Land Rover Discovery Commercial van review (2024)

• Powerful diesel engines
• Very comfortable ride
• Car-like handling

The Land Rover Discovery Commercial was originally available with a choice of two diesel engines – a 2.0-litre four-cylinder and a 3.0-litre six-cylinder. Now, however, Land Rover sells only the D300 3.0-litre six-cylinder model, which now features mild-hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) technology.

Land Rover Discovery Commercial SD4 engine details

The four-cylinder motor is called the SD4, and it produces 240hp and 430Nm – more than enough for most tasks, so don't necessarily be put off if you're looking at a used example.

The Land Rover Discovery is not, and has never been a lightweight vehicle, and its engines are designed to more than cope with this. This SD4 Commercial variant has an unladen weight of 2,287kg, for example, and can still accelerate 0-62mph in 8.7 seconds.

Still, if you do need more performance, the six-cylinder engines will be happy to oblige.

Just remember that all versions of the Discovery Commercial are legally limited to the same speeds as vans.

Land Rover Discovery Commercial six-cylinder engine details

At launch in December 2017, the other Disco Commercial engine was a 258hp motor badged TD6. This was replaced in August 2018 by a newer SD6 engine with 306hp and a monster 700Nm of torque as part of what Land Rover refers to as the 2019MY (Model Year) update.

The SD6 has enough muscle to see 0-62mph disappear in 7.5 seconds, while the current D300 MHEV version introduced at the 2021MY update does 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds.

MHEV stands for mild hybrid electric vehicle, and means the diesel engine gets a modest amount of assistance from a small electric motor that replaces the conventional starter motor. This allows the engine to recover more energy when slowing down and switch off more quickly when coming to a stop (saving fuel), as well as restart faster and get a tiny electrical boost at low rpm.

Combined with the standard eight-speed automatic transmission, the D300 is a belter of an engine, offering huge performance with great refinement and smoothness. It's just yet another way in which the Disovery Commercial stands out from the ordinary van crowd.

What’s the Land Rover Discovery Commercial like to drive?

Even the SD4 version is quiet but powerful, and the standard-fit air suspension keeps cornering roll in check while taking the bite out of all but the worst road surfaces, bumps and potholes.

While we haven't fully taxed its payload rating, we've found that there was basically no discernible difference driving the Disco with and without a modest load on board; take the vehicle right up to its gross vehicle weight max (3,150kg for the D300) and we suspect that though you will notice the weight, the air suspension will still keep things very comfortable and controlled.

As part of the 2021MY facelift, Land Rover has retuned the chassis to improve the on-road driving experience - following customer feedback that claimed the previous version was too wallowy.

We have to say this never particularly bothered us, but the update has certainly sharpened things up a bit while retaining the comfortable long-distance ride comfort we always liked about the original.

This added on-road poise does help to differentiate the Disco Commercial further from the Land Rover Defender Hard Top, which embraces a slightly softer, rollier on-road approach as its priorities are even greater off-road performance.

Terrain Response system and Discovery Commercial off-road capability

The Discovery Commercial's air suspension is also used to vary the ground clearance, separately or as part of the Terrain Response system that comprehensively adapts the vehicle for on and off-road driving. This also alters accelerator response, differential settings and gearbox modes, maximising grip for a variety of surfaces.

In addition, the Disco has permanent four-wheel drive with high- and low-range gearing. You’ll actually have to try pretty hard to get stuck.

The eight-speed automatic transmission is superbly smooth when left to its own devices, but can be a touch slow to respond; fortunately, there are steering wheel-mounted paddleshifters (something the Defender misses out on), and the gearbox is very quick to react to them.

Off-road specifications

• Approach angle: 26.0 degrees
• Departure angle: 24.8 degrees
• Breakover angle: 21.2 degrees
• Ground clearance: 207mm
• Wading depth: 900mm

Note the wading depth in particular, which is higher as standard than some more extreme off-road-prepared pickups – take the Nissan Navara AT32, for example, which can wade to only 800mm with an optional snorkel accessory, still some 100mm less than the Land Rover.

• Fantastically high-quality cab and interior
• Even the load area is beautifully finished
• Plenty of high-tech features

Fair to say, you’ll have to search far and wide to find another light commercial vehicle with a cab interior as nice as the one in the Land Rover Discovery. Everything you touch is either soft or high quality.

All Commercial versions get leather upholstery and 12-way electrically adjustable seats, for crying out loud; from SE upwards they're 18-way adjustable.

The steering wheel also has a good range of adjustment, so you should be able to find a comfortable driving position without difficulty. The instruments and steering-wheel mounted controls are clear and easy to use.

