Another World
by David Finlay (21 Sep 04)

Land Rover's North American division has decided to abandon the name Discovery for the vehicle which will go on sale on November 1. Over there, it's going to be called the LR3. Land Rover head office isn't particularly keen on this, and prefers to retain the original title for Europe, but the Americans want to distance the new product from the terrible results its predecessor achieved in J.D. Power quality surveys over the years.

Another reason for wanting to find a new name might have been the overwhelming differences between Discovery 3 and everything that has gone before it. The design team included several visual references to the older cars, but that is really the only connection. Whereas previous Discoveries had to be based on existing architecture and components, this one represents a completely fresh start.

We've already looked at the Discovery in some detail, in a technical feature, a pre-launch test and a full-scale launch report, so there's no need to repeat any of that here. But the extent of the leap forward from the pre-2005 models is worth discussing. The old cars were notorious for shoddy build quality (Q: What two man-made objects can be seen from outer space? A: The Great Wall of China and the panel gaps on a Discovery); the new one feels as if it will go on for ever.

The old cars, large as they were, had surprisingly little room for passengers; the new one, larger still, is comfortably spacious. The old cars were brilliant off-road but less than inspiring on tarmac; the new one is better still off-road and unbelievably superior on tarmac. The old cars had possibly the worst gear change in the motor industry; the new one has a shift quality that beats any other off-roader I can think of.

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