With regards to the performance, the Discovery 4 was as least as quick as the Q7 that was tested, if that kind of thing is so important.
Brent,
One of the problems with the car of the year type events is that of course expensive metal SHOULD be good, and it is appreciated that we're not all fortunate enough to be able to afford (or be handed) such a car - me included! However, I understand that there is always a debate over the winners (class and overall), and in the past value has played a big part when there have been several vehicles vying for the crown, hence the Passat, Mondeo, etc. However, apparently this year, it would have been a total mockery not to have awarded the Discovery 4 the crown despite its price. It was just so far ahead of anything else that was tested (apart from the RR Sport). Land Rover should be applauded for putting in so much effort into that car.
I am in no way connected to Land Rover, other than being fortunate enough to have driven lots of vehicles (including X5's Q7's Q5's, ML's together with a whole host of the smaller ones), and the really outstanding one at the moment is the Discovery 4. It's thrown down the gauntlet to the other manufacturers, which can only be a good thing for us caravanners.