New Land Rover Discovery Tempest review: high spec stormy special blows up the budget

Verdict

Revisiting the Land Rover Discovery reminds you that this large family SUV offers a fairly rare combination of seven-seat space and upmarket luxury. The Tempest model is quite pricey, but it’s still cheaper than a Range Rover and is arguably more versatile. But then so is Land Rover’s own Defender, which is arguably even more desirable.

With so many different models within Land Rover’s line-up, it can be easy to overlook the Land Rover Discovery. While the Land Rover Defender is the desirable sibling that everybody wants to get behind the wheel of, and the firm’s Range Rover models continue to offer aspirational goals, the Discovery is a much more down-to-earth proposition. 

That’s not to say that the Disco is a downmarket alternative from the British firm, and Land Rover has demonstrated exactly how upmarket the Discovery can be with the new Tempest edition you see here. At £83,840 it’s the most expensive version of the Discovery that you can currently buy, but it comes with exclusive details and lots of kit to help justify its stratospheric price.

Most obvious from the outside is an exclusive metallic Charente grey/bronze paint finish that is joined by a contrast copper roof and detailing. It’s finished with a matte wrap as standard, too, which helps to make the gloss-black wheelarch trims and bumper finishes stand out next to the new paint job. At each corner, the 22-inch five-spoke diamond-turned alloys receive a copper-tinted lacquer to complement the roof.

Used - available now

2019 Land Rover

Discovery

61,275 milesAutomaticDiesel3.0L

Cash £25,397

View Discovery

2023 Land Rover

Discovery

12,892 milesAutomaticDiesel3.0L

Cash £44,299

View Discovery

2023 Land Rover

Discovery

20,692 milesAutomaticDiesel3.0L

Cash £46,543

View Discovery

2023 Land Rover

Discovery

54,914 milesAutomaticDiesel3.0L

Cash £33,500

View Discovery

The looks will be down to personal taste, but the subtle way the copper details have been added means that the Tempest edition is unlikely to cause offence at the school gates or in the equestrian centre car park.

Inside, the Discovery benefits from Land Rover’s seating tech, which goes above and beyond what most rival companies have to offer. Both front chairs feature heating, cooling and massage functions, plus electric adjustment, and there’s a memory setting for the driver’s seat, too. The Tempest has two-tone leather upholstery as standard, while aluminium trim finishers and a light-coloured headlining help boost the sense of space inside.

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The Discovery features the latest Pivi Pro touchscreen system, which is a very quick and responsive set-up. The screen is large, so it’s easy to navigate, while the sub-menus aren’t so involved that you get lost in a sea of functions.

A seven-seat layout is standard, and space is the Discovery’s forte, with acres of room for all passengers. The two back rows fold flat electrically via buttons set into the side of the boot. There are more buttons by the back seats, while the Discovery’s Pivi Pro touchscreen also has a menu where you can adjust the seats to your requirements – and with them all down, you create a vast load area. A pair of panoramic glass roofs with electric sun blinds is fitted, with the rear one offering both rows of passengers the opportunity to look at the sky above. 

Power for the Tempest edition comes from the same 345bhp in-line six-cylinder diesel that’s used in all versions of the Discovery. It’s a strong performer with plenty of torque from low revs, and means the Disco is a formidable towing machine. There’s a healthy 700Nm of torque on tap, so the maximum permitted towing weight of 3.5 tonnes is shrugged off with ease.

When you’re not hauling, the powerplant still delivers strong performance, although in a world where there’s instant acceleration from even the smallest EVs on the market, the relaxed power delivery of the Discovery’s big diesel and eight-speed automatic means you have to be patient for it to get up to speed. But once running, there’s more than enough pace in a car with a kerbweight nearing 2.4 tonnes.

That mass, combined with a high driving position and air suspension that doesn’t feature any sporty driving modes, means the Discovery is a car that isn’t a focused performer in corners. There’s simply too much roll in the bends to make it very enjoyable. Instead, it’s best to revel in the comfort that the suspension has to offer.

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What’s really impressive is that the Discovery achieves all of this while still being a supremely capable off-roader, although the upmarket feel that the car now has means you’re likely to think twice before heading much further off road than a gravel driveway.

The lines are beginning to blur between Land Rover and Range Rover, because the comfort on offer in the Discovery means it’s not really playing catch-up with its plusher and more expensive siblings. Sure, it’s based on the previous-generation Range Rover platform, but the differences between it and the current models aren’t significant, and the Discovery will make a capable and spacious long-distance cruiser that has room for seven and some of their stuff. 

The Tempest model offers plenty of equipment, while at £83,000 it still costs less than a Range Rover or Range Rover Sport but offers more space inside than either car. However, while the extras are nice to have, it doesn’t do any more than less expensive variants.