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Trekking in a new Discovery
Land Rover's venerable SUV goes extreme
By Richard Russell
Thursday, August 28, 2003
FT. GARLAND, Colorado - Since 1948 Land Rover has been linked with safaris, expeditions and high adventure, ferrying soldiers between uprisings in Africa, blazing across the Australian Outback or picking through tropical jungles in South America.
The Land Rover lineup in Canada currently consists of three products: Freelander, Discovery and Range Rover spanning the $35,000 to $105,000 price range. The mainstay, oldest and most versatile model is the Discovery, born in England in 1989 and emigrating to North America five years later. Redesigned and given a new chassis and suspension in 1999, it was renamed Discovery Series II. Following the investment of $220 million of Ford's money to upgrade its production facilities and quality control, Land Rover gave the Disco the 217 horsepower, 4.6-litre V8 engine from the Range Rover last year, along with more than 300 other upgrades. In addition to the S, SE and HSE trim levels, for 2004, Land Rover will build 200 Discovery G4 vehicles modelled after those used for the recent Land Rover G4 Challenge global adventure. Only 15 will come to Canada. This event pitted individuals representing 23 countries against each other in a variety of challenges, including on- and off-road driving, kayaking, rock-climbing, snowboarding and rappelling over four weeks and 4,000 miles in four different Land Rover models over four stages. The events took place in New England, Africa, Australia and the Rocky Mountains. The $59,000 special edition Discovery G4 is painted in Tangiers Orange and carries exclusive G4 identification, accessories and interior appointments.
Other changes to the Discovery for 2004 include a manually locking centre differential as standard on all models, as well as a CD player. The HSE model gets burled walnut trim on the centre console.
A 1999 redesign retained the trademark alpine windows, flat panels, straight lines and utilitarian styling while eliminating some of the eccentricity. But the Disco will never be used as a model for ergonomics. Switch gear is still scattered around the interior, and once located is often awkward to operate. Getting in and out of the rear seat requires squeezing through a very narrow opening and over an intrusive wheel arch. Once inside though, things look up. Seats are supportive and comfortable, thanks to theatre seating, while extended roof headroom and visibility are plentiful.
Nor will it earn high marks for on-road ride, handling and noise levels. The heavy body-on-frame structure and anti-aerodynamic shape combine to thwart any semblance of fuel economy.
But venture off the beaten path and you can almost feel a sigh of relief as the Discovery enters its element. Here it has few peers - at any price and from any source. We had an opportunity to put several hundred kilometres beneath the wheels of a G4 while in Colorado to witness the finals of TReK 2003. After extensive on- and off-road driving and a variety of severe off-road exercises, we can attest to its prowess in tough situations.
Amazing wheel travel and suspension articulation, well-chosen gearing, vertical sides, high ground clearance and generous approach and departure angles allow the Disco to go where few dare tread.
Immediate competition:
BMW X5, Hummer H2,
Jeep Grand Cherokee,
Mitsubishi Montero,
Toyota 4Runner
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