Land Rover’s Discovery model has been the mainstay of the brand for quite a while now. With a reputation for being a superbly capable off-road performer, the Discovery has spanned five generations to date.

While the newly-released model is still an expensive item, the previous models come into pretty sharp focus for somebody looking for a well-equipped, old-school off-roader. And of those previous generation cars, the most recently superseded version, the Discovery 4, is probably the most appealing.

Launched in 2009, the Discovery 4 kicked off in Series 1 form with a choice of a 2.7-litre turbo diesel, a more advanced 3.0-litre turbo diesel with a twin, sequential turbocharger set-up, and a 5.0-litre V8 petrol for those who were chasing refinement and performance and didn’t give a hoot about fuel economy. Or lack of it, because the petrol Discovery, weighing in as it did at the wrong side of 2.5 tonnes could get through the premium unleaded it required at a frightening rate. All engines were backed by a six-speed automatic transmission.

Bigger in every direction than the Discovery 3, the 4 also sported electronically-controlled air-suspension, permanent all-wheel-drive and a proper set of low-range gears courtesy of Land Rover’s Terrain Response system with its driver selectable modes.

A Series 2 version arrived at the start of 2013, ditching the 2.7-litre turbo-diesel powerplant and replacing it with a second 3.0-litre unit with lower output than the original. That meant you had a choice of either the 155kW unit or a 183kW version with considerably more torque.

And regardless of which turbo diesel you opted for, you got the new eight-speed automatic transmission which improved driveability in every set of conditions as well as improving efficiency. The V8 petrol model remained and retained the six-speed auto.

Just a year later, Land Rover launched the Series 3 models, the big change being the dumping of the 5.0-litre V8. In its place went a supercharged petrol V6 measuring 3.0-litres and producing a little less power and torque than the V8. The pay-off was at the bowser, though, and the V6 was a much more frugal operator.

While the Discovery’s off-road ability was well known, you don’t often see them slogging through the mulga on a regular basis. The brand’s reputation for having things go wrong played against that sort of use, as did the cost and complexity of the thing.

In fact, a high percentage pf Discoveries have never been off the bitumen and, thanks to the seven-seat layout (standard on most versions, optional on the base-model) many of them have been confined to family-car duties. And they’re the ones to buy now, of course.

But there are a few other things to know.

They should have cropped up and been fixed by now, but some very early versions of the diesel V6 in the Disco suffered crankshaft bearing failure. Nobody’s really sure whether it was a bad batch of bearing shells, incorrect assembly at the factory or just plain old bad luck, but when these bearings let go, it’s usually all over for that engine. A low-oil-pressure light that illuminates or flickers at idle is the first sign of impending doom, but some engines gave no warning at all.

Like we said, this should have occurred by now and any engine that hasn’t suffered the problem yet, probably won’t. A new bearing design early in the Disco 4’s life cured the problem altogether.

The compressor for the air-suspension has been known to fail on these cars and a new design was also pressed into service as the permanent fix. But if it does fail, you could be stuck with a vehicle which refuses to rise to its operating height.

Any inspection of a Discovery should also include a check for oil and coolant leaks and, while you’re under there, check the bottom of the car for scrapes and damage, suggesting it has, indeed, been off road at some point in its life.

Don’t forget to check for power-steering fluid leaks, too, as these were not unknown on the Disco.

Another theme that keeps cropping up is that of worn lower control-arms in the Disco’s suspension. These can be rebushed, but many workshops replace the whole arm-and-bush assembly as it’s cheaper than rebuilding the old arms.

A couple of recalls have affected this model Land Rover, too.

One was to check and replace a crank-angle sensor which could snuff out unexpectedly. If it did, the engine would simply stop without warning, leaving the driver with no power-assistance for the steering or brakes. The vehicle would still steer and stop, but would require much stronger inputs from the driver to make that happen.

The other recall also affected 2012 and 2013-built Discoveries and was to check the bonding on the glass that formed the panoramic sunroof. In some cases, this bonding was found to be faulty and the glass could have parted way ways with the rest of the vehicle in an at-worst scenario.

Our rating: 3/5

Nuts and bolts

Engine/s: 2.7-litre V6 turbo diesel/3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel/5.0-litre V8 petrol

Transmissions: six-speed auto

Fuel economy (combined): 10.2L/100km (2.7)/9.3L/100km (3.0)/13.9L/100km (V8)

Likes:

Lovely to drive even around town.

Good long-distance tourer.

Brilliant off-road in a technical sense.

Classy looking and well appointed.

Dislikes:

Silly reliability problems.

Petrol will be thirsty.

Poor reputation.

Most bush mechanics won’t have seen one before.

Competitors:

Mercedes ML – Very much a road-oriented SUV, the Benz hasn’t really gained the following here it has elsewhere. Choice of engines is nice, but not everybody bought the sensible one; the turbo diesel. 2.5/5

BMW X5 – Option of seven-seats on later version made a huge difference but underlines why SUVs exist in the first place. Not much in the way of off-road smarts but well built and involving to drive. 3.5/5

Jeep Grand Cherokee – Like the Discovery, the Jeep was a superb off-roader, let down at the time (and now) by a poor reputation for going the distance. V8 engine is strong, but thirsty. 3/5

What to pay (courtesy of Glass’s Guide):

Model     Year        New                    Now

2009       2.7          $684,90              $26,300

2009       3.0          $81,990              $31,900

2009       V8           $126,460            $33,300

2010       2.7          $68,490              $29,000

2010       3.0          $81,990              $35,500

2010       V8           $126,460            $39,100

2011       2.7          $68,490              $31,400

2011       3.0          $81,990              $38,100

2011       V8           $127,500            $47,300

2012       2.7          $68,900              $36,500

2012       3.0          $84,300              $45,700

2012       V8           $129,900           $56,900

2013       TDV6      $68,900              $41,300

2013       SDV6      $84,600              $51,200

2013       V8          $129,900            $65,200

2014       TDV6     $68,900               $46,500

2014       SDV6     $84,600               $57,200

2014       V8          $129,900            $74,200