Well, I guess I'll be the only one who thinks the LR3 is going to be sweet. Here are the reasons.
The first reason is I strongly believe that Land Rover has and will continue to improve their quality control. They jumped several notches up the reliability scale in '04 according to JD Powers (
http://www.thelandroverchronicle.com/new_page_431.htm - What's funny is Hummer is dead last.) Since Ford bought Jaguar their reputation has DRASTICALLY improved. Only Lexus and Cadillac beat Jaguar on the reliability scale in 2004. I've read a few articles, one in LRO (or maybe it was LRM) about how Ford has begun to crack down on the LR's assembly line quality control. I read in the last issue of LRM that Ford has pumped 486 million pounds (that's around 900 million US dollars depending on what the exchange rate is today) into improving Land Rover. I know I'm being optimistic, but I think there is good reason to support my optimism. However, I understand it will have some bugs when it first comes out because it's a new model.
Secondly, it's got much better features than our Discos do now. LR has appealed not only to mall crawlers with the LR3's ease of use, ie Terrain Response, but they've appealed to the off-road enthusiasts by keeping the good old mechanical 4wd, ie center and rear lockers. I believe independent suspension is a better system than live axles. I won't go into why as I know everyone on this site has their own convictions. However, I do acknowledge that the independent suspension will be a pain to lift for those of us who like more ground clearance. Also, they made the LR3 roomier (as you all know because you've commented on it's size). Room is a good thing when your hauling friends, gear, family or whatever. It still has good approach angles which makes up for the size. Besides, if you want less vehicle just get a Rubicon, or, hopefully, a new Defender. There's a great article in the last issue of LRM. It covers some of the interior ammenities the LR3 is going to have.
Anyway, all this is to say I'm probably the only one on Discoweb who thinks the LR3 is going to be cool. Oh, well.