2005 Land Rover Discovery: First Look

The 2005 Land Rover Discovery, a.k.a Discovery III, is an all-new vehicle that will be sale towards the end of 2004 in Europe starting at €38,000 ($61,000).

According to Land Rover's Czech website, the new Discovery may be on sale by September 2004, and it is shaping up to be one very serious 4WD.

Features like pneumatic (air) suspension and a new monocoque frame have been mooted, and the all-new SUV will be making its international debut the 2004 New York International Auto Show.

At present, Ford owns the Land Rover company and, as such, the new Discovery will make use of engines from the Jaguar parts bin - another company owned by the Blue Oval.

A new 2.7-litre turbo diesel V6 will make the cut, outputting some 142kW of power, which is very impressive for an oil burner. Torque output is an impressive 440Nm.

The new Discovery's petrol engines are believed to be modified Jaguar items, but at this stage only the naturally aspirated 4.4-litre V8 has been confirmed.

In the new Discovery, the V8 motor will generate some 224kW of power, but again, peak torque is unknown, but should be around 400Nm or so.

There is also lots of speculation about the new Disco making use of the Ford Explorer's 4.0-litre V6, which outputs about 158kW of power, but it's also possible that one of Jaguar's many V6s will also join the party. A new 6-speed transmission may make the cut as well, and could offer a tiptronic mode.

Apart from a new range of engines to choose from, and as you can tell from the images, the restyled front end is less like the old Discovery, and more akin to the current Range Rover, what with its more integrated look.

The headlights have changed only slightly, incorporating xenon globes, and have largely been carried over from the facelifted 2003-2004 Discovery.

In general, the front end has a more purposeful look than its predecessor, though the rear end may cause angst among long-time Land Rover buyers.

Gone is the orthodox rear window and in its place a 'stepped' item that just a little bit radical. The tailgate is expected to fold out in two sections, where the larger window area of the tailgate will open up upwards, while the small lower section will fold down.

Exaggerated black wheel arches give the new Land Rover a rugged offroad demeanour, while the brake light clusters are fairly conservative, which contradicts early reports of round columnar lights.

Lastly, gone is the trademark rear-mounted spare wheel, which will be mounted underbody for 2005.

Though the 2005 Discovery will share some powertrain features with Jaguar cars, its suspension and chassis will be all new.

While the hinted-at monocoque platform will again upset long-time Land Rover buyers, who will claim it will reduce the vehicle's offroad ability compared to a body-on-frame setup, the new Range Rover has a monocoque frame and it still retains solid offroad capabilities.

In addition to the possible frame change, the Discovery III will ride on a new suspension setup, which may incorporate an anti-lean mechanism, and adjustable ride height and damping via pneumatics (air suspension) is pretty much guaranteed to make the cut on the range-topping models.

The new system, called Terrain Response, will most likely be operated via a dial of some sort in the cockpit or located on the transmission tunnel near the driver and in addition to the usual features, such as downhill descent, it will offer suspension settings for normal driving, speedways (we assume Autobahns and Autostradas) plus snowy, sandy and rocky terrain.

Land Rover's new Discovery will also benefit from a luxurious new interior, and with all the changes that have been made to the powertrain, suspension and exterior styling, it has a good chance of taking on rivals from Volvo, BMW and other luxury 4WDs.

Matthew Taylor, the managing director for Land Rover said: "A true Land Rover, the Discovery 3 benefits from a clarity of purpose and conviction evident from the clean design to the versatility and outstanding driving experience. Like all new Land Rovers it will be best-in-class off-road, but also great to drive on-road."

It will also be a vital tool in getting the Land Rover name back into the minds of mainstream 4WD customers looking for something stylish and practical. There's no Australian release date as yet, but it is expected to arrive on local shores in the fourth quarter of 2004, or early 2005.