You sit high, too, so forward visibility is good – though if you’re used to driving a car the letter box rear view may take a little adjusting to, as the inner sides of the Commercial version are fitted with ‘concealment panels’.

Heavily tinted exterior glass makes this difficult to spot, however, making the Commercial almost indistinguishable from other Discoverys from the outside.

Infotainment

The standard-fit infotainment systems manage to both look flash and be relatively intuitive to operate.

The original version was called InTouch Pro, and worked perfectly fine, but for the 2021MY facelift this was replaced by the very latest Land Rover Pivi Pro system, which includes twin eSIM connectivity and the ability to carry out Software-Over-The-Air (SOTA - also sometimes known more simply as OTA for Over-The-Air) updates. This may even reduce your dealer-visit downtime.

Pivi Pro is operated via a gorgeous 11.4-inch central touchscreen, and we found it easy enough to quickly get to grips with.

What’s different inside the Land Rover Discovery Commercial?

Up front the driver and passenger could be in a regular Disco, but the following two rows of seats are completely replaced by a flat load area that butts up against the bulkhead that’s part solid, part metal mesh.

The load area is quite high from the ground, as it matches the height of the boot floor, so getting heavier items on board may be a bit of an effort.

You’ll find additional storage below this load level, including locker-like cubbies that occupy the area where the base of the middle row of seats would have been, and are accessed through the rear side doors – which still open as per the standard vehicle.

As this suggests, the conversion here goes beyond the usual standard of commercial 4x4 adaptation you'll find in the likes of the equivalent Toyota Land Cruiser.

High-tech features inside the Land Rover Discovery Commercial

At the very rear, the load area of all Disco Commercials is accessed by a powered tailgate, operated via the keyfob or by pressing a button hidden in the rear number plate recess.

Once the main tailgate is open you’ll find there’s a secondary lip at the very end of the load compartment that acts as a handy blocker to stop items falling out; this is also power operated (automatically if you use the keyfob or by a button), and once folded down will happily double as a seat for an average-sized adult.

As well as the standard touchscreen infotainment system, from SE specification upwards, the Discovery Commercial is also fitted with a Wi-Fi hotspot and dual-zone climate control. The vehicle also has an unusually high level of smartphone integration, allowing you to operate some of its features via an app.

Full details of standard equipment can be found in the Costs and Value section of this review.

• High purchase price and around 30mpg
• Fixed-rate commercial vehicle tax
• Huge amount of standard kit

This is not a cheap vehicle to buy, but its intended audience will no doubt appreciate the level of sophistication and standard equipment it offers versus conventional vans, pickups and rival commercial 4x4s.

Land Rover Discovery Commercial fuel economy

Given its weight, the on-paper fuel economy is reasonable – ranging from a claimed 30-4-33.7mpg high from the 2.0-litre SD4 to a 28.7-31.7mpg from the 3.0-litre SD6.

This has increased slightly to 31.9mpg for the latest D300 MHEV engine.

All these figures are according to WLTP standards, which we've found to be reasonably accurate. Driven sensibly you can expect to see around 30mpg.

However full use of the available performance will see fuel economy plummet, as will consistently heavy payloads.

Land Rover Discovery Commercial warranty and service intervals

All Discovery Commercials come with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty. You also get three years’ of roadside assistance cover.

Service intervals for the four-cylinder engines are every 21,000 miles or two years, whichever is sooner.

Service intervals for the six-cylinder engines are every 16,000 miles or one year, whichever is sooner.

Land Rover offers various service plans to help with the cost of maintenance, which is likely to be higher with one of these than with a conventional light commercial vehicle.

You will also be limited to car-level main dealer servicing facilities, rather than the extended hours of operation an increasing number of van brands are offering.

Land Rover Discovery Commercial tax info

Since this Discovery is classified as a commercial vehicle it is subject to the same tax rules as any other van.

This is good news, as vans are taxed at a fixed rate in terms of company car tax and annual VED road tax – and both will work out much, much cheaper for the Discovery Commercial than a regular Discovery passenger car.

Land Rover Discovery Commercial standard equipment

The Disco Commercial has been offered in three trim levels: S, SE and HSE - though following the 2021MY update only SE and HSE are now offered.

Still, all models are extremely well equipped

For details of safety equipment see the Safety and Security section of this review.

