by Seán Creedon
Every Monday brings a pleasant surprise to my life and that of my family. Monday is the day I change cars and every Monday afternoon there is a sense of anticipation when I bring home a new car.
Sometimes it’s greeted with excitement or the mood may be subdued if it’s a two-door; there are no fans of two door cars in our house.
Last week it wasn’t a two-door, but a two-seater. However, it was not a sports car and initially my family thought that, with those blacked-out rear windows, it was a limousine for transporting minor celebrities. Those blacked-out rear windows concealed a huge cage area which could accommodate a myriad range of items.
It was a Commercial, but not just any commercial, a gorgeous Land Rover Discovery Commercial. Yes, this massive motor got a lot of envious glances, but I honestly didn’t have much use for all that space in the back.
The family would probably have preferred a regular five or seven-seater Land Rover, but it was good to see what options are available. This commercial would be ideal for a small builder, painter, decorator.
The promotion picture on the Land Rover website had snorkelling equipment in the rear. For me the heaviest item I had to transport during the week was a bag of potatoes!
Last time I drove a car with a cage at the back was a Ssangyong. This car was much posher than the Ssangyong and unlike the Korean car, the cage didn’t rattle in the Land Rover. I suppose the cage would also be useful if you had big dogs that you needed to move around.
There is a lot of space back there,1,856 litres to be exact. It sure would take a lot of equipment, tools, bags of hay, bales of silage, whatever you want to transport.
There are a few secret places to hide items, including a little tunnel just behind the two seats. There are also lots of alcoves at the back. There is no real need to hide valuable items as the rear windows are blacked-out, but in the current climate you can never be too careful when it comes to keeping valuable items hidden away from would-be thieves. You also get a proper spare wheel, but it’s located underneath the car.
There was plenty of power in the 3.0-litre diesel engine. And with 306 brake horse power, this automatic, would, I think, have no difficulty negotiating rugged terrain. The official towing capability is 3.5 tonnes.
The cabin was very comfortable, but my wife who has a touch of arthritis, did struggle a bit to climb on board. However, once in, she found the adjustments on the seat very favourable.
All the controls are easy to use and there were so many controls on the steering wheel, it looked like a small computer.
The Discovery has been around since 2000. The price of Commercial version is €43,367 plus VAT of €9,974, which can of course be claimed back. Road tax is €333.
When you see a Land Rover Discovery on the road you think of luxurious driving. But those blacked-out rear windows hide what could be a very important asset to some small builder or decorator. And of course you still get that luxurious driving feel.
