A Journey of Discovery

Boxy brilliance; the Land Rover Discovery 3 blew me away.

Sometimes, just sometimes, cars surprise their driver so much with their natural talent that said enlightened person must go home and blog about it. So, here goes...

Contrary to earlier belief, the Land Rover Discovery ­and more specifically, the Land Rover Discovery 3, ­is a brilliant car.

I say this not because I've driven one through six feet of snow, weaved through crowds of brown bears hunting trout in rivers, nor pointed the Discovery's blocky nose skyward and pounded up a mountainside. But because I've steered one up the M40. The M25 and A5, too.

My steed was a base spec, 2.7 diesel with cloth seats, Costa coffees in the cup holders and claw like scratches on the black plastic trim in the boot. 
As you would expect given the Disco 3's two-box design, the interior follows a similar path with cube shaped air vent and door handle mounts, and prisms for door pockets, door trim and centre console. Protruding from the dashboard, the latter looks like Optimus Prime's chest post morph into a robot.

The six-speed manual has a lovely, chunky feel to its action.

Sprouting way up high from the floor and with a girth to make a pornstar proud, the lever linked to the six-speed manual 'box feels a little loose when not in gear, but the way it slots home is genuinely astounding. Not because it's particularly brilliant, but because you expect it to be so bad. It just isn't. Nor does the steering shuffle loosely around centre ­- yes it is a little light dead ahead, but weights up nicely on the move while turning. There is even a bit of feel, I kid you not.

Who'd have thought you could heel and toe in a Land Rover.

The fact the pedals are perfectly spaced for heel and toeing says it all; a designer or engineer, probably British, sat down and said, "Let's get the basics spot on and go from there". Whoever you are, I applaud you. Not only have you created a supposedly rugged 4x4 that looks half decent, is capable of climbing Everest ­- probably -­ and is mildly appealing inside, even in base spec, but you've actually managed to make it pleasurable to drive.

Large bumps made the front end of the Disco I drove buck slightly, signalling worn front shocks, yet it still cornered handily and pummelled road scuff without occupants feeling the violence going on beneath them. Of course it rolled, but then there is never a need to go baiting hot hatches in a Land Rover.

This marque now means so much more to me than before.

The Land Rover Discover 3 gave me one of those drives that made me curse the impressions others have handed out to me. Its brilliance lies in its undeniable refinement, more so since, unlike SUVs from Audi, BMW, Mercedes et al, the Disco is also genuinely capable of taking you to little inhabited corners of the Earth.

A First Time For Everything



My 16-valve, Japanese steed on the fateful night looked a lot like this beauty.

My first 'crash' involved my first car, a 1998 Nissan Micra 1.0 16v (the 16-valve bit is important), a cold night in October, a field full of wheat and standing water. I was late for meeting friends so was hammering along a road I know pretty well, the B5248 that links Leyland to the A59. Approaching a cambered left-hander you can take in third gear in the dry, I pitched the Micra in and right smack bang in the middle of the bend was a huge stream of water... Even before I hit it, I knew it was going to spit me out big time - luckily nobody was on the other side of the road. I stamped on the brakes (no ABS), slid a little then careered through the water still with the anchors on and still trying to turn left. I had no chance. I understeered right off the road, down an embankment and into a wheat field. The corner complete with camber, which helped very little... Such is the Micra's impressive ride height, I managed to carry my momentum round in a big arc and attempt to get straight back up the embankment. At this point two things happened. One, I hadn't got quite enough speed up and so the car slithered back into the field (with me shouting profanities at the Jap-mobile). And two, another car came into view on the road. Saving myself embarrassment, I rolled backwards to a stop, turned my lights off and waited for the car to pass, praying its driver didn't spot my little red Noddy car in the Weetabix. He/she didn't, fortunately, and after they’d disappeared down the road, oblivious to my misfortune, I banged my old biatch into first gear, eased off the clutch then toed the throttle. Somehow, the Micra crawled out of the field, up the grass verge and back onto the road. The only sign of anything untoward when I checked the car over later was a clump of mud and grass in the tow hoop. I was a very lucky boy...

Pagani's Big Miss

Pagani's new Huayra disappointed at Goodwood.

The new Pagani has been getting a lot of coverage lately, particularly in evo magazine. But after watching it fire off the line at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last Saturday, I realised it didn't have quite the same impact as the Zonda. In fact, it wasn't even close.

There are two reasons for this. One, it sounds unremarkable at best. Pagani simply hasn't cracked how to make a turbo motor sing. Maybe it should have asked AMG for help, the firm which supplies the Huayra's V12 and manages to make its own V8 biturbos snarl. Although admittedly, even these don't sound as good as the old, normally aspirated V8.

The screaming Zonda F of 2005 with a 600hp V12.

In contrast, the sound a Zonda makes is spine tingling, shocking even. It sounds just like a hypercar should. It also looks the part, which brings me to the second reason I muttered 'meh' as the Huayra whisped off the start line.

I remember a feature in evo a few years ago, where Gordon Murray spent time analysing the Zonda including its aerodynamics. There were flaws, but it was these flaws that made it look so sensational.

The Huayra is a sleeker, more aerodynamically efficient proposition and yet its looks left me slightly cold in the same way a Bugatti Veyron's do. Moveable flaps are all well and good, but they do nothing for me.

Purity of form has been lost on this new Italian hypercar, and I think it will be the Zonda, the car that put Pagani on the map, that will be more fondly remembered in years to come.