Land Rover Discovery 3

On 2 April 2004, Land Rover introduced the Discovery 3. It was a new design, sharing no components with the outgoing model. It retains the key features of the Discovery, such as the stepped roofline and steeply-raked windscreen. Land Rover developed an all-new method which they called Integrated Body Frame (IBF). In the IBF, the body, the engine bay and passenger compartment is built as a monocoque, which is mated to a basic ladder-chassis holding the gearbox and suspension. It claimed to combine the virtues of both systems, but does make the Discovery 3 uncommonly heavy for its size stunting on-road performance and off-road agility, especially in soft ground such as sand. This was one of the reasons that the new Discovery became the first Land Rover to be offered with a rear locking differential.

Another big change was the fitting of full independent suspension (FIS). This is an air suspension system, which allows the ride-height of the vehicle to be altered by simply pumping up or deflating the air bags. The vehicle can be raised to provide ground clearance when off-road, but lowered at high speeds to improve handling.