2003 Land Rover Discovery Series II

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

2003 Land Rover Discovery Series II 4-door SUV
1999 Land Rover Discovery Series II shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Moderate overlap front: original test

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 1999-2004 models built after October 1998

Tested vehicle: 1999 Land Rover Discovery Ser.II 4-door 4wd

The Land Rover Discovery was re-engineered during the 1999 model year and renamed the Discovery Series II. The size of the cargo area was increased, and for all 1999 and later models manufactured after October 1998, the vehicle was structurally modified to improve occupant protection in frontal crashes. (Note: Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door.)

The Institute has evaluated the crashworthiness of a 1999 Discovery Series II with the structural changes in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Dummy movement was well controlled. During rebound, the dummy's head tilted toward the driver door and then hit the B-pillar as it continued moving rearward. There was too much upward movement of the steering wheel.

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.

Intrusion in the footwell area contributed to high forces on the dummy's left leg, indicating injury likelihood.

Smeared greasepaint on the airbag shows where the dummy's face contacted it. The restraints performed well except for the excessive steering column movement.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CF99010
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 26
Left (cm) 26
Center (cm) 23
Right (cm) 21
Brake pedal (cm) 16
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 7
Right (cm) 8
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 10
Rearward (cm) 1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 7

Driver injury measures

Test ID CF99010
Head
HIC-15 312
Peak gs at hard contact 23
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.6
Extension bending moment (Nm) 21
Maximum Nij 0.31
Chest maximum compression (mm) 33
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 4.6
Femur force - right (kN) 2.3
Knee displacement - left (mm) 4
Knee displacement - right (mm) 6
Maximum tibia index - left 2.04
Maximum tibia index - right 0.98
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 10.2
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 4.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 153
Right 104

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

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