Land Rover Discovery running costs and reliability
Miles per pound (mpp) ⓘ
| Petrol engines | 3.4 - 4.0 mpp |
|---|---|
| Diesel engines | 3.6 - 4.5 mpp |
Fuel economy ⓘ
| Petrol engines | 23 - 27.5 mpg |
|---|---|
| Diesel engines | 28.3 - 35.1 mpg |
- Not particularly economical
- Diesel versions are the best of the bunch
- Up-front servicing plans available
What are the running costs?
No versions of this large, heavy and powerful SUV are particularly economical. Officially on the WLTP score, the D250 uses the least fuel. According to the test, it will do 33.5-33.8mpg, and we reckon that those figures are nearly achievable, although in real-life it’s probably more like 31-32mpg. The more powerful D300 scores similarly on the official rating, but in our testing we rarely saw as high as 30mpg. Certainly if you don’t do a lot of motorway driving you can expect more like 25-27mpg.
The P360’s representative figures suggest it can do 26.5mpg, but we think you’ll struggle to get much more than 25mpg.
Servicing and warranty
Land Rover offers a number of service plans, which are designed for cost-effective maintenance of new and approved-used vehicles up to 10 years old with fixed up-front payments. You can make a one-off payment or spread the cost with monthly payments. Service plans are transferable between owners as long as the schedule is adhered to via Land Rover dealers.
The Defender comes with Land Rover’s standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty. This is the same as the Audi Q7, while the BMW X7 comes with an unlimited mileage warranty.
Reliability
- Discovery reliability is not a strong point
- Owners complain about tech
- Feels well screwed together though
The Land Rover Discovery’s reliability doesn’t have a stellar reputation. Land Rover’s build quality has improved in recent years, but it lags behind the best Japanese opposition, and is on a par with the more complex Germans.
The company has some way to go in customer satisfaction surveys and it didn’t make it into our most reliable (new and used) cars list.
The car has been subject to several recalls and while our owners’ reviews are mainly positive, several people complain about the reliability of the technology.
Ongoing running costs
| Road tax | £305 - £710 |
|---|---|
| Insurance group | 33 - 45 |
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Land Rover Discovery profile
Land Rover Discovery rear
Land Rover Discovery driving
Land Rover Discovery driving
Land Rover Discovery driving
Land Rover Discovery driving
Land Rover Discovery interior
Land Rover Discovery Pivi Pro
Land Rover Discovery rear seats
Land Rover Discovery middle seats
Land Rover Discovery boot with two front seats in place
Land Rover Discovery boot
