A British Suv For The World – The Land Rover Discovery 1

Between 1989 and 1998, the Land Rover Discovery 1Honda as the Honda Crossroad in the Japanese
was the British Rover Group’s answer to themarkets for a good 10 years ending in 1999, 5 years
emerging and later heated SUV competition that hasafter losing the partnership when BMW bought the
become a phenomenon of sorts in the automobileRover Group in 1994.
history as the 20th century ended.As a cheaper shadow of the Range Rover, the
Starting with the Jeep Cherokee introduced in 1984,Discovery was in fact a Range Rover in sheep
the market for all-terrain 4X4 utility vehicles neverclothing, though not necessarily shabby clothing.  It
saw any let-up.  The Land Rover didn’t fail tohad the interior structure of Range Rover with all the
notice the signs as the name was synonymous tointerior appointments left out from a Range Rover
what an all-weather all-terrain 4X4 utility vehicle ismock-up that eventually gave the Discovery its SUV
about, eversince it started the business in 1948.standing in the eyes of the markets.
But it was more than that.  It wasn’t enough toIt even had some design element like a unique
have rugged manly attributes of a utility off-roader,sunglass holder right at the center of the steering
but it must have the luxurious creature comforts thatwheel that won a British Design Award in 1999. Some
the daily commuter cannot live without on a daily cityfunctional designs like its instrumentation and
commute.  That was what SUVs are about.switchgear were borrowed from the Montego and
The Land Rover SUV AnswerMaestro Rover series, including headlamps from the
The familiar Land Rover we see on post war popFreight Rover and the taillights from its Maestro van.
culture media ended with the Land Rover Series III inUnder the hood, the Discovery 1 took off with two
1985.  That was about the time when the SUVengine options - a 2.5 liter Tdi diesel or the 3.5 liter V8
started making inroads.  The Rover Group took notepetrol engine.  In 1994 it was introduced in the US
and had embarked on enhancing its Series III withmodified to comply with the strict US motor vehicle
the pre-Defender line of all-terrain 4X4 utility vehiclesrequirements.   Improvements meant to comply
that still harked back to its dated image with awith newer and stricter EU road safety standards
cursory node to the luxury aspect of SUVs withwere added like a Bosch electronic emissions control,
optional accessories to make their products achievea stronger R380 gearbox, larger headlights, a second
SUV appeal.set of taillights on the rear bumper and a more
But that wasn’t enough.  Hence you have thecomfortable and safer ride.
new Discovery and later the Defender line to takeOther improvements were done to comply with
care of the wider budget-conscious markets wherenewer European road safety standards. A more
its Range Rover had a more upscale high end marketpowerful 4.0L  V8 from the Range Rover SE model
to target.was used for 1996 models and onwards with a few
A Cheaper Range Rover by Designenhancements like a larger, cross-bolted main
The Discovery 1 was first unveiled in the UK marketsbearings, revised intake, improved pistons and the
in 1989 with a 3-door model. The larger 5-door variantGEMS distributorless engine management system. 
appeared the following year.  At the same time, theThe Land Rover Discovery 1 gave way to the
Japanese counterpart was marketed by its partnersecond Discovery 2 lines in 1998.