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G-WAC generation is coming home to mark 25 years of Discovery [Western Morning News (England)]
[September 16, 2014]

G-WAC generation is coming home to mark 25 years of Discovery [Western Morning News (England)]


(Western Morning News (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Twenty-five years ago a worldconquering vehicle was launched in the Westcountry. Steve Grant looks back at the spirit of Disco' Land Rover could have picked anywhere for the launch of its exciting new model in October 1989.



Exotic locations around the globe beckoned. Instead, its promotions team selected Plymouth with its highly appropriate tag of City of Discovery. Twenty-five years later - like the Mazda MX-5 and Toyota Rav4 - the Land Rover Discovery is still going strong. The Plymouth unveiling was masterminded by new owner British Aerospace, which had recently bought the millstone that was the sprawling BL empire out of Government ownership. Back in 1989, company people saw the first new Land Rover since the 1970 Range Rover as a vital plug for a vast gap in their range - but little more.

But it became hugely popular, eventually selling well over a million. It helped kickstart a huge, new, leisureoriented market sector, probably saved Land Rover, and ultimately dominated a new corner of the 1990s motoring landscape. In 1989, there wasn't much like the Discovery on the British market. Larger 4x4 competition came from Japanese brands like Isuzu, Nissan and Toyota, mostly costing less than the Discovery's starting price. Today its unthinkable, but back then mainstream manufacturers didn't really do big, spacious, stylish, comfortable, luxurious, seven-seat vehicles with continent-crossing ability - because the market was insignificant.


Few vehicles can claim to have founded a new, hitherto unsuspected market sector - but the Discovery is one such car. It catered for new demands, creating and developing a justemerging family market - the right car at the right time.

Millions of people around the world have since appreciated its many talents. It's a go-anywhere workhorse, tow car, law enforcer, status symbol, people carrier, mud plugger - and lots more.

And slowly but surely it's become almost ubiquitous. If you need proof, just count them. On several recent trips between Plymouth and Taunton I never failed to count more than a dozen, of various ages and incarnations, on each trip. Since that launch in 1989, developed through four generations, the Discovery has carved a unique niche - and earned its iconic status. Twenty-five years on, it is unmistakable as one of the world's most desirable all-purpose vehicles All the launch models were three-door Discoveries, with the five-door versions not available for a further 12 months.

According to reports from the time, the ride was soft, and roll angles limited enthusiastic cornering, but off-road ability, tested on Dartmoor, lived up to established legend.

Performance was described as "smooth, quite lively" though its fuel economy was "quite depressing" Jon Massey, the Western Morning News motoring editor at the time, was obviously impressed.

He opined: "The Discovery looks smart enough to appeal to the Yuppie market and has performance to leave its rivals standing." He also praised the commanding driving position "licence-losing acceleration" and its creature comforts.

The Discovery was spacious and "anything but boringly functional in design, and the sort of car the Joneses will drive - if the looks we received on the test route were anything to judge by," he concluded.

One of the launch highlights was a trip to the South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh, where a Discovery pulled several railway coaches along the track. Eight-six Discoverys were used for the launch. They earned an affectionate nickname among Disco' aficionados. They all had consecutive registration numbers - said 'G' plates with the last three letters WAC. In the Discovery world they soon became known as 'G-WACS'. From these humble Plymouth beginnings, the Discovery revolutionised the 4x4 landscape. Its combination of contemporary design, spacious and user-friendly interiors, unflinching capability and extreme versatility made it an instant hit. With the release of each new generation, it has cemented its position as the most capable, versatile SUV in the world.

Thanks to its formidable array of innovative and awardwinning technologies, from Terrain Response to Hill Descent Control, the Discovery is as comfortable taking on everyday journeys as it is tackling the world's harshest terrain - as numerous intercontinental expeditions have proved. Over its 25 years it has been chosen as the explorer's choice to take on challenges and adventures. Sir Ranulph Fiennes used an original Discovery in his expedition to discover the Lost City of Ubar.

Ray Mears, Dartmouthbased TV broadcaster, explorer and marine biologist Monty Halls and Plymouth's polar explorer Ben Saunders are also those who have put their faith in the Discovery in some of the world's most challenging environments.

In 2012 the one millionth Discovery undertook a 50-day, 8,000 mile adventure travelling through more than a dozen countries across Europe and Central Asia, to raise more than Pounds 1million for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Disco' has also proven extremely popular with search and rescue, police and humanitarian organisations throughout the world, being used by groups such as the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency, RNLI and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society.

