Covering the broadest possible market segments with various products lines has always been the marketing strategy of automobile makers unless you are just targeting a certain niche like the upscale sports dominated by Ferrari or the luxury upscale limousines like the Rolls.

Among SUVs, you have a number of Japanese, American and European makes competing for world markets. The Land Rover has been a traditional brand that had its roots in 1948 and has been the most recognized brand as a multi-purpose all-weather all terrain utility vehicle. Its presence is everywhere, from the military forces in many countries, to expeditionary land transport as well as in the more mundane agriculture and industrial settings.

It wasn't until the late 80s and early 90s that the phenomenon of SUVs took hold on the Land Rover to start marketing a more updated series of vehicles that are at once all-terrain all-wheel drive sporty with the creature comforts associated with urban driving on city roads. With that, the Rover Group Plc introduced the Land Rover Discovery 1 - the first in a series that redefined the Land Rover as an SUV for th90s and beyond

A Cheaper Range Rover by Design

The Discovery was born from a vehicle project code-named "Project Jay" with the specific objective of coming out with a new Land Rover model based on the chassis and drivetrain of the upscale Range Rover but at a lower price point to attract a larger budget conscious market and to keep the Japanese SUVs at bay. First unveiled in the UK markets in 1989 as a 3-door model with the larger 5-door variant appearing the following year, the Discovery also came out in the Japanese markets as the Honda Crossroad between 1989 and 1999 resulting from the technical partnership with Honda Motors. The partnership ended when BMW buying the Rover Group in 1994.

A 3rd party design consultant ware hired - the Conran Design Group in London, to help the Rover team design a more suitable interior for an all-terrain 4x4 to be positioned more as a cheaper lifestyle alternative to Range Rover. It ended with some remarkable designs that in 1999 won a British Design Award for its custom sunglass holder that's uniquely positioned at the center of the steering wheel.

Most of its interior specs had been holdovers from a Range Rover design mock-up. Its interior structure is basically that of a Range Rover with various functional design elements like its switchgear and instrument panel taken from the Montego and Maestro Rover series. Its exterior also borrowed design elements like the headlamps from the Freight Rover and the taillights from its Maestro van.

Behind the hood, the Discovery 1 was offered with either a 2.5 liter Tdi diesel or the 3.5 liter V8 engines. In 1994 it was introduced in the US modified to comply with the strict US motor vehicle requirements. Improvements were further added like Bosch electronic emissions control, a more comfortable ride, a stronger R380 gearbox, larger headlights and a second set of lights on the rear bumper.

Other improvements were done to comply with newer European road safety standards. In 1995 a more powerful 3.9 litter V8 from the Range Rover SE model was used. Its 1996 models and onwards were fitted with 4.0L engines had a few improvements that included a larger, cross-bolted main bearings, revised intake, pistons and a new distributorless engine management system called GEMS. 1998 saw the end of the Land Rover Discovery 1 life cycle to be replaced by the Discovery 2.