Land Rover Discovery Commercial SE standard equipment highlights:

• 'Premium' LED headlights, LED taillights
• Heated, power-folding door mirrors with auto-dimming
• 21-inch alloy wheels with all-terrain tyres
• 18-way electrically adjustable heated seats
• Electrically adjustable steering column
• Leather upholstery
• Dual-zone climate control
• 11.4-inch touchscreen with Pivi Pro infotainment system
• 400W Meridian Sound System with 12 speakers and dual-channel subwoofer
• Smartphone Pack with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• Front and rear 12v USB charging ports
• 3D Surround Camera
• Cruise control and speed limiter
• All-wheel drive
• Electronic Air Suspension
• Adaptive Dynamics
• Terrain Response
• Fixed bulked
• Under-floor storage
• Powered inner tailgate

Land Rover Discovery Commercial HSE standard equipment highlights (in addition to SE):

• Matrix LED headlights
• Gesture control for powered tailgate
• 22-inch alloy wheels
• 20-way electrically adjustable seats, heated and cooled
• Windsor leather upholstery
• Premium cabin lighting
• 700W Meridian Surround Sound System with 14 speakers and dual-channel subwoofer
• Adaptive cruise control
• Additional safety kit (see Safety and Security section)

On top of all this, Land Rover has a considerable options list, which covers additional technology plus practical accessories such as roof bars and other stowage items.

Many of these options are available grouped together in various packs, which are good value compared with buying each item within them individually – just make sure you don’t end up inadvertently paying for more than you need.

For reference, the now discontinued Discovery Commercial S came this the following standard equipment highlights:

• Eight-speed automatic with twin-speed transfer box
• Air suspension
• Full-size spare wheel
• Powered upper and lower tailgate
• InControl Touch Pro infotainment system with Bluetooth (no sat-nav)
• 125W LR Audio sound system with DAB radio
• Cruise control and speed limiter
• 12-way electrically adjustable seats
• Leather upholstery
• Air-conditioning
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Rear-view camera
• Heated windscreen
• Heated door mirrors
• 19-inch alloy wheels

• Not the most reliable brand
• Some issues already
• Check the electronics work if buying used

Sad as it is to say, Land Rover is not a brand that has a particularly good reputation when it comes to reliability. And there have certainly been some teething quality control issues for this Discovery, with things like door seals (causing whistling noises at speed), as well as technical service bulletins (TSBs – like a manufacturer recall) to fix suspension and oil consumption problems.

There have been some official safety recalls, too, covering items such as fuel leaks, excessive CO2 emissions, crank pulley bolts and the autonomous emergency braking system. Most of these have been limited to small numbers of vehicles, though.

Electronics – a common Land Rover bugbear – are also proving occasionally troublesome, ranging from the power tailgate mechanism to the infotainment system.

This is symptomatic of ever-more complex modern vehicles, of course, and Land Rover is not alone in experiencing such issues. But when considering a Discovery as a Commercial vehicle remember that it has primarily been developed as a passenger car, and may not suit the absolute rigours of more vigorous commercial vehicle use.

Still, you do get a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty with breakdown assistance as standard.

• Excellent safety equipment levels
• Alarm fitted as standard

One of the advantages of car-based commercial vehicles is the level of safety equipment, which usually exceeds that fitted to a conventional van and pickup – and certainly, the Discovery Commercial is not short of gear in this category.

Land Rover Discovery Commercial safety equipment

All of the following safety kit is fitted as standard on every Land Rover Discovery Commercial (2021MY):

• Eight airbags (six or seven previously)
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Lane keep assist
• Driver condition monitor (watches for signs of tiredness)
• Tyre pressure monitors
• Dynamic stability control
• Roll stability control (designed to stop tall vehicles like this flipping over)
• Cornering brake control
• Speed-sensitive steering
• Hill-start assist
• Gradient acceleration control (stops speed increasing as you go downhill)
• Hill descent control (downhill speed limiter for off-road use)
• Trailer stability assist
• Isofix child seat mounting on the passenger seat
• Blind Spot Assist Pack, including blind spot monitors, exit monitors and rear traffic alert

Additional safety equipment fitted as standard on the Land Rover Discovery Commercial HSE (2021MY):

• Adaptive cruise control with stop and go capability
• Rear collision monitor

Land Rover Discovery Commercial security

All Discovery Commercials are fitted with an alarm and immobiliser.

As a car-derived commercial vehicle, the Disco doesn’t shout ‘I’m a van!’ at would-be thieves, and is perhaps therefore less likely to be targeted by opportunists looking for tools or other equipment to steal.

However, as its basis is a high-end vehicle, it may be targeted by car thieves instead.

So, as ever, we’d advise you avoid leaving anything inside the vehicle that you can’t afford to lose should the worst happen.