Used Land Rover Discovery long-term test: report 1

Our deputy editor thinks that by choosing a used company car, he can live the high life on a budget – over the new few months, we'll see if that's the case...

Darren Moss

Published08 December 2025

The car Land Rover Discovery D350 35th Edition Run by Darren Moss, deputy editor

Why it’s here To show that you don’t have to buy new to enjoy big-car luxury

Needs to Be both practical and comfortable for family trips, cosseting on the motorway and unflinchingly reliable

Mileage on arrival 12,087 Mileage now 12,766 List price when new £82,925 Value on arrival £65,900 Official economy 33.4mpg Test economy 31.2mpg Options Towing Pack (£1615), Full-size spare wheel (£1010), 20-way heated leather seats (£800), Safety Tracker Pro (£530), 22in alloy wheels (£500), Cold Climate Pack (£310)

29 November 2025 – Luxury on a budget

There’s a lot to be said for living within your means, but by thinking a little outside the box, I think you can live slightly beyond them. A case in point is the Land Rover Discovery that’s currently parked underneath my flat. I would never be able to afford such a car new (not without remortgaging my home and selling most of my belongings, anyway) but by going for a used model, I’ve been able to.

Specifically, this Discovery is from Land Rover’s Approved Used scheme. That means it’s been through a 165-point inspection process and comes with a year’s worth of free roadside assistance, among other things. And that’s gone a long way towards giving me peace of mind.

But why might I otherwise be concerned? Well, Land Rover’s reliability record is, shall we say, a bit spotty. True, the brand’s performance in the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey showed definite signs of improvement, with its average score nudging north of 90%. However, it still finished only 26th out of the 30 manufacturers included. Meanwhile, the Discovery ranked towards the bottom of the seven-seaters list for dependability, being beaten by the current Kia Sorento and Mercedes GLB, among others.

Still, I’m hoping that coming from Land Rover’s own Approved Used stock, my Discovery will be issue free. And indeed, looking at it as I collected it from one of the swanky handover bays at the brand’s flagship West London dealership, you’d think it was new.

Specifically, I’ve got a 35th Edition model, which was built – you guessed it – to celebrate 35 years of the Discovery name and comes loaded with standard kit. This includes 22in alloy wheels, heated, cooled and massaging front seats, four-zone climate control and a head-up display to put the most relevant information in my line of sight.

Land Rover Discovery LT – being talked through car

Nevertheless, the car’s original owner decided to raid the options list for the Towing Pack (for an electrically deployable tow bar) and the Cold Climate Pack (which includes heated washer jets that should be useful now the weather is getting colder). Plus, they added a full-size spare wheel (in place of the standard space saver), 20-way electrically adjustable seats and a security tracker.

These days there’s no choice of engine with the Discovery; the only one available is a 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel, badged D350. Still, its official 0-62mph time of 5.9sec is in the same league as diesel-engined versions of the rival Audi Q7 and BMW X5. Plus, it’s paired with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, which should hopefully make that performance feel effortless.

What it doesn’t, sadly, appear to do is make the Discovery especially economical. The official figure is 33.4mpg, and so far my real-world economy is hovering around the 30mpg mark. Coming to the Discovery from the hybrid Toyota RAV4 I ran previously, the increased running costs have been a bit of a shock.

Land Rover Discovery LT behind the wheel

Still, the kids – not footing the fuel bill – think we’ve won the lottery. They’ve never had so much space to stretch out from the comfort of their child car seats, and are enjoying just how high up the Discovery places them. It’s something I love as the driver, too, because I can see over most other cars. Combined with the throne-like driver’s seat, it makes me feel like the king of the road.

So far, I’ve also been impressed by how well the Discovery’s standard-fit air suspension smoothes out lumps and bumps. That’s particularly the case at higher speeds, and has helped to make our regular trips from London up to Stoke-on-Trent to see family a breeze. Meanwhile, on my commute to work I’ve found this big, heavy car surprisingly easy to thread along cramped city streets, thanks to accurate steering which, to my hands, is superbly weighted.

In the months ahead, I plan to put my Discovery to the test on the toughest of terrain – not least because every Approved Used Land Rover comes with a half-day off-road driving experience. Plus, back on the Tarmac there will no doubt be plenty of opportunities to fill the car with both people and things.

Here’s hoping I continue to feel like I’m living a luxury lifestyle on the cheap and that I don’t end up proving the old saying that you get what you pay for.

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