Discovery Series II:  What's New for 1999

In the past decade, Discovery has added quite a few pages to Land Rover's illustrious 50-year heritage. It has found favor among a diverse range of owners, from iconoclastic adventurers to families on the go. It continues to be sold in over 100 countries with lifestyles and climates as diverse as the planet has to offer.

And in North America, Discovery has carved a very special niche for itself as the most distinctive sport utility. So the dramatic evolution of this model into the 1999 Discovery Series II had to result in a vehicle that is even more compelling. From the start, development work concentrated on five key areas: quality improvements, chassis supremacy, safety, overall refinement and evolutionary styling. Needless to say, all the familiar Discovery attributes had to remain. Sixty worldwide patents later, Land Rover engineers believe they have accomplished these goals.

As you might imagine, the first major revision to the Land Rover Discovery since its launch was not undertaken lightly. Especially since thousands of Discovery owners around the world are very pleased with their versatile, highly capable vehicles. Here's an overview of the painstaking development process.

   The Discovery Series II uses the same Bosch Motronic 5.2.1 engine management system as the BMW 7 series. Along with changes to the intake system and other refinements, this helps boost torque by eight percent and also aids hot and cold driveability.

Without disturbing the Discovery's current proportions, the Discovery Series II was lengthened six inches for more cargo room. The frame was kept very much the same, except for some changes to ease serviceability -- why tinker with success?

For the suspension, engineers looked to the pinnacle of sport utilities. So the new Discovery Series II has modified Range Rover axles with their wider tracks for a more confident ride. In addition, a new Watts linkage rear suspension was engineered. Like the Range Rover, reverse-ventilated front disc brakes are fitted. An optional Self-Leveling Suspension (SLS) offers automatic load-leveling and a higher, off-road mode.

The new Discovery Series II builds on this heritage of adventure. With more power, more cargo room, a quieter and smoother ride, and even more thoughtful touches throughout, the new Discovery Series II raises the bar among sport-utility vehicles.