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The Land Rover Discovery has been named as 'Best 4x4 off-roader' in the Auto Express New Car Honours for 2001.
Chosen as the best vehicle in its category, ahead of the Mitsubishi Shogun and the Mercedes M-Class the Discovery was judged “a delight to drive, providing a car-like balance between comfortable ride and handling composure which rivals cannot match. No matter what challenges you present it with, the Discovery covers the ground with devastating ease.”
At its introduction the Land Rover Series II Discovery was dubbed 'The Evolution that hides a Revolution' for its combination of iconic styling and high technology features. These features include Active Cornering Enhancement (ACE), a system that monitors and controls roll to provide the handling that impressed the Auto Express judges.
Other dynamic control systems fitted to Discovery include Self Levelling Suspension (SLS) that ensures a level vehicle stance under all load conditions and during towing, while all Discovery Series II models are fitted with ABS braking system as standard. The ABS system also incorporates four-wheel ETC (Electronic Traction Control), HDC (Hill Descent Control) and EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution). Power is provided by a 4.0 litre, V8 petrol or a 2.5 litre, 5-cylinder diesel engine.
The Discovery interior offers a comfortable airy cabin with seating for up to seven passengers (standard in ES models), all provided with lap and diagonal seat belts. Comfort features include climate control and in car entertainment systems with multi-change CD player.
Commenting on the award John Shingleton Managing Director Land Rover Australia, said: "Land Rover is delighted that the Discovery has won the Auto Express award. Customers as well as the press appreciate its breadth of on and off-road capability. Sales of Discovery in 2001 are on target for Australia, in what currently is a very competitive market segment. Our recent marketing campaigns and the current two-day test drive program has been very successful, in fact supply not demand is more of an issue for Australia', he added.
Providing outstanding value for money, Discovery starts at $47 280 for a V8 manual 5 seat model, while the top-of-the-range Td5 Auto Discovery ES 7-seater costs $70 370.
The Land Rover Freelander was commended in the tightly contested '4 X 4 recreational vehicle' section of the awards, the judges commenting that Freelander "strikes a near-perfect balance between on-road refinement and all-terrain ability".
The Freelander range starts at $38 950 with the three-door soft back SE model, and the top-of-the-range 5-Door ES wagon is priced at $44 950, both are powered by a 2.5 litre V6 petrol engine. Other models in the range include the 5-Door 2.0 Td4 Es wagons in both auto and manual, powered by a 2.0 litre, 4 cylinder diesel engine and priced from $40 950. Five-speed automatic transmission with 'Steptronic' is standard on V6 models and optional on diesel engine vehicles.
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