God, I love Lego...

So do we, and it seems, so does Land Rover, as it commissioned a 13-metre high replica of Tower Bridge in London made out of the plastic bricks, setting a Guinness World Record in the process. It drafted in Bear Grylls, Zara Phillips and Sir Ben Ainslie for the dramatic unveiling event on the grounds of Packington Hall, not too far from the Solihull factory, where the 2017 Discovery will be manufactured.

Ah, I wondered when you'd get to the point.

Indeed, this event marks the first full disclosure from Land Rover of all details of its new large SUV, just before it has its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show.

It looks a lot like the Discovery Sport.

It certainly does, but the regular Discovery is much larger inside and out. While it shares the smaller car's design language, it features a stepped roof and quirky asymmetric rear end styling that have become Discovery trademarks. That roof design is functional too, as it frees up more space for the standard third row of seats. Land Rover makes a lot of noise about the seating and the room inside and there does seem to be genuine space for adults in all seven seats. The rear seats all fold away electrically and the boot holds from 258 to 2,406 litres depending on how many seats are in place. In the main cabin there are some 21 different storage areas, including some clever new ideas - such as a hidden area behind the climate controls, two gloveboxes, double height seat pockets and deep concealed storage underneath the cup holders. Other than all that, we think it looks and feels an awful like a Range Rover model inside, which is no bad thing at all.

And what's under the bonnet?

Buyers can choose between three different diesel engines and a supercharged petrol-fuelled V6, though we can't imagine many of the latter will be sold in Britain. As before, there's a V6 turbodiesel, badged TdV6. It produces 258hp and 600Nm of torque, emits 189g/km and does 0-62mph in 8.1 seconds. New to the Discovery, however, are the Ingenium units, two four-cylinder diesels with single and twin turbocharging for 180- and 240hp and 430- and 500Nm respectively. Their introduction has been made possible by a considerable 480kg weight reduction. Land Rover's official figures reveal that the CO₂ emissions are as low as 159g/km, while combined fuel economy for the 180hp (Td4) model is 47.1mpg. All versions share the same eight-speed automatic gearbox and, naturally, four-wheel drive is standard across the line-up.

Speaking of which, will the new Discovery be as great off-road?

It should be. Land Rover has increased the ground clearance and wading depth, while adding an even more sophisticated Terrain Response system and nifty Tow Assist software that apparently makes reversing with a trailer so easy Land Rover had to add a speed limiter... Air suspension is standard on UK cars, which makes the Discovery particularly capable off-

No doubt all that lot means it'll be expensive?

Depends how busy you are with the options list, for sure, but prices start at a reasonable £43,495 on-the-road for the Discovery S, which includes 19-inch alloys, cruise control and a heated windscreen, though as it has cloth seats, we don't expect many takers. The SE features leather upholstery (plus satnav, LED lights, powered and heated front seats and much more) and starts at £49,495. HSE and HSE Luxury sit above that, representing £7,500 and £5,700 price jumps, while there will be 600 examples of the high-spec Discovery First Edition sold at £68,295.

Where can I see more?

If you're not heading over to the Paris Motor Show, then check out this video: