2005 Land Rover Discovery HSE review from UK and Ireland

The sunroof doesn't work, dealer has tried to fix, neither do the rear roof vent controls (no power getting to them).

The dipping external mirrors sometimes fail to reset to their original position.

The gear selector has jammed in reverse twice, but then freed itself after about 2 minutes.

The comfort setting, which is meant to be key coded to each key, doesn't work.

The memory seats don't store your settings.

And finally, warning chimes go off intermittently, you check the info display, but there's no reason, they just like to sound off, happens about once every two trips.

Don't get the wrong idea, despite all the faults, I actually really like this car. The ride is great and the performance is excellent considering it weighs 2.5 tonnes. We also get 26.8mpg, which is pretty good, although you change your driving style as hurrying along just doesn't suit it, and doesn't 'feel' right. It also looks good, and everyone who comes in it loves it (even 4x4 haters).

Bad points though (apart from the awful build quality) is that the headrests aren't adjustable, and as I like the seats upright, they push your head forward. Also they have a poor shape, so on longer trips you get a little sore - the seats in our Vectra are way better.

There is also a massive blind spot on your right hand side due to the large B pillar, some cars, like our Golf before (and the Vectra) have a split external mirror to compensate, but not the Land Rover.

Overall, it's a good car, but a real shame about the build quality.