Eco Car

Land Rover Discovery 1 – A Decidedly British Suv

It’s not uncommon for vehicles that have become popular to have an up market counterpart.  That was the Range Rover line introduced in 1970 for the Land Rover.  In the late 80s, just when the Land Rover Series III was ending its lifecycle after about 40s years on the road.

It defined a new category of all-terrain four-wheel drive utility vehicles for just about every segment of society, from the military, to scientific exploration all the way to the family. But there would now be a product void that won’t be addressed by the upscale Range Rover.

Hence, the company thought it best to introduce a new model based on the drive train and chassis of the Range Rover but at a reduced price point aimed precisely at the large budget-conscious market and to compete with similar offerings from Japan.  Enter the Land Rover Discovery 1 – the first in a series that was introduced in the UK markets in 1989.

The Discovery was first introduced as a 3-door model with the larger 5-door model made available the following year.  With partner Honda, it was marketed as the Honda Crossroad in Japan until 1999, a good 5 years after the business relationship was ended with the purchase of the Rover Group by BMW in 1994.

Borrowing Designs from other Rovers

The Rover Group took in a 3rd party design consultant, the Conran Design Group in London, to help them design a more apt interior for an off-roader positioned more as a lifestyle accessory than its Range Rover portfolio.

It resulted in some remarkable designs that won critical adulation and a British Design Award in 1999 for its custom sunglass holder right in the center of the steering wheel.  Other interior design features were holdovers retained from a Range Rover design mockup that now found their way into the Discovery, like map/magazine holder above the windscreen, hands-holders behind the front seat headrests, remote radio controls, twin removable sunroof panels, among many others.

In essence, the interior’s basic structure was Range Rover with the switchgear and instrumentation taken from the Maestro and Montego line of the Rover.  Its exteriors likewise was borrowed from other Rover vehicles like the headlights from the Freight Rover and taillights from the Maestro van.

Other Features

Before 1994, the Discovery 1 came with a choice of the 2.5 liter Tdi diesel or the 3.5 liter V8 engines.  A 2.0 litter Discovery was introduced to attract the market for fleet users and to benefit from tax breaks on cars with such engine displacements and below but it was eventually scrapped as it was underpowered for the heavy Discovery body.

1994 was the year the Discovery was introduced in the US with the usual nod to the stringent US motor vehicle requirements.   There have been improvements to its as well such as Bosch electronic emissions control, a stronger R380 gearbox, a more comfortable right, larger headlights and secondary set of bumper rear lights. Most of these improvements had to comply with newer European road safety rules as well.  The 1995 US models used a more powerful 3.9 litter V8 from the Range Rover SE model and was later increased to 4.0 liter displacements from 1996 onwards with better fuel injection and a new distributorless engine management system called GEMS.

The Land Rover Discovery 1 ended its product life cycle in 1998 and has since become a favourite among SUV enthusiasts for really heavy payload and tough off-road work. It is common to see them modified with bull bars, larger tires, traction differentials and suspension lifts that make the Discovery a most sought-after 4x4 vehicle.

About the Author

You can visit McDonald Landrover to find cheap Land Rover Discovery 1 Parts. There you can also find valuable information about Landrover Discovery 1 Repairs. You can also find many Rebuilt Engines for Land Rovers.

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