When the Land Rover Discovery was first launched in the late-80s it deftly predicted the upcoming craze for mildly upmarket family wagons on stilts, proving popular in urban areas despite its off-road chops and eventually inspiring the smaller Freelander.
Now we're onto the fourth version of what is a stalwart in the Land Rover range - it has got bigger in everything direction, been made more expensive and moved further upmarket to make room for models below it in the Land Rover food chain, but the essentials remain.
Land Rover has done well to keep the Discovery looking fresh and relevant whilst still retaining the design cues that hark back to the original car. As it moves upmarket, little touches like the clamshell bonnet and jewel-effect headlamps have been brought in from the Range Rover too.
Overall it is a handsome car - and the effect continues inside, where Land Rover has carefully balanced a high-quality feel with the robustness you expect from a 4x4. Modern premium touches have found their way inside, with a fancy parking camera system, touchscreen infotainment centre, zoned climate control and heated seats all available on the Discovery. This generation of Discovery is terribly refined, offering a cabin almost devoid of tyre, engine and wind roar.
On the move, Land Rover has introduced technological trickery to the suspension to improve the driving experience - it still isn't as good to drive as some of its rivals, but then some of them would get stuck in a deep puddle, so you win some and you lose some. This Discovery is much better through the corners, resisting body roll, and is fantastic on a motorway cruise.
The newest addition to the engine range is also our favourite - the 3.0-litre V6 diesel offers massively improved performance and economy over the old unit with 243bhp and 442lb ft of torque. It transforms the character of the car - whereas the old 2.7 engine always seems to be fighting the weight of the car, the new one is effortless. The engine is also flexible enough should you want to exploit its prodigious off-road talents.
As a premium family 4x4 costing from around £35,000 the Discovery makes a strong case for itself when you consider how plush it feels inside. It lacks the neat little touches that set rivals apart, but it does have a strong badge. If you're going to use the Discovery off-road it makes an even more compelling case for itself.