How is your new D5?

[toddjb122]

...
- The D5 comes with 8000lbs of towability without the LR4 tongue weight issue (the reason I have the curt hitch)

I missed that when looking closely at the D5. All I saw was that stupid auto retracting **** looking ball available in the UK.
What is different about the D5 hitch design that gets rid of the tongue weight limitations on the LR3/LR4?

...
- The D5 does store bikes upright with the seats down (brought my biggest mtb to the dealer and tried stuffing it in a full size RR and the D5)

Very cool. They must have gotten a kick out of you wheeling that thing into the dealership!

 

[Hawkigrad]

So I drove the D5 from GA to the Midwest and finally put some miles on it. With 3 adults, 2 young children and a packed cargo area I got 21 mpg driving essentially 80mph the whole way on premium gas. I was somewhat releaved it did that well as I had been showing around 14mpg in town but that was also the first tank of gas and me hitting the gas harder than need be for fun. In comparison my Pacifica is rated at 26mpg highway and I normally get around 24 with same load and speed so I thought the D5 did well enough. I picked up the 28ft RV weighing 6000lbs and have put a little over 200 miles on it as well. I was surprised how easily the D5 pulls it. I had the dealer just put on sway bars that are super easy on and off with no raising of the hitch to remove them. When accelerating I hardly can tell there is a trailer behind the vehicle and with light to no breeze there is essentially no sway. I took the rig up to around 75mph without issue but choose to stay at 70mph during my trip where I show I got 9mpg. The vehicle instantly recognizes the trailer and asks for width and length dimensions before prompting you to put on the "sticker" so it can show trajectory. I put the sticker somewhere for safe keeping so I didn't try it out but I don't need as my RV has a backup camera. For brake controller I'm using the Tekonsha Prodigy RF wireless unit which has had no issues. Too bad the back window doesn't open for grabbing things when hooked up but not a big deal. I realized with two car seats in the 2nd row I cannot move forward the single seat because the car seat latch for the middle seat is part of that seat so when hooked up you can't tilt and slide it forward. Not a big deal.

The navigation worked fine and has a couple of cool features such being able to share updates however when going to choose a contact it won't let you use your phone contacts and when I added a contact it doesn't confirm they are added or getting updates so I don't think I got it to work. The other neat feature is being able to search for POI along your route which I have wondered for years why Nav units don't have this however it only returns 10 results which is not enough if your are looking for a particular place along your route. Why not show results with distances away and let the user continue to see more results as desired? Also, I don't see direction you are traveling anywhere on the navigation or instrument panel which I find a miss on this type of vehicle. You can set nav so north is always top of map but I'd prefer a simple direction indicator somewhere - especially with all the screen real estate available to them. They really need to fine tune the UI on InControl to address a few issues like I mentioned before and I would image they will given time.

I still think this is one of the nicest riding vehicles I have driven for an SUV and I'd take a touch panel any day over the ugly pop up Garmin looking things they put in the German vehicles. They aren't even touch which boggles my mind. Jeep has the highest rated systems so if Land Rover can benchmark a bit and update their InControl this vehicle will be tough to beat all up. It's towing ability is excellent so it was good confirmation to go with my prior observations on ride quality, quietness, and general comfort.

Also, when we first hooked up the RV there was no signal to the trailer and we came to realize that the plugs were unhooked in the back. I think the tech said there were two plugs that needed to be plugged in. I THINK the dealer must have missed plugging them in during the PDI process but I could be wrong. Maybe they leave them unplugged but it had both the RV dealer scratching their heads and a call to my LR dealer service department also didn't help so again I think they overlooked it during the delivery inspection.

 

[iSurfvilano]

I had the opportunity to take a D5 through an offroad course in Asheville yesterday....WOW is that thing easy to drive off road! It feels extremely light and responsive! But...I had a real hard time adjusting to that front window and low roof. I think my head was only a couple inches from the ceiling and i felt my view was taken up by hood. If no one has tried one off road, I highly recommend, very impressed in that aspect.

 

[toddjb122]

Thanks for the details, @Hawkigrad . Sounds like a fun trip and good test of the tech on the new ride.

9mpg. Oy. I guess that's why people like diesel for towing.

