LAND Rover's third-generation Discovery has been launched in Australia, just a few weeks after its international release, but it's not officially on sale here until late April. It's not soon enough for the struggling local arm, which sees Discovery 3 as the perfect model at the perfect time for SUV-mad Australia. The all-new model heralds a new construction method that sees its car-like monocoque bodyshell mounted onto a traditional four-wheel drive ladder chassis - a system that will underpin many future Land Rovers. While it's a given that the famed British brand has instilled the new Disco with all the off-road know-how it can muster, what may surprise is just how competent the new one is on the road. Offering X5-like levels of bitumen handling, with a choice of V6, V8 and turbo-diesel power, and the option of seven seats, Disco 3 offers enough versatility, performance and all-round ability to make it well worth the small price rise over its forebear, which now seems positively archaic in comparison.