IF you don’t believe that Land Rover doesn’t produce the most go-anywhere vehicles in the world, then take a long hard look underneath the latest Discovery. Great ground clearance, hi-tech all-terrain abilities and excellent wheel articulation see to that. And if you sit inside one you’ll be also see how good on-road the mighty 2.7-tonne 4WD wagon actually is, with luxury, space and refinement beyond any Discovery before it. But what sets this Discovery apart from rivals is its design and heritage. The former’s boxy simplicity is a style statement in itself, while the latter is a byword for off-road capabilities. However ‘Discovery’ the brand also evokes memories of unreliability and poor quality craftsmanship... something that won’t be tolerated this time around...
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Discovery II V8
Released: March 1999
Ended: March 2005
Family Tree: DiscoveryTHE Discovery Mk2 was a rehashed version of the 1991 original that was actually based on the first-generation Range Rover released in 1970. And didn’t it look and feel like an old truck! Narrow doors, tight packaging and a ponderous, pendulous to the handling and ride did little to encourage keen driving. And older still was the early-‘60s derived Buick V8 that saw service in everything from Rovers to Australia’s Leyland P76.In this 4.0-litre application it produced 136kW/340Nm and was tied to a four-speed automatic gearbox. A current-shape Range Rover-style headlight treatment was fitted in late 2002, but otherwise the Mk2 Discovery V8 remained much the same over its six-year run.
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