Driven: Land Rover Discovery XXV Special Edition Review
Meet the Land Rover Discovery XXV Special Edition. This Land Rover is the 25th anniversary edition of the Discovery range.
What is it about?
The Discovery is Land Rover’s answer to the luxury adventure vehicle. The Discovery XXV is based on the existing HSE Luxury specification and comes finished in bespoke Causeway Grey paint. It gets Narvik Black grille surrounds and mirror caps, as well as full-length silver roof rails. Unique 20inch alloys, and XXV badging on the front doors and tailgate are also fitted. The extra touches make this legendary car look fantastic and I’m sure it will be admired by many Land Rover enthusiasts.
The Discovery XXV is said to deliver the best off-road driving experience but with plenty of luxury. The exterior design of the car is very appealing, with lots of feature points; I particularly like the 20inch alloys and stylish front headlight clusters.
How does it drive?
The Discovery XXV is fairly tall and has loads of room inside, and the driving experience is actually very similar to a Range Rover; giving you that high up commander feel.
Driving the Discovery XXV with the 3.0-litre diesel engine you instantly notice it has plenty of torque, specifically 600Nm of it. This torque manages to launch the Discovery from 0-60mph in 8.8secs, and has a top speed of 112mph. For this form factor the figures are very impressive indeed, but the best news is that the performance doesn’t come at a price as the economy is just as good at around 35mpg combined.
Taking the Discovery XXV out on a windy test road, it was very responsive, by my off-road vehicle standards, and didn’t suffer from excessive body-roll even with its off-road ready suspension.
Owners of off-roaders love that high driving position, which gives you a feeling of security and superiority, and the Discovery XXV defiantly delivers this experience. The Discovery still feels similar to previous Discovery models, and gives you the feeling that you can go anywhere and take on any terrain.
The Discovery XXV can also be a calm, refined car when driven on the road, and delivers a peaceful and relaxing way of travelling around.
What’s it like inside?
Inside, the Discovery XXV is brilliantly designed and laid out. As with all premium Land Rovers, the quality of materials used is great and they have certainly come a long way from the Discovery’s early days.
Luxuries inside include Cirrus Windsor leather seats with XXV embossed headrests, front and rear heated seats, Grand Black Lacquer finish on dash surrounds, extended Windsor leather door armrests, and premium carpet mats with XXV stitching.
The practicalities that you would expect from this car are also high achieving. Open the boot and the load space is a whopping 1,260 litres, and there is also a low load lip making it easy to get things in and out.
The Discovery XXV model tested also had plenty of technology installed; one notable feature was the Adaptive Xenon headlamps with Automatic High Beam Assist (AHBA). This system optimally lights up the road using Xenon headlights and will even steer the headlights into corners as you turn into them, it will also turn on and off high-beam as and when required.
The Experience
The experience of owning the Discovery XXV is remarkable. Behind the wheel of the special edition you feel like you want the terrain to turn rough, just so you can demonstrate how good the car is. There are loads of great practical features built into the car, and there is plenty of room for business, pleasure, and the family.
One of the main reasons I like the Discovery XXV Special Edition is how capable the car is, it is a go anywhere car. The XXV has been built on 25 years of continual improvement and is now the show piece for Land Rover off-road legacy.
Verdict
The Discovery has been a staple car from Land Rover for years, and with the 25th anniversary edition they have really hit it home with the ultimate Discovery. The XXV special edition is based on the HSE Luxury edition, but if you are a diehard lover of Land Rover Discoverys the XXV is the one to own.
Specification
- Price: £64,790
- Engine: 3.0-Litre SDV6 TD
- Power: 256bhp
- Torque: 600Nm
- Transmission: 8 Speed ZF Automatic
- 0-62mph: 8.8 Seconds
- Top speed: 112mph
- Weight: 2,570kg
- Economy combined: 35mpg
- CO2: 213g/km
Author: Paul Hadley
