In showrooms.

[greg-g]

I’m surprised there hasn’t been more recent comment about the D5.

My local dealer has a TD6 HSE for all to drool over, but it can’t be driven until the 24th

Initial thoughts are that it’s brilliant from the windscreen back, but there is so much bulk up front. Vision over the bonnet in difficult conditions will be interesting, but maybe the forward camera will alleviate the issue.

I just wish it was a bit smaller.

[Arapiles]

I’m surprised there hasn’t been more recent comment about the D5.

My local dealer has a TD6 HSE for all to drool over, but it can’t be driven until the 24th

Initial thoughts are that it’s brilliant from the windscreen back, but there is so much bulk up front. Vision over the bonnet in difficult conditions will be interesting, but maybe the forward camera will alleviate the issue.

I just wish it was a bit smaller.

I had a look at the D5 last weekend. I get that when a new, quite different, model comes out current owners can be reticent and that's to be expected. But the truth is that the third row of the D4 really is a better place to be than the D5 - because of the D4's low waist line and the theatre seating - and for people like me who would have small kids in the third row all the time that's a real issue and a compelling reason to not buy a D5. The rear of the D5 really is claustrophobic.

The official line is that the changes were necessary, but if you ask people using D4s as family cars why they like the D4 they'll point to the low waistline so kids can see out, the square bonnet making judging where the corners are easy, the relatively compact length and the split tailgate. All of which the D5 has dumped. And I guess that most of those same points are valued off-road and touring too ...

I'm currently trying to buy a D4 and one dealer told me he would put me on a list of people to contact when a good D4 came in ... one HSE we saw on a Saturday, when it had just come in and hadn't been through the workshop or been been detailed, was sold by the Wednesday!

So, it looks like the current owners of D4s may not be that keen on the D5, but they D5 does make sense compared to a Q7 or similar.

[shanegtr]

I was at Uluru two days after the Australian launch. I first seen one parked up with the "all new discovery" signs around it and thought thats a bit odd. Then when I was driving the other way there was a couple of guys in a carpark madly waving at me and they where surrounded by a heap of the D5's. I was going to try and have a look at one but by the time I done the touristy thing they where all gone

[Arapiles]

I'm currently trying to buy a D4 and one dealer told me he would put me on a list of people to contact when a good D4 came in ... one HSE we saw on a Saturday, when it had just come in and hadn't been through the workshop or been been detailed, was sold by the Wednesday!

Another one missed ... the dealer emailed me photos at 9.45am, when I rang at 2.30pm it had been sold about half an hour earlier. So, it was on the market for just over 4 hours.

[TB]

I went over to Austral LR this afternoon and had a poke around on their demo D5s. Found a few interesting things to share.

1. I'm a tall bugger – around 6' 5" – and in the D5 with sunroof I couldn't sit up fully straight even with the seat at its lowest. In the model without sunroof I could feel my hair brush the roof lining but there was adequate space for me to live with it. Just.

2. When the rear end suspension is lowered and the tailgate is opened to full height, the pointy corner of the tailgate is at exactly the same height as the middle of my forehead (with shoes on my feet). Raise the suspension using the button in the left of the boot and I can walk clear under the whole thing.

3. The HSE spec has a storage space behind the climate control panel, you've probably heard about it. It's very small. Good for a phone, a small wallet, a pen... that sort of thing.

4. HSE also has a storage box under the cupholders in the centre console. It's smaller than the impression you get from marketing but it's definitely a useful space and you'll be jealous of it if you just buy an SE. There's a light and power in there too.

5. The interior feels better built than my Discovery Sport. Hopefully that means it'll rattle less.

6. The 3rd row does fold totally flat with a bit of weight on it. The seat cushions just need to compress a little. The second row seats get to within a few degrees of flat but not quite there.

7. There are two stretchy pockets on the backs of each of the front seats, not just one. And the bottle holders in the rear doors are much more usable than the ones in the DS.

8. The boot opening is vertical from floor level up to the height of the 2nd row seat backs. There will be no problem at all putting a good set of drawers etc in there or carrying big boxy things up to that height. Combine that with a rear cage and maybe some tie down points on top of the drawers... it's not crippled by any means.

9. There's a significant void space on the left side of the boot under the window – the floor extends to the left of your hypothetical drawers, by memory roughly half a meter long and close to 20cm wide, with a ramped ceiling coming over roughly 30-40cm high. I think it'll be large enough to hold a second battery in a suitable box. Depending on the wiring arrangements I can imagine that becoming a common approach. I'm even a little surprised it's not an official LR option and wondering if the designers had exactly this in mind.

10. The supplied scissor jack is situated vertically in a roomy compartment just in front of the right side tail lights. I have a suspicion that you'll be able to fit a bottle jack in that same space.

11. The moulded Styrofoam piece that holds all the accessories in the boot well is easily removed. The space it sits in is completely sealed and would be suitable for your own tool bag and bits and pieces. And the tyre winder, though still a spinning hook rather than a nut, is hidden underneath not one but two sealed rubber grommets to prevent dust and possibly water intrusion.

12. There's a whole lotta space between the very round front bumper and grille and the front of the radiator. I reckon the radiator is about level with the leading edge of the front tyres. Makes sense as a crumple zone but it's definitely a cost in terms of usable under-bonnet space, driver awareness of the car's physical boundaries and repair prices if something happens to violate those boundaries.

13. Oh, nearly forgot. The little lower internal tailgate flap thing is really cool and super sturdy. I could imagine it being really helpful to stop luggage or shopping falling out when you open the back. You could definitely spend time sitting on it without getting your bum all dirty on the rear bumper. Lower the suspension to make it a friendlier height if you're not freaky tall like me. And the motor (if you get the motorised one) seems to be inside the flap itself – the anchor wires on each side retract into the flap rather than into the car's interior.

[AllTerr]

I was at Uluru two days after the Australian launch. I first seen one parked up with the "all new discovery" signs around it and thought thats a bit odd. Then when I was driving the other way there was a couple of guys in a carpark madly waving at me and they where surrounded by a heap of the D5's. I was going to try and have a look at one but by the time I done the touristy thing they where all gone

Wonder if this is what you saw:

Land Rover Discovery: The Rise Of A New Urban Warrior

[shanegtr]

Thats the ticket, theres plenty of other aussie reviews out there from to launch as well