Gold quality in silver package, special edition Land Rover Discovery

The Disco first bridged the gap, in price and just about everything else, between the utilitarian Defender and the luxurious Range Rover, combining ultimate off-road ability with everyday comfort on the highway.

Now, to mark its 25th birthday and 1.1 million sales to almost every country around the world, Land Rover has unveiled the ultimate Discovery, badged simply the 'XXV'.

It has the highest level of equipment fitted to a Disco, the most prestigious interior and, of course, will only be made in limited numbers which explains the £64,790 price tag – around £5,000 more than the standard HSE.

The Discovery has won well over 200 awards, most recently another Tow Car of the Year title – its seventh in eight years which is unprecedented in these honours and speaks volumes for its capabilities.

There are some more recently designed SUVs which may have advantages over the Land Rover in, for example, ride quality but that's probably because the company has always refused to compromise on its off-road capability, which is perhaps only matched by its posh sibling, the Range Rover. It can be subject to some body roll if you're hustling along a country road, but if you're not trying to break any records it's quiet, soft and comfortable, and as quiet as many a premier saloon.

The power comes from Jaguar Land Rover's proven 3.0 litre V6 turbo diesel, with 256PS of power and a hefty 442ft lbs of torque, which means impressive low down grunt for towing and forays off-road.

This is mated to the well-proven Jaguar Land Rover ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, which is particularly flexible and responsive making a significant contribution to its performance and economy, as well as the car's refined driving experience.

Despite its permanent four wheel drive and weighing in at getting on for three tonnes, its performance is in the premium saloon league with a 0 to 60mph sprint time of 8.8 seconds and average fuel consumption of over 35mpg.

CO2 emissions are competitive, too, at 213g/km.

The XXV special edition is kitted out to flagship Discovery HSE standards, but with some extra touches inside and out.

It comes with a special 'Causeway grey' metallic colour scheme with jet black highlights on mirrors and grilles plus a new design of 20-inch alloy wheels and stainless steel treadplates.

Inside there are twist pile carpet mats, lashings of Windsor leather trim, lacquered wood, leather seats embossed with the XXV emblem and a leather-wrapped wooden steering wheel which add to the feel-good factor.

Front and rear climate control, sunroof, a cooled storage box for your refreshments, heated seats all round (with electric adjustment for the driver and front passenger), a surround sound audio system with 17 speakers and TV/video screens with headphones for those in the back add to the limousine-like ambience.

Touch-screen navigation electric windows and mirrors, plus the usual array of safety features and stability control systems are also part of the package.

Perhaps a bit surprising, on a vehicle such as this, the towing pack is a £510 extra.

While features like this make the Discovery XXV a comfortable and civilised place to be in any environment, don't think this is a big softy.

True to the model's raison d'etre, it has all Land Rover's latest technology to make it a tough cookie on and off road.

For example it has an 'exterior detection pack', which is essentially a series of micro cameras capable of piping images from all around the car onto the central screen: just as handy if you're trying to squeeze a vehicle of this size into a city centre parking space or shoehorning it through dense woodland.

There's also, of course, Land Rover's award-winning terrain response system which was pioneered in the Discovery. You just dial in the conditions (for example ice and snow, or mud and ruts) and the car makes all the necessary adjustments – ride height through the air suspension system, throttle and gearbox responses and so on.

Don't forget hill descent control, another Land Rover first which uses ABS sensors to govern pulses of braking to keep the car under control on what would previously have been dangerously steep and slippery slopes.

Having experienced its effectiveness, it's just one thing that leaves you mightily impressed with the Discovery's capabilities.

In keeping with its all-rounder image, the car's cargo capacity is anything from 280 to a massive 2,558 litres, depending on seating configuration. That's accessed through the big split rear door (the bottom section of which, incidentally, doubles as a pretty good ad hoc picnic table!).

Over its 25 year life, the Discovery has proved itself popular with everyone from mums on the school run to the military and international aid agencies, as well as in expeditions led by the likes of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Ben Mears and polar explorer Ben Saunders.

That makes it a pretty unusual beast, providing proof of its claims to be a car which combines sophistication and comfort with the ability to get going when the going gets tough.

Arguably it's all the car you could ever need: and the XXV special edition is designed to be the ultimate expression of that ethos.

By John Griffiths