Launched in 1998, the Discovery II was developed under BMW stewardship of the Land Rover brand – and this automatically meant it was considerably more advanced, more highly developed than the original. That version of nine years earlier had been innovative in its own right, but time had moved on and the Disco II needed a clean-sheet approach. Despite its visual similarities, the body was longer and wider, with modern touches like plastic pull-out door handles and higher-set larger rear lights. No more Maestro van and Marina relics this time round! The aesthetic differences were subtle, but the vehicle itself was much higher quality than the original, with a better paint finish and narrower panel gaps to emphasise its improved build.
Underneath was where the really clever stuff lay, though. The ladder frame chassis was stiffened up with six crossmembers instead of five. Beam axle suspension was retained but Land Rover now fitted air springs at the rear, for self-levelling and extra ground clearance off-road. There were anti-roll bars all round.
Doesn’t sound too clever yet? Hold on: the Disco also boasted ACE – Active Cornering Enhancement, or anti-roll suspension. Hydraulic actuators attached to the roll bars offset the effect of body lean by sending a force through the bars. They got their feeds from an array of sensors and worked in a split second. This transformed the Discovery’s handling, creating low levels of body roll that previous Discovery drivers just couldn’t believe.
To read this feature in full, see the the October 2010 issue of 4x4 Mart, on sale from Thursday, September 9th - available at all good newsagents or direct from www.4x4mart.co.uk
