- Road Runner 2017
- Member Since: 14 Jan 2017
- Location: Scotland
- Posts: 2010
Well am afraid I have never had the pleasure of owing a caravan, but like you say each van has different characteristics which makes sense. Typically trailers are all different as well but not as much a difference as caravans are. I do know that the smaller trailers tend too be harder too reverse than bigger ones, as they seem too jack knife quicker when reversing compared too the larger trailers. Not too mention single, twin and triple axle ones. Plus am pretty sure the majority of caravan owners on here are seasoned professionals not amatuers. Most probably it will be the new car that handles differently not their caravans. Possibly also jumping from a D4 too a D5 people assuming it will handle the same, but going by the feedback on here it's like chalk and cheese from some of the comments.
Well that's some van at 2500 kg. I take it is a 6 berth. I never realised that they came in that heavy. Nearly as heavy as the D4.
Well only vehicle I would be happy too safely pull anything that large would be the FFRR or the D4 /D5. Yes your right the Forester would struggle with that weight behind it. I just used the Forester for the smaller trailer towing 1 tonne max. If I needed too tow with the car transporter or for loads greater than 1.5 tonnes I only used the D4.
Last edited by Road Runner 2017 on 3rd May 2017 8:12 am. Edited 2 times in total
- jpi3418
- Member Since: 23 Feb 2017
- Location: Australia
- Posts: 17
Car Magazine Comparison Review May edition
It was great to see a comparison review at last in this months Car Magazine, but are the Audi Q7, Volvo XC90 and BMW X5 really true competitors? None of these vehicles have any off-road capability at all, so any comparison with them is really limited to on-road behaviour, and as that is all these cars have been designed for, they do it pretty well. Hence the Disco will always struggle when compared against more narrowly focussed rivals, so it was heartening to see Car place it equal with the Audi. In my own comparison, I found the Q7 to be like a reverse Tardis, massive on the outside (its well over 5m long), and cramped inside. As a 6' adult I couldn't sit in the 3rd row at all. The much hyped interior quality wasn't so evident to me, sure its nice, but after reading the press bang on about it I couldn't see what the fuss was about and for me it didn't outweigh the obvious packaging limitations. The Audi's engine is superior, but that will be addressed when the Ingenium 6 arrives next year which is when I'm looking to get my new Disco. At that point I think the Disco will stand head and shoulders above anything else on the market.
I think a converted campaign is needed by Disco drivers writing to the car magazines to force them to test the Disco5's true breadth of capability, i.e. take the Q7/X5/XC90 and their pretender ilk on a proper off-road course and highlight how pathetic they are, so their readers fully understand their limitations (and the superiority of the Disco). In Australia you'll see Discos in the most remote places, along with Land Cruisers, Patrols, Jeeps and 4WD utes, but you'll never see anything European off the blacktop, says it all really.
- sportcoupe
- Member Since: 29 Jan 2017
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Posts: 141
jpi3418 wrote:
..........
I think a converted campaign is needed by Disco drivers writing to the car magazines to force them to test the Disco5's true breadth of capability, i.e. take the Q7/X5/XC90 and their pretender ilk on a proper off-road course and highlight how pathetic they are, so their readers fully understand their limitations (and the superiority of the Disco). In Australia you'll see Discos in the most remote places, along with Land Cruisers, Patrols, Jeeps and 4WD utes, but you'll never see anything European off the blacktop, says it all really.:
I agree with the Q7/X5/XC90 being much less off road capable then the D5.
Maybe then should be comparing the D5 to the Porsche Cayenne? I'm not sure as I haven't drove a Cayenne yet.
Ordered - HSE 3.0 V6 Diesel Kaikoura Stone 20" Black pack + more.
2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon
- stuart_f
- Member Since: 06 Nov 2016
- Location: Aylesbury
- Posts: 133
The latest issue of Practical Caravan dropped onto the doormat over the weekend (that's the kind of rock and roll lifestyle I lead) where they did a brief review of the D5 and finished it by saying next month's edition is the annual tow car awards and expect a much fuller run-down of the D5 towing ability then.
