Jim Resnick

It’s a cliché to call versatile cars—and Land Rovers in particular—Swiss Army Knives. It’s inaccurate; knives can cut, carve, slice, pick, pinch, and screw. Land Rovers can’t do any of those things. but the new 2017 Discovery can do plenty. With this vehicle, Land Rover is betting the whole farm, the livestock, and the apartment in the city that the Discovery will carve out an extra portion of the market.

The big stuff first: There’s nothing within roughly $40,000 of the new Discovery (about $50,000 base price and roughly $64,000 as tested here) that can hang with it, in all its various roles including ne plus ultra off-roader, seven-seat transporter, capable tow rig, and luxury car.