EXPANSION is said to be a vital part of any healthy business, so when the original Land Rover became a great success, the company decided to introduce something new. The original vehicle was then named the Defender and its new pride and joy became the Discovery 1, then Discovery 11.

Now there is the Discovery 3, which has won almost 100 international awards since its debut in 2005.

Discovery 3 design director, Geoff Upex said the car was designed “from the inside out” in that he says the emphasis was on in-car comfort and appeal.

“The priorities were cabin space, comfort and the driver’s command driving position,” he said.

Of course comfort is not the only pre-requisite for a Land Rover.

Countless innovations and new features were introduced to the new model, with perhaps the greatest of them all being the acclaimed Terrain Response system.

It’s drive style is also emphasized with an imposing 220kW 4,4 litre V8 petrol engine or a powerful 140 kW 2,7 litre TDV6 turbodiesel engine.

Naturally all Land Rover models are designed with difficult terrain in mind, for emergency situations and also for pure off road enjoyment.

The Discovery 3 proved its superiority off road in 2008 when it was selected by the Blues and Royals Regiment of the British Army’s Household Cavalry for a nine week expedition through southern Africa.

This memorable off road trip served a dual purpose: it was part of the regiment’s adventure training programme and also part of a humanitarian cause.

When the Discovery 3 was being developed, practicality was said to be high on the list of priorities by design director Upex.

Speaking of the design he said “It is very geometric, very minimalist, very modern. Everything is there for a reason. It is pure product design, rather than fancy automotive styling.”

One of the key features of the Discovery 3 is the sheer amount of space that is available in its cabin. Up to seven people can be seated comfortably and just because there are that many people in the car does not mean that the view should be any less spectacular.

The Discovery 3’s stadium seating design allows for every passenger to enjoy the view of the journey ahead, all the while relaxing in the cool breeze of the air conditioning, which can be directed to every seat.

The Discovery 3 is available with two different engines, both supremely engineered for off-road power and on-road smoothness.

While Terrain response makes driving off-road easier, a next generation satellite navigation system, which comes as standard on Discovery 3 will ensure that finding one’s way in the wilderness is easier than ever before as well. It is the first such system to include off-road navigation and since it is DVD-based, mapping information for entire continents can be loaded from a single disc.

You might never get lost again, but you may actually want to, once you discover the comfort of the Discovery 3.

BY PAUL NYAKAZEYA

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