Celebrating 25 years of the Land Rover Discovery is no easy task. After all, the Discovery is a bit of an off-road icon, and it’s been the port of call for motorists in the UK who need a rugged off-roader that can tow practically anything, yet take the kids to school, for a very long time.
Even so, Land Rover isn’t shying away from their celebration responsibilities, and they’ve introduced a special edition Land Rover Discovery to mark the occasion.
It’s called the Land Rover Discovery XXV.
The Land Rover Discovery XXV is a special edition model that celebrates 25 years of the Discovery. To set it apart from regular cars, it has several cosmetic add-ons and extra luxury trim versus the top specification HSE Luxury. Those cosmetic add-ons include unique badges, new alloy wheels, a dark-coloured grille surround, door mirror trim, stainless steel roof rails, and a stainless steel bumper tread plate.
To the average motorist, then, the XXV will look like any other Discovery. But for die-hard fans and Land Rover customers, the differences will be noticeable enough. The car is unlikely to draw any open jaws near it, though.
The car is powered by the all-familiar 3.0-litre V6 turbocharged diesel engine with an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Of course, the Discovery has all-wheel-drive, and will go from o – 62 mph in 8.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 112 mph. That’s in no way fast, but the Discovery has never been a hot rod racer. It’s a 4×4, and a bloody good one at that.
The larger alloy wheels give the Discovery a slightly firmer ride versus the HSE Luxury, but even so it still offers a subtle ride around town and a confidence-inspiring ride on the motorway. The chassis and suspension soak up bumps extremely well. Buyers need to be aware, however, that this is no SUV – there’s nothing particularly sporty about it. It looks great, but it’s not up to the task of handling A-roads at break-neck speed. For that, a Range Rover Sport is what you want.
Still, the Discovery is uncanny off-road. Show the XXV a steep incline covered in loose gravel, sticky mud and ice, and it’ll climb it with ease. This cars all-wheel-drive system is so good, that it’s next to impossible to lose grip on wet grass – and wet grass is, of course, the trickiest of all terrains.
Farnell Land Rover think that the Discovery XXV is a great tribute to the model.
The special edition Land Rover Discovery XXV is estimated to arrive in Autumn with an on-the-road price of £61,000. That’s several thousand pounds more than the top specification HSE Luxury, and the price is expected to be high because of the extra equipment, and the fact that this is a special edition model that won’t be produced in great numbers.
In other words, if you’re looking to buy a Discovery that’s a little bit special, the XXV might just be perfect.
