Member Since: 23 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
D5 review after 500 miles
I have had the D5 for a few days now and did 400 miles in it yesterday so here are a few more thoughts.
The car as a whole is very nice to drive, smooth, quick and a lot stiffer in the corners that the D4
Ride quality on the 22” wheels is very very good, I guess 21, 20” or eve 19” would make it even better
Driver’s seat is very comfortable but took a while to get it how I like as there is a lot of adjustment available
Heated and cooled seats are lovely and it is nice you can choose base, back or both to be heated or cooled.
HV as a whole is very very good with quick heating from cold start and temp seems more accurate compared to the D4, D4 I used to have set at 24 to be comfortable the D5 seems more like 21 t be comfortable
Instrument panel is clear and the speedo and rev counter can be seen completely which is much better than my D4
Steering is precise but when the lane dispatcher vibration is activated it feels stiff or seized, turn it off and the steering feels very different. The steering wheel takes a lot of getting used to it is thinner and squarer than the D4, at first was not keen but the more I drive it the more I like it
Wipers and washers on the front are very good and the spray across the front screen is very good leaving a clean screen. However a line dries on the screen where the passenger wiper turns to go back down, roughly vertical from the interior mirror down the screen, never had this before on a car but it is the same or similar on Marks Ibiza
The rear wiper and wash are very good. The washer operates two squirts with a short gap in between, the wiper is two speed, wipe one way then stop for a short time before returning or continuous, very nice touch and very effective.
Rear end is not improved with regards to spray/dirt even with the spoiler, it collects as much dirt as the D4 did.
Boot gesture opening is very good once you get used to how it works.
LED lights are fantastic and very bright, HBA seems fairly good as well, front fog lights do not seem to give out much light will have to wait for fog to see how they actually are
Stereo is fantastic, the Meridian sound is really nice and a massive improvement on the Meridian system in the D4, the DAB radio is also vastly improved with much better reception. The D4 did not work on DAB around where I live the D5 is faultless so far
Reversing view from inside the car is not as good as the wide “C” post restricts this slightly but that is not a major issue using the door mirrors.
The cameras and 360 degree view are all very good
The interior mirror is odd, it seems smaller than the D4 and had no frame, not sure if I like it or not it may be just that it is different
Storage in the boot area is not as good as the D4, the side panels that could be removed and things put in there are missing and this is a shame but not a deal breaker
Sat Nav is very good, quick and accurate, speed camera alerts are spot on to the meter and the roads seem very up to date
Washing the car seems a lot easier due to the curves
One last thing, the testicle cooler vent under the steering column is not there on the D5MY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
MY15 D4 HSE Kaikoura Stone
MY12 D4 HSE Nara Bronze Sold and gone
MY11 D4 HSE Stornaway Grey Sold and gone
D3 S spec Silver Sold and gone
Tow bar, full length roof bars, side steps, tow bar storage unit, surround camers.
D4 camera club
5th Mar 2017 8:05 pm
J77
Member Since: 03 Mar 2008
Location: Fife
Posts: 6272
Fair review
Can't wait to get mine.23.5MY Defender 90 X-Dynamic SE D250 MHEV Pangea Green
5th Mar 2017 8:18 pm
Russell
Member Since: 23 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
The more I drive it the more I like it and the bigger I getMY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
MY15 D4 HSE Kaikoura Stone
MY12 D4 HSE Nara Bronze Sold and gone
MY11 D4 HSE Stornaway Grey Sold and gone
D3 S spec Silver Sold and gone
Tow bar, full length roof bars, side steps, tow bar storage unit, surround camers.
D4 camera club
5th Mar 2017 8:21 pm
Rd450
Member Since: 26 Jan 2014
Location: Aberdeenshire
Posts: 29
Seems to be a lot of comments on the rear seats being lower, what's your thoughts Russell?
