Land Rover Discovery 4 (LR4) - an English car in New York

Land Rover Discovery 4 - LR4 - launches in New York

Yes, I know. Land Rover is now owned by Tata, an Indian Company. But in all but the nationality of its owner this is quintessentially an ‘English’ car and, apart from the Defender, as ‘Land Rover’ a Land Rover as there has been. Sure, it passes a nod to the modern comforts and practicalities buyers want today, but its heart, and it abilities, are pure Land Rover. Only now they’re even better.

Land Rover has had three reveals today at the New York Motor Show. The New Range Rover, the new Range Rover Sport and this, the Land Rover Discovery 4, or LR4. So what’s new? Well, the 3.0 litre twin turbo engine from the Jaguar diesel for a start. A great engine, with good economy and lots of torque, is a superb match for the Disco. But we won’t be getting the 5.0 litre petrol in the UK, which is a shame.

The exterior has been made more ‘Range Rover’ to look at, but it still retains much of the old Disco’s silhouette. But inside there are big improvements to the quality and design. It’s much better quality now, in substance and style.

The Discovery’s real forte – apart from towing, carrying loads, moving people…. – has always been its real off-road ability, and that’s even further improved on the LR4. You get a couple of extra settings on the controls for soft sand and rock crawl, and the stability systems now hold the Disco on hills. The suspension and steering have been tweaked for better on-road dynamics, which we hope, and expect, won’t have a detrimental effect on its terrific off-road prowess.

There’s new techy toys as well, with the aforementioned hill-hold, a 360 degree camera, auto dipping headlights and a system to help with towing amongst others.

This is probably it as far as the Disco we know goes. The next generation of Land Rovers will have a different architecture and be much lighter (the Land Rover Discovery 4 weighs in at a hefty 2.7 tonnes), so make the most of it.

Sales for UK Cars start in September and, barring any major currency catastrophes should be pretty much in line with current models.