- PeterW
- Member Since: 07 Sep 2016
- Location: Norfolk
- Posts: 595
Hi Andrew in "the race" I know you had sport on mode & dsc Off but did you have Auto response terrain on ?
Peter
HSE 3.0 V6 Diesel Corris Grey
- NoDo$h
- Member Since: 24 Apr 2017
- Location: Ciderspace
- Posts: 5
Here's my take on the two as a 3rd row passenger
DiscoStu and I sat in the back of the D5 for 50 miles from Donegal to just south of Derry, then did the return trip in the D4. The return took a lot longer due to traffic, roughly 100 minutes versus 70 on the outbound leg.
For those who don't know me, I'm 5'6", have a 29" inside leg, 36" waist and 42" chest, so not the exactly a giant amongst men. I'm giving all the dimensions as it hopefully gives some context to the following.
D5.
Entry. After the initial wow of the electric folding seats there's a slow realisation that you have to fit yourself through the gap that's presented you. It's very tight to get your foot in to the gap and is hampered by a relatively low ceiling . Remember we were all suited and booted for a wedding, so it's possible I would have been a little more flexible in jeans and a t-shirt, but I doubt it.
Seat comfort. All of your weight is placed on your lower back and the rear of your buttocks. There is simply no way to get your thighs on the seat to support your weight, and you struggle to brace yourself with your feet as there is very little room under the middle row. There's a lot of headroom, but it has been achieved by dropping the seat cushion way too low.
There's nil lateral support/sculpting and the seats are very hard, so corners see you grimacing and bracing with your fellow sufferer. In addition the sides of the boot floor have very restrictive plastic ledges that press into your knee/thigh as you brace for corners. After 30 miles we begged Andrew to stop and switched to the middle row seats as we were both suffering some pretty severe lower back pain. Sadly these also lack any meaningful sculpting or lateral support so you still find yourself bracing on corners. Similarly you are hard pushed to get your thighs flat on the seat cushion as the seat bases are too low. As with the 3rd row, headroom is fantastic, but has been achieved by lowering the seat base. With Mrs Dosh 5'6" and size 12/14 in the car too, we were very squeezed as three adults in row 2 and I ended up sat at an angle to give her room in the central seat.
There were some positives:. Noise levels were very low and it was extremely easy to have a conversation between front and row 3 without the need to shout or repeat. The stadium view was also very good, no doubt due to the overall forward tilt design of the car.
Exiting the rear. Less said the better. Neither graceful nor controlled! It's a very tight gap.
After 2 hours on a wooden pew and the Irish ritual of drowning your wedding guests in tea after the service r, we jumped into the D4 for the return leg to Donegal. Same route, but more holdups so took longer.
D4
Entry to row 3. Much easier. The gap you step through is wider and the floor to roof height greater.
Comfort. Thighs are flat on the squab, seat naturally positioned, and the seats are shaped to hold you with moderate side bolsters. We sat in row 3 the whole way back and we're so comfortable that at one point we both nodded off! No need to ask to sit in row 2 as neither of us suffered any back pain or other issues.
Ride was less supple with more roll. Hard to tell on noise levels as Gareth treated us to Adele and some intimate moments with the subwoofer just as Stuff nodded off for the second time.
Exit. As with entry, the higher roof and wider entry made exit a doddle.
In summary, I wanted to like the D5 and on many levels I did. It's clearly a car aimed at families where it will be teens and younger in the back, with the rear seats only for occasional use, and for this it will be superb. D3/4 was over-engineered to seat 7 adults across continents and while I have undertaken 1 such journey (in over 200,000miles of D3 ownership) I can quite see how JLR have dialled back on this excess of seating capacity.
So if that's your likely use, I think you may want to give D5 a try. If your family runs to more than 3 teens, it is going to be a squeeze. I would recommend asking for a decent test drive with the whole family, minimum 1 hour, if you are looking to buy it with the larger or older family in mind.
Would I buy a D5 over a late D4 if I had the funds? Probably not. I will be waiting for the Defender replacement. My use case and needs may differ wildly from yours so don't think for a second I'm saying it is a bad car. It's just is not right for me.
- PeterW
- Member Since: 07 Sep 2016
- Location: Norfolk
- Posts: 595
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[quote="AndrewS"]No as my car does not have this feature.
The Race was a bit of fun on a beach so was not a real test, I was surprised at the fact that the D4 easily held its own against the D5 0 to 60. I think that in a 50 to 70 test the D5 would win
We covered over 1000 miles and the D5 never missed .........
quote
Didn't know that Andrew
Looking on the D4 it side looks like you had a great time good to read :thumbsup
Peter
HSE 3.0 V6 Diesel Corris Grey
- NoDo$h
- Member Since: 24 Apr 2017
- Location: Ciderspace
- Posts: 5
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I've been thinking back to the discomfort in the middle row as my wife initially found it ok when she was the sole occupant. I say ok, as the lack of lateral support was still an issue.
I think the reason I struggled to get my legs flat in row 2 was due to sitting at a skew instead of dead ahead. I was the last to get in, and mindful that my wife has problems with her back wanted to ensure she had enough room/comfort. Would be keen to get DiscoStu's recollection of row 2.
- PeterW
- Member Since: 07 Sep 2016
- Location: Norfolk
- Posts: 595
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Did you adjust the reclining positions?
I find it better more upright.
Peter
HSE 3.0 V6 Diesel Corris Grey
- NoDo$h
- Member Since: 24 Apr 2017
- Location: Ciderspace
- Posts: 5
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I tried row 2 a little more reclined, which would be great on long motorway trips, but not so much on winding Irish roads. I returned it to it's normal position, which was better. Once it returned to default I stopped. Is there a more upright position? If so I suspect it would have helped.
- PeterW
- Member Since: 07 Sep 2016
- Location: Norfolk
- Posts: 595
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"they" have set the recline at maximum upright position using switch at the bottom, that's what is most popular in my car
Peter
HSE 3.0 V6 Diesel Corris Grey
- J77
- Member Since: 07 Jun 2016
- Location: Fife
- Posts: 1008
It's nice to get some real world feedback, I have yet to use the back seats for any length of time, found them ok on short distances. Friday I've got an 880 mile round trip to Romford, so will put my Brother in the back.
18MY Velar R-Dynamic SE D240 Fuji White
- Gareth
- Member Since: 27 Apr 2016
- Location: Bramhall
- Posts: 69
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Here's a movie I put together from the GoPro Clips. Enjoy!
- PeterW
- Member Since: 07 Sep 2016
- Location: Norfolk
- Posts: 595
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Excellent.
The lights are cool
Peter
HSE 3.0 V6 Diesel Corris Grey
- Wineman
- Member Since: 25 Jan 2017
- Location: Kent U.K. / Servian France
- Posts: 33
Where is this filmed? Looks lovely!
2017 Disco5 First Edition (On Order)
2013 Disco4 HSE Luxury / 2012 Disco4 HSE
