Land Rover Discovery

The Discovery has considerable off-road prowess, but on the highway it has never lived up to its upmarket cachet. The steering is imprecise, and the ride is stiff and choppy. We found that with the ACE (Active Cornering Enhancement) suspension, the tail could swing out abruptly during emergency maneuvers. Many controls are awkward to use and cryptically labeled. The small door openings and high step-in hinder access. A brace of tiny third-row jump seats, which fold up against the side when not in use, is optional. A 4.6-liter V8 from the previous generation Range Rover replaced the lackluster and thirsty 4.0-liter. The 2005 LR3 redesign has just been introduced.