A Discovery 3 was used on the record-holding London-Cape Town drive in 2013. It made the 10,000 mile journey in 10 days.

By the beginning of this year 1,088,000 Discoverys had been produced at Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull manufacturing plant in the West Midlands. It has picked up more than 220 awards from around the world from both automotive titles and non-automotive bodies alike, including both a 'Best of What's New' Award from US magazine Popular Science and a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category for its Terrain Response system, which allows the driver to quickly choose the correct vehicle settings for different off-road conditions. And, at 25, it's still winning awards. In the Tow Car Awards, the Discovery remains the pre-eminent car in its class and becomes the most successful car in the history of the awards with its seventh class win in eight years in 2014.

In the 1900kg+ class, the Discovery 3.0 SDV6 XS continued to perform better than all its rivals, including more recently launched competitors. It was Discovery's fifth consecutive win and its seventh award in eight years, a record unmatched by any other vehicle. The judges declared: "It is going to take a really superb car to beat the Discovery. Power, performance, stability, practicality - it has the lot." The experienced panel which put the Land Rover to the test were impressed by the ease with which it tackled towing duties, in particular its "confident and decisive" over-taking and "smooth, unflustered" manner in which it can be slowed, regardless of the weight of caravan attached. It also excelled in lane changing, motorway cruising and hill starts.

Jaguar Land Rover UK managing director, Jeremy Hicks said: "Discovery continues to set the benchmark for its class, in spite of the arrival of newer rivals on the market" Perhaps better still, the Discovery scooped an award in Britain's biggest customer satisfaction survey - Auto Express's 2014 Driver Power. The annual poll received more than 50,000 responses from car owners on the issues such as reliability, running costs and perfor mance.

Owners were asked to rate their car out of five and the Disco' was voted as having Best Ride Quality with an impressive score of 97.59 per cent.

To mark its silver anniversary, Land Rover released an XXV Special Edition of the Discovery as well as upgrading the rest of the range.

The 2014 Discovery receives a new look, new badging, new fuel stretching technology, improved audio systems and a new range of driver assistance, comfort and safety features.

The facelift included a new front grille, new front bumper, new headlamp design, new daytime running lights with a distinctive LED signature, plus two new alloy wheel designs. The class-leading 256PS 3.0-litre 3.0 SDV6 remains but with CO2 emissions reduced from 230g/ km to 213g/km, and fuel consumption improved to 35.3mpg.

I recently tested the Pounds 59,450 HSE Lux spec version and it was tremendous. I liked it, my partner liked it, the kids liked it. Hell, even the dog liked it.

We did just under 700 miles at an average of 45mph during which it returned 25.3mpg.

Equipped with eight-speed automatic transmission, new technology included Wade Sensing - a technology unique to Land Rover - Blind Spot Monitoring, Closing Vehicle Sensing, Reverse Traffic Detection and T-junction Cameras. It also came with a fabulous-Meridian sound system. The standard system features 8 speakers and 380 Watts of power, while the Meridian Surround system produces an impressive 825 Watts output and features 17 speakers.

As Phil Popham, group marketing director at Jaguar Land Rover, said: "Since its inception the Land Rover Discovery has been pivotal to the success of the brand and has now become an iconic design in its own right." Three-day celebration planned Dozens of Land Rover Discovery fans are expected in Plymouth to mark the 4x4's 25th birthday.

For several years now local Disco' fans have been holding an annual pilgrimage to Plymouth to mark the original launch.

This year, around 80 to 90 Discoverys and their owners are expected including a handful of the original 'GWACS'. The three-day event - October 10-12 - is organised and hosted by the Devon and Cornwall Section of the Discovery Owners' Club. The birthday weekend is open to any owner/driver of a Discovery or any other old Land Rover.

The weekend will be centred around Mount Edgcumbe Country Park. Owners will then arrive at Plymouth Hoe for a photoshoot from 9.30am on the Saturday.

On the Sunday, there will be some 'green laning' around Cornwall before a visit to the South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh and the Two Bridges Hotel on Dartmoor. Both locations were used for the original launch.

This year the event will be raising funds for the RNLI and Heartswell South West.

Anyone interested in joining the rally should contact Lee Hayward at [email protected] or call him on 07788 996644. Or visit www.discoverybirthdayparty.co.uk.

(c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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