Skip to main content

Adjusting the Land Rover Discovery’s seats is so easy, Bear Grylls did it while skydiving

All-New Land Rover Discovery Intelligent Seat Fold Technology Tested by Bear Grylls
For large families, three-row SUVs are a godsend. Having seven available seats (or a boatload of cargo volume when they’re folded) is vital when you’re ferrying almost a whole soccer team around town, but those seats can be a pain to adjust manually. You’ll often find yourself squeezing and bending in ways you never thought possible to reach the proper lever or switch. Thankfully, Land Rover has a solution.

The automaker will present a new Discovery at the 2016 Paris Motor Show, and the vehicle will equip a world-first feature called Intelligent Seat Fold. Using Land Rover’s InControl Remote smartphone app, drivers will be able to adjust their interior layout from anywhere in the world, a claim the brand tested recently by throwing Bear Grylls out of a plane.

What, did you have a better idea?

Recommended Videos

Read more: Land Rover’s revamped, restyled Discovery is coming to the 2016 Paris Motor Show

As shown in the short video above, Grylls was able to raise a Discovery’s second and third row seats while slicing through the air at 125 mph, which means it should be no sweat while strolling through a parking lot. According to the brand, the seats can be fully reconfigured in just 14 seconds on any iOS or Android operating system.

Bear Grylls Land Rover

As for the Discovery itself, a revamp has been a long time coming. The iconic SUV has effectively worn the same design since 1998, so the new model is expected to look and behave quite differently than the old. Land Rover dropped a front-facing teaser image of the car on Monday, and if the camouflaged model shown above is any indication, the updated Disco should adopt a sleeker, rounder shape to expand its appeal. The lightweight aluminum platform that underpins the current Range Rover is also a good bet.

The wraps come off the new Discovery on September 28.

Andrew Hard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
These new NASA EVs will drive astronauts part way to the moon (sort of)
NASA's new crew transportation electric vehicles.

Three specially designed, fully electric, environmentally friendly crew transportation vehicles for Artemis missions arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week. The zero-emission vehicles, which will carry astronauts to Launch Complex 39B for Artemis missions, were delivered by Canoo Technologies of Torrance, California. NASA/Isaac Watson

NASA has shown off a trio of new all-electric vehicles that will shuttle the next generation of lunar astronauts to the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center.

Read more
5 upcoming EVs I’m excited for, from luxury SUVs to budget champions
Lotus Eletre

Almost every major automaker has released an EV by now -- or plans to soon -- and makers like Ford and Kia already have a variety to choose from. But if you haven't found one that's right for you yet, hang tight. There are dozens of announced electric car models that have yet to come out, and it's clear that the future of EVs is bright.

From longer range to lower prices, the next batch of EVs gives us plenty to get excited about. Here are five upcoming EVs that we can't wait to drive.
Volvo EX30

Read more
Tesla shows off first Cybertruck after two years of delays
The first Cybertruck built at Tesla's Giga Texas facility.

The first Cybertruck built at Tesla's Giga Texas facility. Tesla

Tesla has shown off the first Cybertruck to roll off the production line at its new Gigafactory plant in Austin, Texas.

Read more