Land Rover Discovery 3

The car that consolidated Land Rover’s renaissance, but this time more in the ‘medium affordable’ sector. The seven-seat Disco 3 makes the boring people carrier a no-cost option when you can get into one for ‘only’ $65,000. And it’s a great car too.

• Comfort

  Getting pretty close to Range Rover levels of comfort with the Discovery, even with the diesel engine. It's quiet enough, capable of cruising at respectable speeds and has plenty of room. Try not to think of the Discovery as an off-roader that's been civilised, because it really is so much more than that.

  

• Performance

  Only range of engines including the throaty 4.4-litre, 220kW V8. There's also a 2.7-litre V6 turbodiesel called TDV6. It works superbly with either gearbox but the 6-speed auto is preferable because this isn't a sports car no matter how much you squint. Saying that, the TDV6 seems to get the best out of the diesel's 140kW and 445Nm. It doesn't sound like much, and it's not quick, but there's a friendliness to it that you just can't shake.

  

• Cool

   Too common to be truly cool. But respectable. A bit like Marks and Spencer.

  

• Quality

  A lovely interior. Closer to the Rangie than the Defender, everything in here feels chunky and well-sorted. It might not be quite as luxurious as the Range Rover, but there's a sense that Land Rover wants to be taken seriously. There have been issues with door seals and various bits'n'bobs on the earlier cars, but those reliability problems have been sorted.

  

• Handling

  The Disco is unusual in that instead of a monocoque chassis (good for on-road work) or a ladder-frame chassis (good for off-road work) it has, um, both. Such engineering makes it extremely heavy, but it still manages to be one of the best drives in class. The steering's pretty good for an SUV, the air suspension manages to keep the ride both supple and taut and it can do off-road like no other thanks to the ‘Terrain Response'system.

  

• Practicality

  Go for the seven-seat option and you'll be in for a treat. Both rear seats fold away individually into the floor and are capable of carrying a proper full-size human. The boot's big with them folded (making it a five-seater) at 535litres - even more so with everything flat-packed and the Disco doing a van impersonation. Stadium rear seating means the kids can see what's going on.

  

• Running costs

  You won't get much better than 10.4L/100km form the TDV6 (it's the weight) but insurance is relatively low. At $65,000 it feels like a lot of car for the cash.