IT'S been a long time a-coming, but Rover has finally bitten the bullet and re-worked the world's best-selling off-roader.

It tried most of the new gizmos out on the Freelander, which was launched last autumn.

Greeted with acclaim by the world's motoring press, it gave the Longbridge outfit, not to mention BMW, which has been sweating buckets over its acquisition, a lot more confidence.

Rover has obeyed the cardinal rule that you don't change a winning formula, so keeping the looks of the original, which was the money-maker of Land Rover, as the 3-Series was of BMW, was paramount.

So what we have is a five-door vehicle that is longer and wider, without any body panels being carried over, yet looks just like the out-going one. It is sure to be another big success.

There is quite a bit more leg room in the bigger and more luxurious cabin, which should please the passengers, and there is now a third row of seats in some models, which are side-mounted but swivel round to face forward.

But don't think of asking adults to sit on them, just the kids, who will have a whale of a time because they can still plug in to the car's CD system with their own headphone sockets and audio controls.

Since Rover hasn't re-used any of the old Disco's body panels, why do they persist in making the two passenger doors so narrow, with the intrusion of such big wheel arches?

The instrumentation and switchgear have been sorted out at last, although Rover keeps the piano-keys each side of the binnacle round the steering wheel.

There's a terrific new five-cylinder turbo diesel engine, which has bags of punch and pulling power, while the petrol unit (realistically no more than 13mpg) is now a torquey V8 4-litre lump, which, given that it is having to move a two-tonne vehicle, performs tolerably well.

It is well worth going for the automatic transmission, since Rover has chosen to keep the rather awkward manual shift, which is still quite a stretch across the central console.

The Disco has long been criticised for its rock 'n' rolling ride and alarming lurches on the road, the penalty of putting too much emphasis on the long-travel soft suspension vital for some of the best off-road performance in the business.

That is now a thing of the past with the introduction of the Active Cornering Enhancement system. No longer does the Disco lean into bends. Instead it is firm and very stable on the tarmac.

All this leaves the car still right up there with the best off-roaders, with the added help of the electronic Hill Descent Control, first seen on the Freelander, making going up and downhill a bit easier with traction control operating independently on all four wheels.

Another trick is being able to lower the rear of the car by remote control so it can be hitched to a trailer or horsebox.

For the first time, the Discovery comes with a very welcome three-year warranty.

Fact File Model: Land Rover Discovery, five-door £25,500-£34,600. Engine: V8 4.0-litre petrol, producing 184PS at 4,750rpm and 250lb/ft at 2,600rpm; 5-cylinder intercooled direct injection turbo diesel producing 137.5PS at 4,200rpm and 220lb/ft at 1,950rpm. Transmission: permanent four-wheel drive through five-speed manual gearbox, or four-speed automatic. Brakes: ABS, discs front and rear. Performance: maximum speed 106mph (petrol), 98mph (TD); 0-60mph 10.9 secs (petrol), 14.2secs (TD). Economy: combined 17mpg (petrol), 30mpg (TD). Fuel: unleaded, capacity 93 litres (20.5 gallons). Warranty: three-year, 60,000 miles, three years Rover Assist, three-year anti-corrosion guarantee.