2005 Land Rover LR3 Preview

The new LR3 will be available in eight standard colors, including Chawton White, Bonatti Grey, Alveston Red, Java Black, Adriatic

Land Rover will face even tougher competition than when the series-1 Discovery entered the market in 1993. (Photo: Land Rover)

Blue, Zambezi Silver, Maya Gold and Tonga Green - the latter being the only new color.

The extra change needed to purchase the top-line LR3 HSE will buy a touch-screen, voice-activated navigation system, 600-watt audio system, 19-inch alloy wheels, Bi-Xenon headlamps and memory seats.

Land Rover will face even tougher competition than when the series-1 Discovery entered the market in 1993 as a 1994 model, as now there are many more carmakers which have entered the luxury SUV market. Not many offer true off-road capability, which will set the British entry apart from the masses for a select few who actually use the vehicle for such purposes, but that still leaves it fighting it out with Chrysler Group's all-new and much less expensive HEMI-powered, albeit 5-occupant-only Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango models, GM's TrailBlazer/Envoy/Rainier/Ascender SUVs and Tahoe/Yukon sport utes, Ford's Expedition/Lincoln Navigator, and Volkswagen's Touareg, once again with best in class interior quality. To some extent Porsche is also in the running, with its very capable Cayenne. While all but the full-size

Land Rover is hoping, despite the competition, that the LR3 will be enticing enough to pull it out of red ink. (Photo: Land Rover)

domestic SUVs only offer 5-occupant seating, Jeep will soon come to market with a 7-occupant Grand Cherokee-based Commander, which reportedly will deliver the goods on and off the road with similar capability to the brand's smaller SUVs.

Land Rover is hoping, despite the competition, the LR3 will be enticing enough to pull it out of red ink. While the SUV's dramatic entry-level price increase makes it look less competitive than the outgoing model at first, it does feature many more standard features and therefore appears reasonably priced compared to rivals offering similar equipment. Obviously Land Rover has equipped and priced its LR3 commensurate with the average price its buyers are paying for the current Discovery Series II, so it shouldn't see a significant drop in sales by the exclusion of Discovery S buyers. According to the automaker, it will go on sale this fall.