2010 Land Rover Discovery 4

The Land Rover Discovery 4 was first introduced in the summer of 2009 and came to market in the UK in September of the same year. The freshly penned five door SUV was the work of Gerry McGovern, and made in the image of the three preceding vehicles of the Discovery series.

This one was built by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) for worldwide disaster relief company Rescue Global, and still wears the door badges to prove its provenance. It’s been meticulously maintained and, as you can see from the pictures and video, it looks superb inside and out.

Whether it was ever actually sent to any disaster areas is unclear, but if it was, it survived totally unscathed by the experience as far as we can see – it’s in lovely condition.

The body construction of the Discovery 4 was exactly the same as its predecessor and is a monocoque upper structure bolted to a separate ladder chassis, making it an extremely strong vehicle. In terms of the exterior, the new model featured a restyled bumper and front grille, both of which were later used in the design of the 2010 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. LED lights were also incorporated into the new vehicle, featuring in both the front and rear lamp assemblies.

There’s a tiny dent on the rear step, a few small marks on the roof rack, and some tiny marks on the alloy wheels – but that’s about it. The Discovery is in excellent condition externally, and looks superb. There’s no stone chipping at the front and the paint looks undamaged.

There’s a very powerful-looking winch mounted at the front of the Discovery, still with its neat woven cover fitted. On top there’s the kind of roof rack you can attach a tent to so that the lions don’t bother you while you’re slumbering – always handy in the home counties.

Two powerful spotlights nestle between the Land Rover bull bar, ready to pick out charging elephants, or other drivers, and a long snorkel style intake that takes its air from roof level, allowing you to traverse deep rivers, in the event that you have many to cross, and the ferries have stopped for the night.

All in all this is a serious piece of kit, and one that imbues a feeling of invincibility – you feel that you could literally climb in and drive around the world in it.

The Discovery 4 was given a luxurious makeover, with a range of contemporary upgrades to its interior. The instrument cluster was redesigned with an analogue speedometer and tachometer gauge replaced by a single screen that displays temperature and fuel gauges.

The plush new seat design came in a variety of materials and the interior was available in a wider selection of colours. Plus, the introduction of electronic systems from the Range Rover line up, such as the Surround Camera System that transmits images from the front bumper, door, mirrors and rear tailgate handle to the centre console screen, took the Discovery 4 to an upmarket level, catering to luxury and executive markets.

All the electric systems work as they should in this Discovery, and the interior is in superb order throughout. The leather seats could be a year old, all the trim is in place and undamaged, the door seals are all excellent and despite the interior being black, which obviously shows the dirt, it’s all extremely clean-looking.

The Land Rover Special Vehicles unit also fitted a CB radio and switches for flashing lights in the central cubby box between the front seats; a very professional installation that adds yet further to the Discovery's expeditionary nature.

The Discovery 4 was quite a step up from its predecessor, with a number of mechanical changes to make it more reliable than before. When it came to engines, you had plenty of options. The 3.0-litre TDV6 Gen III was a step up from the previous 2.7-litre engine, and there is some clever tech on his vehicle, including an alternator designed to charge the battery only when the engine load is low, meaning improved fuel economy during tougher times.

This car also has more powerful brakes and thicker anti-roll bars than earlier versions. Plus, the Stability Control System applies the brakes upon detecting understeer, and the Terrain Response system has more features, such as traction control in ‘Sand’ mode, and the ability to apply gentle brake pressure in ‘Rock Crawl’ mode for improved grip and stability.

Finally, Trailer Stability Assist is fitted to help adjust the throttle and brakes to prevent a swaying trailer – anyone who’s ever towed a heavy load will see the benefits of this.

The engine bay is very clean, the car starts idles and drives as it should – no major surprise given the relatively low mileage and the excellent maintenance record.

The underside of the vehicle shows minor surface blemishes on some of the steel parts but other than that we saw no evidence of any oil leaks and the spare wheel, sometimes missing from these vehicles, is in place and perfectly serviceable.

The Discovery comes with a full service history, a pile of historic MoT certificates, and invoices for work carried out. There’s an invoice from just last year for servicing the air conditioning system and replacing the front suspension arm rear bushes (£2164), plus one for a service last December for £553. In addition there was a major service earlier last year which cost £1335. The car comes with two keys. The owner says:

‘We bought the car back November 2015 direct from Land Rover along with another identical vehicle. We sold it to the last owner and have recently taken it back in part exchange. The vehicles were liveried up with the ‘Rescue Global’ decals and expedition equipment that would have been fitted by Land Rover SVO.

‘With the paperwork that comes with the vehicle is some background on Rescue Global (https://www.rescueglobal.org/). As you will also see from the service history the vehicle has been exceptionally maintained and regularly serviced.’

There aren’t many vehicles that are as happy going up a mountain, through a bog or circling the M25 on a Friday evening, but the Discovery 4 is one of them (the others are also Land Rover products). This one has a fascinating history, having been prepared by Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations department, has been meticulously maintained regardless of cost, and is in excellent condition.

So whether you want an SUV because your driveway gets a little muddy in the winter months, or you have a wanderlust and plan to head for the hills, you can definitely do it in this Discovery. We think our estimate of £10,000-£15,000 represents excellent value for this highly-capable go-anywhere vehicle.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.