1999 Land Rover SUV Road Test & Comparison

True, you may have to take a second look to tell the newly revised Discovery from its predecessor. That's because Land Rover intentionally chose a modest freshening of the original look-complete with its distinctive stepped roof and Alpine windows-rather than a more aggressive approach. (For our tastes, they may have kept it a little too modest.) Still, don't be fooled into thinking the Series II is simply a warmed-over version of the old Discovery. As the first major redesign of the model since its '89 introduction, this largely all-new vehicle represents a dramatic step forward, not only for the Discovery but, in some areas, for sport/utility engineering as a whole.

For starters, every exterior panel on the vehicle is indeed new. Plus, the chassis has been strengthened, with about a 20-percent increase in torsional rigidity. While the wheelbase has remained the same, the overall length has been stretched by 6.5 inches and the width by 3.8 inches. Much of the extra room created by these larger dimensions translates directly into additional cargo space-5.7 cubic feet-which ups the total to a roomy 41.1 behind the rear seat.

The real story, though, lies beneath the skin. Here, the Series II sports a cornucopia of leading-edge technology that makes it one of the most sophisticated SUVs on the road. At least in part, this is thanks to BMW, which bought the Rover Group in '94 and has proceeded to pour billions of dollars into the venerable British manufacturer, providing state-of-the-art engineering and improved production and quality control methods. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the revamped suspension and brake systems.