A stubby nose and a rear bumper update would go a long way IMO.
• I had a loaded version. Sticker said 68k. I would say it was worth 55k.
• Offroad and heavy snow performance: a solid 8/10. Traction control system and launch control were better than LR4. I actually missed this aspect.
• I did feel like I was getting into a cheaper model truck when I got my LR4 back. That was a weird feeling.
• The LR4 felt very spry in comparison when I got it back.
• I take back that it was noisy. It was very VERY quiet off the highway, on the highway I think the 20" wheels are the issue.

Would I own one? I don't think so if it was my personal daily truck like the LR4. Would I own one to compliment my LR4? Surprisingly Yes...Only after I find out what the new Bronco is going to be like. This would be a great SUV for an active family. It can tow. Its better than an explorer or Jeep Cherokee. It fits that niche that is missing right now. A 7 person truck that isn't HUGE, can really tow a nice sized trailer, handle large dogs, tough terrain, and the serious weather. It also isn't a mega yacht like a Sequoia. You would have to buy a tundra extended Cab and a minivan as a pair to cover all the bases.

Thanks for the great report. One question. When I am driving my 2014 LR4 I feel like driving a tank up from a "tower" seating position. Great visibility and command post. I bet you have the same feeling when driving yours. How did you feel in the D5? About the same? When I see pictures of it I don't see the driver in a high and tall position as I see on pics of LR4s.

 

[iconoclast]

• I had a loaded version. Sticker said 68k. I would say it was worth 55k.

Hahaha... That is far from "loaded". The vehicle tops out at like $85k+.

Why don't you simply buy it, when your lease is done?

Probably because they only lease and do not buy their car(s).

 

[alexcorral]

I've had a 2011 LR4 and now a 2015. The wife and I went to look at the D5 today. Was my third time.

I love my LR4. I would drive them forever if I could. My lease is up in about 4 months and I'm really trying to like the D5 but I can't get there. Access to the third row is terrible. I know the D5 is longer but I feel like the third row is smaller. It's looks are OK, but the back is just not right and it looks like everything else.

I know the new trend is rounded SUVs but for those who liked the LR4 and all that it was, what trucks are you considering? I'm going to test drive a land cruiser next week. I know in some ways it's a step back in technology, however for what I want it may be my next tuck.

That's what we ended up with after trading in our LR4 (2013 HSE) after 5 years and 65K miles. We didn't like the Discovery 5 and the Land Cruiser checked all the boxes. Technology is not up-to-date, not even compared to our 2013 LR4, but the ride is amazing, the looks are great (not rounded like an Explorer) and although we haven't tested it off road it is the most capable SUV out there.

The LC was $87K and the Disco build with the same features/components came up to $75K.

 

[Bogwhoppit]

Lots of wrong information in here:

LR3 / LR4 are integrated body on frame, as they dont have solid rear axles.

Wading depth of the Disco5 is 35" vs 27.5" of the LR4 stock...

Overal the disco 5 is on paper are far more off road capable vehicle, and time will tell if the issues we saw with the Lr3/4 have been resolved. Not sure what your LR3 has done to it, but the LR3/4 look very skinny and box compared to the disco 5

"Far more off road capable" - Rubbish. More like not really any more capable. Wading depth 35" Did you pop the bonnet and see where the diff breathers were? Has anyone? Yesterday I had a big old pine bough (good 5" diameter) lift up from the mud due to my front wheel driving over it. Well that smacked the chassis so hard my back wheels nearly came off the ground. The D5 would have had a hole in the floor, and 4ft of Pine sitting on the back seat.

I had one as a loaner for a week, and while the tech was impressive. To me it did not feel robust enough to live up to everyday off road beatings like my 2010 LR4 - A chassis off-road wins every time. Even Toyota understand this. - I also own a 2008 200 Series LC btw.

 

[ar077]

...I'd agree that some rock sliders or nerf bars would make the truck look better. Haven't seen that yet.

I installed a set of Lucky8 rock sliders last week. I had previously swapped the stock 255/55-20 Goodyear Eagles on OEM 20” x 8.5” wheels for 285/50-20 Nitto Terra Grappler G2s on Redbourne 20” x 9.5” wheels (including the spare, of course).