- roverdawgpac
- Member Since: 30 Aug 2016
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Posts: 9
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Quote:
Here are the winners of Mudfest 2017:
Compact Utility Vehicle: 2017 Jeep Compass Trailhawk
Premium Compact Utility Vehicle: 2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack S 4Motion
Family Utility Vehicle: 2017 Subaru Forester 2.5i Touring
Premium Mid- or Full-size Utility Vehicle: 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk
Extreme Capability Utility Vehicle: 2017 Land Rover Discovery HSE Luxury
Pickups: 2017 Ford Raptor Super Cab
Best Overall, NWAPA’s Outdoor Activity Vehicle of the Year: 2017 Land Rover Discovery HSE Luxury
http://www.heraldnet.com/life/rain-shine-a...fest-2017/
2017 Discovery 5 Farallon Black, First Edition
2005 LR3 HSE, 2005-2017. Sold.
- pdes
- Member Since: 11 Oct 2016
- Location: Cambridge
- Posts: 231
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stuart_f wrote:
The latest issue of Practical Caravan dropped onto the doormat over the weekend (that's the kind of rock and roll lifestyle I lead) where they did a brief review of the D5 and finished it by saying next month's edition is the annual tow car awards and expect a much fuller run-down of the D5 towing ability then.
Considering the activity in the "Towing disappointment" thread, I sent a mail to Practical Caravan. The mails are below for info:
Me:
Hi,
I understand that the new Discovery 5 will feature in your tow tests next month. As much as I am a Discovery stalwart having had at least a dozen new ones in the past 25 years, I have been disappointed in the towing stability of the D5. I tow a new Conqueror 650 and migrated from a D4 to a D5 in March. On our first outing we suffered some worrying swaying to the point at which the Alko ATC kicked in and applied the brakes. The swaying increased as speed increased.Tyre pressures and balancing were all ok. With the D4, the caravan was rock solid at all speeds.
There is a groundswell of opinion suggesting I am not alone in these concerns, take a look here: https://disco5.co.uk/forum/thread300.html.
If it's not too late, it would be good to get independent test results, especially when towing a long caravan.
I hope this is useful.
PC:
Many thanks for sending a link to this forum thread and for sharing your own experience with the new Discovery. Both make very interesting reading.
I'm relieved by your post on March 28th describing a much improved towing experience, as we were happy with the Discovery's performance at the Tow Car Awards in April (the results don't come out until June so I can't go into too much detail). All of our testing takes place on a private proving ground, and I towed the car at up to 80mph pulling a twin-axle caravan without a stabiliser hitch and I experienced no problems.
One of our testers is a Discovery 4 owner, and he was also very impressed with the new model, although he is planning to keep his current car for the time being.
I think the most obvious improvements with the Disco 5 are in other areas rather than stability at speed. The old car really was exceptional as a tow car, but the new model is a better all-rounder
Me:
Many thanks for your response. I look forward to the article.
In my post of the 28th March, I said that there had been improvements but like others, I still found the towing experience “jittery” from 55mph upwards. Maybe your van was not as long or heavy as some.
Maybe you will get some more feedback as this vehicle becomes a more common tow car
D5 HSE SDi6, 2019, Santorini Black, privacy glass, HUD, loads of gizmos!! 😃😃😃
Series 1, 1953, 86"
- stuart_f
- Member Since: 06 Nov 2016
- Location: Aylesbury
- Posts: 133
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In one of the various threads I also posted my experience of using a proving ground (a runway in my case) as a towing test venue. My experience was that the D5 was ok to about 80mph and I thought people's negative opinions were unjustified.
However... having now towed several hundred miles in the real world, the towing performance is nowhere near as placid as it is on the runway. I don't know if it's the camber on the road or the traffic but towing at 55 mph is unnerving and towing past 60 mph is downright frightening. This really must cast doubt on PC's conclusions.
If you want to tow using a D5, try it for yourself in real-world conditions. Reviews that use 'ideal conditions' on proving grounds or runways do not, in any way, represent the behaviour of the car you will experience when you try it for yourself.
Buyer beware.
- Scrumps
- Member Since: 30 Sep 2016
- Location: Somerset
- Posts: 155
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Somerset - Where the apples do grow and the cider do flow!
17MY D5 HSE / 16MY RRS2 A/B / 05 Defender90 CSW
- PeterW
- Member Since: 07 Sep 2016
- Location: Norfolk
- Posts: 595
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Peter
HSE 3.0 V6 Diesel Corris Grey
- PeterW
- Member Since: 07 Sep 2016
- Location: Norfolk
- Posts: 595
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Peter
HSE 3.0 V6 Diesel Corris Grey
