The Land Rover Discovery
The Land Rover Discovery was introduced onto the market in the UK in 1989. The company needed a road vehicle that would be less expensive than their top of the line Range Rover, but still be quite capable off-road. Based on the same drivetrain and chassis of the Range Rover, the Land Rover Discovery was priced quite a bit less than the Range Rover and was tailored to a more moderate crowd who wanted luxury and off-road capability in a vehicle that they could drive every day. The Discovery fit the bill and was widely accepted and quickly became the most popular model that Landrover offered.
This first version of the Discovery, labeled Series I was offered as a 2 door (3 doors including the rear door) first and then the and 4 door model was offered the following year. Initially the idea was to offer it in a 2 door model so that it wouldn't take any business from the Range Rover, however it was quickly noted that they were very different vehicles. This was an attempt by Land Rover to compete with Japanese SUV's like the Isuzu Rodeo, Trooper and the Toyota 4 Runner, which were doing quite well in the market. Honda actually contracted Land Rover to build the Discovery for them and they sold them under the Honda Crossroad in Japan.
To show you how widely accepted this vehicle was, this quickly became a favourite of the Royal Family, when they needed a vehicle that would take them off-road, but still provide relative comfort. The Discovery came with a 2 liter 4 cylinder engine or a 2.5 liter 4 cylinder engine, and some models were fitted with a powerful 3.9 litre V8. As for transmissions, a 4 speed automatic or 5 speed manual were offered and either was quite capable of providing enough power to the wheels, on and off the road.
Since being introduced, the Land Rover Discovery has been through a few revisions. 1994 marked some significant changes to the engines that were offered, as well as some electrical components. Also updated was the body style as well. A full Series II however was not introduced until 1998, which saw even more significant style changes. Each body panel was new and a 5 cylinder engine was added. The Series III Discovery is the newest model and is marketed as the LR3 in some parts of the world, particularly the USA.
This latest Discovery was completely new and does not contain any parts of components from the original. With full independent suspension the latest Discovery is suited more to on-road use, but still has the ability to go off-road as well. The Series III focuses more on the comfort of the occupants more than any other version so far.
