#LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 2 SERIES#

I logged 14.7 with a bit of off-roading and low-range work, but mostly on paved roads.

EPA estimates are 13 mpg city, 17 highway. Unfortunately, it wants premium fuel, and wants it bad. But the flat torque curve (210 foot-pounds available between 1,500 and 4,500 rpm) is well-suited to heavy-duty slogging and about-town motoring. With each horse toting well over 20 pounds, 0-60 times approach 12 seconds and overall responsiveness is rather languid. The Rover engine is an all-aluminum, overhead-valve type made more for load-budging torque (250 foot-pounds 2,600 rpm) than high-speed dashes (it’s rated at 188 hp at 4,750 rpm). For such chores, or for even just ambling down to the polo match (the kind of rough service most of t machines get), a four-liter V-8 is just barely adequate. It’s rated for a payload (folks and gear) of around 1,500 pounds, and can tow up to 7,700 pounds of brake-equipped trailer in high range. (Roof and doors are steel, for greater impact resistance.) But thanks to its solid construction, it outweighs them both – 4,630 pounds – and this thanks to aluminum engine, hood, quarter panels and rear hatch. The 100-inch wheelbase is quite tidy, as SUVs go, and its overall length of 185 inches slots in between the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ford Explorer. The wheel is oval in cross section instead of the more common circular this soon comes to feel like the Right Way. The steering wheel tilts manually through a restricted arc, which is little help in this class, a decently tilting and telescoping arrangement – it need not be electrical – would be expected. The Discovery is tall – a bit over 6 feet, 4 inches – and the seats are placed high enough so that you feel as if you’ve earned the commanding view of the road the feat of climbing in rewards you with. I’ll bet more than one Discovery has gotten an inadvertent drenching. I enjoyed playing with the second moonroof, but, forgetful soul that I am, wish that it could be closed after dismounting via the remote keyless entry fob. The second row is a bit tight, fore and aft, even for two median adults, but can be had with the unusual amenity of a separate moonroof and clerestory windows, and is raised, theater-style, a bit above the front perches for better forward visibility. People of normal adult size and agility would much prefer it to be regarded as a four-place machine. With two swingaway jump seats behind the second row, the Range Rover can technically be referred to as a seven-place transporter. Most notably, the distance from rear axle to rear bumper was stretched by six inches to boost cargo (or third-class passenger) space to 40 cubic feet, or 63 c.f.

Though it looks much as it always did – boxy and ungainly, but definitely one of a kind – 85 percent of its makeup is new.

#LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 2 SERIES#

The Series II designation refers to the nearly-total overhaul this model got for the 1999 season. If you want to make your own roads, this is a highly civilized way of doing it. So be advised, if what you really want is a tall surrogate car for those adventures to the local grocery, this might not be the right choice. There’s a threshold above which the sensations telegraphed to the cabin begin to be disproportionately low compared with what the suspension is going through. Not surprisingly, as speeds rise and roads worsen, the machine feels more and more competent. That’s what it’s supposed to do, but it’s not supposed to give blow-by-blow reports. That massive body-on-frame construction feels as if it’s pounding minor discontinuities of surface into submission. Considering that Rover products earned their spurs in places that never did, probably never will have service stations, it’s not surprising that on-road comfort takes a back seat to off-road invincibility.Īt moderate speeds, over fair-to-middling roads, the Discovery has the ride quality of a modern pickup truck unladen, which is nowhere near so damning a simile as it once was – but it’s not like being carried in a sedan chair, either. Before the Series II was publicly introduced last year, it had just completed a tour around the globe that involved dubious surfaces in places where the name Caterpillar is unknown. Like its big brother, the Range Rover, the Discovery is no off-road pretender. And that frame looks as rugged as the support beams for the new stadium, a building on Cincinnati’s riverfront. A generous 10 inches separates frame and ground. The mere fact that you CAN should tell you something. If you really want to understand the character of the Land Rover Discovery Series II, you should crawl around underneath it.

Land rover discovery 2