1999 Land Rover Discovery

In the days when utility vehicles were just that, durable and crude workhorses with no "sport" pretensions, there were Land Rovers. They could follow any trail, no matter how rough, or make their own trail when there wasn't one. Comfort was a semi-waterproof top. That was sufficient when getting there was a necessity, not fun. When sport-utility vehicles gained popularity, there were Range Rovers. The early Range Rovers trekking through the wilds of Beverly Hills in the 1970s helped make four-wheel beasts of burden fashionable. In 1994, a lower-priced Land Rover Discovery was added to the Range Rover line. Unchanged in basic form since then, the Discovery has carved a solid niche for itself in the $30,000 class. The Discovery is no poseur. It is as rugged as it looks, providing off-road capability that few vehicles can match. The 1998 Discovery is far more refined than it was when it was introduced and the quality is substantially better than it was just two years ago. This year's LSE model offers some nice trim details and a new choice of colors.