Land Rover Discovery Td5 GS

FULL-size four-by-four is a tough market: gone is the era when many upwardly mobile executives who wanted landed gentry status to complement their new wealth believed the bypass around an arranged marriage to a chinless wonder was to buy an off-roader.

That was back in the days when mobile phones were the size of house bricks and the City slicker's working lunch started in a Champagne bar at noon and then flowed on into buffet cars bound for the Home Counties, or Essex, and wives waiting with a commanding view of the station car park.

Land Rover Discovery has, since its launch in 1989, been the major league 4x4 benchmark but the latest generation will be a revelation to user-choosers who struggled to get on with one in the early 90s.

The range is surrounded by competent rivals - some cheaper, some better equipped, but none with the Disco's breeding and heritage that is so important to buyers worldwide (a USP not lost on the marque's new owner Ford).

Crucially, Land Rover's mid-size permanent four-wheel drive has been improved to such an extent that it is easy to drive on and off road and priced to compete in the real world of American and Japanese 4x4 techknow-how. Additionally the bonnet and front bumpers have been revised, there's a deeper grille, a one-piece front bumper, new sill and quarter finishes, mudflaps and spats, door handles are bigger as are rearranged rear bumper and rear light clusters.

Entry Discovery E starts at ú21,995 on-the-road with ABS, Hill Descent Control (HDC), Electronic Traction Control (ETC), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and remote central door locking. S and GS come next with enhanced specification for up to 14% lower prices since the Commission hoo-ha, the former with roof rails as standard, the latter with Automatic Temperature Control (ATC) as well.

XS features part leather/Alcantara trim and a premium entertainment system. The seven-seat-only Adventurer costs the same as XS - ú29,595 - and features 'lifestyle' items such as Indiana leather and duotone alloy wheels. ES tops the range at ú34,765 in seven-seat format - petrol or diesel - with rear air-con and wood.

This report concentrates on the best-selling GS, which with seven seats, automatic transmission and Td5 engine appears on the accountant's spreadsheet at ú28,610.