The Land Rover Discovery is as British as banger and mash, yet its tall silhouette is instantly recognizable from Australia to Zambia. The primary reason for this universality is its storied off road athleticism. This thing is a mountain goat dressed in Savile Row. Beneath its handsomely square edged countenance is a rigid boxed steel ladder frame with six crossmenbers, from which are hung coil sprung live axle, front and back. The design provides no less than 8.5 in. of wheel travel in front, and 9.0 in. at the rear. Now, stick axles and a stubby wheelbase at 100.0 in. Discovery is a full inch shorter than the smaller Freelander’s aren’t normally associated with a plush on road ride. Yet the Disco II handles freeway expansion joints with surprising aplomb, with or without its optional self leveling, which substitutes air springs for the rear coils. Apart from maintaining an even keel under varying loads, this system can also automatically raise the hind end 1.6 in. should the vehicle become high centered. But because most Discoveries delivered to the colonies will see far more road than trail, another worthwhile option is ACE: Active Cornering Enhancement, a system that replaces the normal front and rear anti roll bars with hydraulically actuated leverage to counteract body learn under cornering.
You sit high with a commanding view from the Discovery II’s cockpit, but ergonomic is not a word that immediately springs to mind about the secondary control layout. The engineering meetings that led to this wonderfully electric switchgear arrangement must have involved a dart board and a couple warm pints.
