The imminent arrival of the new Discovery 3 has failed to dampen customer enthusiasm for the outgoing model, with Land Rover selling out of stocks in September.

And with a month to go before the new 4x4 goes on sale dealers have already had 3,000 pre-sale orders.

The Freelander continues to lead the compact SUV sales chart, selling 3,898 vehicles in September, taking this year’s total Freelander sales to 18,720, which is some 200 vehicles up year-on-year.

Land Rover UK managing director, Phil Popham says: "September clearly is one of the most important sales months on the calendar in the UK, and with results like these we can be very encouraged by the confidence in Land Rover's new breed of vehicles. The current Discovery's run-out sales have been amazing, and the equity in the Discovery name is very evident with the numbers of the all-new Discovery 3 already sold, many of which were made before we even announced the pricing."

The Discovery 3 goes on sale on November 1.