Cars - Land Rover Discovery

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	Cars - Land Rover Discovery

The Discovery (now known in North America as the LR3) is a comfortable 4x4 vehicle (SUV in American-English) from Ford's Land Rover marque. There have been three generations of the vehicle, which is smaller and somewhat less expensive than the company's top Range Rover model. The Discovery was introduced in the late 1980s and is the most popular model of Land Rover. It is not as utilitarian as the Defender, but it is very competent off road.

Series I

Based in part on the original Range Rover, the Discovery was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1989. The company code-named the vehicle "Project Jay", and came close to calling it the "Prarie Rover" until the decision was made to improve the overall branding strategy, eventually leading to the Land Rover name becoming detached from any specific model (at the launch of the "Defender" name.)

The Discovery was initially available in a three door version, the five door only becoming available the following year. The Discovery Commercial (a three door van) was never an official model, and was only available through Land Rover Special Vehicles. Pre-1994, the Discovery was available with either the 2.5 litre 200 TDi engine or the 3.5L Rover V8. Early V8s used a twin carburettor system, moving over to Lucas fuel injection in 1990. In the UK, V8 models are comparatively rare, the majority of Discovery owners preferring the more economical diesel engines. Consequently, resale prices of V8-engined vehicles are lower than the more popular diesel counterparts. In the North American market, things were reversed and the vast majority of vehicles sold were fitted with the V8.

In 1994, many changes were made to the Discovery I: the 200TDi and 3.5L V8 engines were replaced with the 2.5L 300TDi and 3.9L Rover V8 engines, the 300TDi introducing a 'drive by wire' electronic accelerator and electronic engine control for certain markets. A 2.0L 4 cylinder petrol 'mpi' was also introduced. At around this time a stronger gearbox was fitted to all models. With a few exceptions from the year of the change-over, the newer models can be identified externally by larger headlamps and a second set of rear lights in the bumper. Buyers should note that kits are available to alter the appearance of older models which will still retain the older engines and gearboxes. A notorious annoyance with the new rear lights is that the wiring was changed several times to meet real or expected European safety legislation. Some vehicles are left with a frustrating arrangement where the vulnerable bumper contains the only working direction-indicator lights; other examples have these lights duplicated in the traditional rear pillar location.

Whereas the designers of the original model had been forced to economise and utilise chassis parts and even the windscreen from the Range Rover, the favour was returned when the facelifted Discovery dashboard was also fitted as part of the final facelift of the first-generation Range Rover. There are minor differences such as an "upmarket" analogue rather than digital clock.

1994 also marked the first year that the Discovery was sold in the United States. Airbags were incorporated into the design of the 1994 model to meet the requirements of US motor vehicle regulations, though they were not fitted as standard in all markets. All models sold in the US utilized the 3.9L V8 engine.

As with all Land Rover vehicles designed since the Series models which had switchable 2 and 4 wheel drive, the transmission is a permanent four wheel drive system, with a locking centre differential at the transfer box. In common with much of the rest of the Land Rover range, the handbrake acts on the transmission at the back of the transfer box.

In Japan, a badge-engineered version of the Series I was offered, called the Honda Crossroad.

Series II

The Series II Discovery debuted in 1998. The interior and exterior was re-worked to be less utilitarian, but it was still very similar to the Series I. However, every body panel was new (and incompatible) except the rear door outer skin. The rear body was extended to improve load space but at the expense of added rear overhang, which adveresely impacted off-road ability. However overall off-road ability remains impressive and in practical terms, choice of tyres is far more relevant. Changes to the diesel engined models saw the 2495cc TD5 (in-line direct-injected 5 cylinder) engine introduced, in line with the updated Defender models. (For those counting these codenames, the TD4 engine was fitted to the Freelander), This electronically managed engine is smoother and produces more useable torque at lower revs than its 300 Tdi predecessor. ACE (Active Cornering Enhancement, an electronically controlled hydraulic anti-roll bar system) was fitted to some versions, which reduced cornering roll to insignificant proportions. Self-levelling air springs were fitted to some models and European type-approval for 7-seat vehicles was only given for air-sprung cars.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Land Rover Discovery ]

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Cars - Land Rover Discovery

Series I

Series II

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