5th Mar 2017 8:28 pm
adam
Member Since: 20 Sep 2005
Location: Home and Happy
Posts: 6917
Sounds nice - enjoy
5th Mar 2017 8:30 pm
sycove
Member Since: 25 Mar 2015
Location: Burntisland
Posts: 396
Ball vent is a deal breaker for me, thats the best piece of design since the curry hook
5th Mar 2017 8:32 pm
Russell
Member Since: 23 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
Yes but you have cool seats that are even betterMY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
MY15 D4 HSE Kaikoura Stone
MY12 D4 HSE Nara Bronze Sold and gone
MY11 D4 HSE Stornaway Grey Sold and gone
D3 S spec Silver Sold and gone
Tow bar, full length roof bars, side steps, tow bar storage unit, surround camers.
D4 camera club
5th Mar 2017 8:37 pm
Russell
Member Since: 23 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
Rd450 wrote:
Seems to be a lot of comments on the rear seats being lower, what's your thoughts Russell?
I have not travelled in them yet but have sat in them while playing with the RSE and had no issues with them, plenty of leg roomMY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
MY15 D4 HSE Kaikoura Stone
MY12 D4 HSE Nara Bronze Sold and gone
MY11 D4 HSE Stornaway Grey Sold and gone
D3 S spec Silver Sold and gone
Tow bar, full length roof bars, side steps, tow bar storage unit, surround camers.
D4 camera club
5th Mar 2017 8:39 pm
JackNorris
Member Since: 06 Jul 2012
Location: Beds/Bucks Border
Posts: 1879
Cheers Russell, Good interesting read.MY2023 Discovery 5 R-Dynamic 3.0
MY2020 Discovery 5 Landmark 3.0 - SOLD
MY2005 Discovery 3 V8 4.4 HSE - SOLD
MY2019 Discovery 5 SE 3.0 - LR Replaced !
MY2005 Discovery 3 S 2.7 - SOLD
MY2016 Discovery 4 Graphite - SOLD
MY2015 Discovery 4 SE Tech - SOLD
5th Mar 2017 10:20 pm
robpenrose
Member Since: 12 Jan 2016
Location: Surrey / SW London
Posts: 2138
What's your fuel consumption like Russel? Any real life figures?
Also what's the tank range link in real life?
Current: D4 HSE
Previous: BMW Z4M Coupe
Previous: Land Rover Defender 90 CSW Td5
Previous: Land Rover Discovery Td5 ES
6th Mar 2017 6:20 am
petersw
Member Since: 17 Nov 2012
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 1135
Hi Russell thanks for the report.
Is your "stereo" the £1000 uprage or the standard Meridian ?Peter
6th Mar 2017 6:33 am
sycove
Member Since: 25 Mar 2015
Location: Burntisland
Posts: 396
Do the front seats slide forward when the 2nd row is lowered for 3rd row access?
6th Mar 2017 6:57 am
nestu
Member Since: 12 Sep 2011
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 392
A smaller engine....
What's the on road performance like ?
Not 0-60 times.....but 35-40 through to 70....
Pick up on overtaking or keeping pace with normal traffic ?
For what I use my D3 for (lots of load carrying & HD towing) a 2 litre probably won't be ideal
What about passenger comfort in the secind row seats ?.... the other thing I do is carry adult sized 5'10" passengers long distances ...... drove 300 miles yesterday doing just that.BREXIT - done properly.
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D3 HSE-perfectly formed, passenger friendly...has real DIPSTICK
Jag XK-but sadly no DIPSTICK...HUGE design fault
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6th Mar 2017 7:48 am
Russell
Member Since: 23 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
robpenrose wrote:
What's your fuel consumption like Russel? Any real life figures?
Also what's the tank range link in real life?
Cannot say what fuel economy is really like as it has spent hours sat on drive running while playing with all the gadgets and trying to learn what each does.
What I can say is at 70 mph it is sitting at 1600 rpm and at 80 it sits at 1950 rpm.
Indicated figures are around the 32 mpg but that is indicated not true tank to tank fill up. Will give those figures in a few weeks time.MY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
MY15 D4 HSE Kaikoura Stone
MY12 D4 HSE Nara Bronze Sold and gone
MY11 D4 HSE Stornaway Grey Sold and gone
D3 S spec Silver Sold and gone
Tow bar, full length roof bars, side steps, tow bar storage unit, surround camers.
D4 camera club
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