Didn't even think of the hatchback being blocked when you have a trailer hooked up. That would be inconvenient to say the least. I travel with a large hitch tray at times, but there is just enough room to drop the tailgate and raise the glass on the LR4. So it doesn't prevent access to luggage and the dog's travel quarters!

 

[nhskibm]

I missed that when looking closely at the D5. All I saw was that stupid auto retracting **** looking ball available in the UK.
What is different about the D5 hitch design that gets rid of the tongue weight limitations on the LR3/LR4?


Very cool. They must have gotten a kick out of you wheeling that thing into the dealership!

The LR3/LR4 has a click in receiver in order to allow it to be removed for off roading. Great in theory until I want to pull my airstream. And because it clicks in place and isn't solidly mounted I've read stories of it failing and am not sure weight distribution would work either (I'm no engineer but trying to distribute through a locking pin doesn't logically make sense). The d5 is a solidly mounted receiver with just the basic tow package. Looks like what you'd find on an f150. Stamped on the hitch is 8200 tow and I think like 790 tongue - and I can put weight distribution on it (which I just did on my RRS and it towed great, and did on our old grand Cherokee and old trailer).

And yeah, Land Rover Scarborough and Land Rover Bedford got a kick out of it when I showed up with my fat bike to try to stuff in a td6 RR and D5. Honestly I started the process looking at the full size RR but because the middle seats don't fold flat and the bike can't stand we went with the D5. Should be here late Oct, early nov. in the meantime I turned in our lr4 this week to take advantage of the ridiculously high value they offered and continue to drive our RRS until the d5 arrives.

Frankly I'm excited. After driving the diesel and order a car that blends a modern black design pack, the diesel/tow combo, massaging seats, and the locking diff we have a truck that we can tow to Moab with in comfort, drag our bikes, and then for an "off" day have a fully capable off road vehicle. Yeah, it's not as bad ass looking as my old D2 or even our LR4 but it really is functional.

 

[Spyder13]

Interesting, when I was at a LR dealership in Pa they told me the LR4 would not get a high trade in because the demand and interest had faded with the release of the D5. I have a 2016 LR4 with third row seating. It has 7k miles on it.

 

[roverman]

Interesting, when I was at a LR dealership in Pa they told me the LR4 would not get a high trade in because the demand and interest had faded with the release of the D5. I have a 2016 LR4 with third row seating. It has 7k miles on it.

Is that a surprise that they'd say that? Just take a look at the used market, mine looks like it is going for about what I paid two years ago.

 

[Llama24]

I've had my discovery for 3 weeks and I love the car. This is my first landrover, having most recently driven a Q5. I needed more space and couldn't bring myself to buy a Q7 (hate the styling). I test drove several cars including the xc90, Tahoe, x5 and yes a Ford Explorer. Ended up with the discovery priced at 80k all in. I am not an enthusiast. The car will likely never go off road, though nice to know it can if it needs to. I spend infinitely more time on baby forums than I do car forums. I will use it to commute, lug around the kids and go to the mall.

Point is - I'm an average person, the one that you all take such joy in mocking.you all with your too cool for school wives who only love off-roading would never understand a plain old woman like me. After this forum, every time I see a LR-4 driver I can't help but think "What a ******".

After 3 weeks of owning the car I noticed that when I close the door, the light that shines down on the floor projects an image of a Rover. Such a charming little surprise I hadn't seen mentioned before. Peace out - won't be back.

 

[roverman]

Wow. Point me to a post that mocks you're lifestyle. Just because some of us feel it doesn't meet our lifestyle is no reason to throw a hissy fit. Glad you like your truck tho.

 

[nhskibm]

Interesting, when I was at a LR dealership in Pa they told me the LR4 would not get a high trade in because the demand and interest had faded with the release of the D5. I have a 2016 LR4 with third row seating. It has 7k miles on it.

2016 Landmark with 23k on it got $55k in trade. Stickered for $63k.

When compared to a couple other newer vehicles we've parted with to consolidate recently that's a pretty good retention - especially since typically a new model/motor/etc. drives prices down. I believe they'll be selling it for close to $60k - also crazy to think about.