The Land Rover LR4, or Discovery as it’s known in other parts of the world, is the last vehicle in the Jaguar/Land Rover lineup to get a complete makeover. As we previously wrote, the current generation (boxy) LR4 should be getting replaced soon by a vehicle that’s based on the Discovery Vision concept; the LR2 has been replaced by the Discovery Sport.
In the meantime though, the Land Rover LR4 is available for sale for those that like the boxy look, and we spent a week behind the wheel of this very capable off-road vehicle.
The 2015 Land Rover LR4 is offered in three trims; the base model has a starting price of $59,900, step up to the mid trim LR4 HSE and the starting price is $63,590, and the range topping LR4 HSE LUX starts at $70,990 in Canada.
The Land Rover LR4 is powered by a supercharged 3.0 liter V6 engine producing 340 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 332 pound-feet of torque between 3,500 and 5,000 rpm. Power is sent to all four wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. The LR4 does the 0 – 100 km/h in 8.1 seconds (0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds).
The Land Rover Discovery/LR4 has been in production since 1989 and the overall silhouette of the vehicle is quite similar for all the different generations. The current generation Discovery 4/LR4’s body styling started in 2010 and is probably the best looking of all the generations. It’s a lot beefier looking, with a wider body, very distinct fenders, and tank-like stance. I referred to the LR4 is a tank, it feels like one and it has great road presence.
Over the last few years, Land Rover has upgraded the headlights with the inclusion of LED daytime running light strips within the lights, these lights are very eye catching and they turn quite a few heads. The LED trim really does give the LR4 a very modern looks.
On the road the LR4 is pretty civilized, it is a body-on-frame, so you do get a truck-like ride. I personally liked the relaxing feel of the soft suspension and it made going fast over speed bumps fund; no one wants to slow down for those pesky “sleeping policemen” and in the LR4 you don’t have to. The LR4 would be the perfect vehicle for areas with bad roads; I say roads because we all know a very small percentage of owners take these vehicles off the paved path.
Off in the wilderness, the LR4 is a very capable vehicle; a couple of years ago we went to a Land Rover off-road event and really put these vehicles through some challenging obstacles and through deep water. Check out our write up on the event here.
The LR4 comes with a height adjustable air suspension with 7.3” of ground clearance on normal setting and 9.4” of ground clearance on off-road setting. There’s a third suspension setting, which lowers the vehicle further for easy entry and exit to and from the vehicle.
The LR4 is also equipped with Land Rover’s Terrain Response system that comes with a variety of settings for driving on the road, snow, sand, and rocky terrain. Our test vehicle was also equipped with high and low range settings. The LR4 also came with 5 cameras placed around the vehicle, which are really handy for when/if you take it off-roading. The cameras let you see each corner of the vehicle, helping you avoid obstacles that you can’t see from where you’re sitting.
The interior on the Land Rover LR4 is a pretty luxurious place to spend time in; over the years Land Rover has made this vehicle quite luxurious. It’s not as plush as the Range Rover, but still a pretty nice place to spend your time.
The interior layout is pretty clean with easy to understand controls for the various functions. There’s a 7” touchscreen that displays the navigation and entertainment system information, it’s also the screen for the various cameras, and can also display contact information from your Bluetooth connected phone.
The heated power driver and passenger seats are very comfortable and are great for long journeys or rough off-road conditions. The seating position is really high, giving you great visibility of your surroundings; it made me feel like a king of the road.
The rear seats are also very comfortable with lots of leg room and over a foot of head room thanks to the raised roof. Our review LR4 come with TV screens for the second row passengers, mounted in the headrests of the front two seats. These are great for entertaining your passengers or kids on a long journey. If you have a couple of uninvited guests, there’s a small third-row seat, which is best left for emergency situations or kids.
Overall, I quite like the 2015 Land Rover LR4. It has a powerful engine that’s great for the daily commute and feels peppy on the highway. The high seating position really does help in seeing so much more of the road and I think it made me an even better/safer driver because I could see over cars and farther ahead. The LR4 is also a very capable off-road vehicle; we had some fun with in some sand and really rough roads we found in our city.
The Land Rover LR4 is probably one of the last body-on-frame vehicles you can buy in North America; I don’t know when this car will be replaced with a new one, but we can safely say it is the end of an era.
2015 Land Rover LR4 HSE Review Pictures
