approved by Land Rover to retain warranty after it was presented at the 1980 Geneva Salon. Two years earlier, British Leyland had restructured and promoted Land Rover into its own BL subsidiary and the now more independent company used the Monteverdi as a basis for producing its own four-door model in July 1981. The four-door version was well received by the public — its popularity was such that the two-door was discontinued in the United Kingdom in 1984, although the two-door continued to be produced through January 1994, mainly for the French market. The first major push upmarket was in 1984, which saw the availability of leather trim, unhinged rear number plate and automatic transmission; this was followed by the 1985 model year, which saw the instrument pod replaced by a more modern one (adapted from the Austin Maestro) and new door cards (using Austin Metro door handles) with walnut inlays. The front end of the Range Rover was revamped in 1986. This brought a more pedestrian-friendly plastic grille with horizontal slats, and optional front valance with two fog lights. The seat base was lowered and door handles were redesigned, making it more difficult for rear passengers but greatly improving the comfort for taller people in the front. The dashboard switchgear was updated again, now featuring steering column stalks from the Austin Montego, and other miscellaneous items from the Austin Rover car range. Other changes included the windows, tailgate and bonnet, but none of those affected the general design. Bonnet and door hinges gradually evolved out of sight and the fuel filler cap was hidden behind a hinged flap. The last major change to the interior took place in 1994, when the Range Rover was re-designated "Classic" upon the arrival of the replacement P38A version. The car gained a 'soft feel' safety dashboard (derived from that used in the facelifted Series 1 Discovery) with new switches (these were lifted from the Rover 800) and instruments. These end of the line models are popularly called "soft dash" models by the motor trade and by enthusiasts to distinguish them from other members of the Range Rover Classic series. Chassis and suspension The Range Rover broke from the Land Rovers of its time by using coil springs instead of the then-common leaf springs. Because of its hefty weight, it also had disc brakes on all four wheels. Originally, it had no power steering,