Land Rover Discovery gets slightly different role – Looking ahead

If you are in the market for a Land Rover that not only holds its own as an off-road vehicle, but also as a spacious family car, you no longer come directly to the Discovery. Because the new Range Rover is now also available as a seven-seater and with the Defender even an eight-seater is an option. Moreover, the two are clearly younger on many fronts. Land Rover notices that this is causing some cannibalism in the range. With such interesting in-house alternatives, the Discovery struggles to keep its head above water. In the Netherlands, the Discovery is also overtaken by the Range Rover and Defender in the sales figures. But stopping the Discovery is not an option. It is too important a name within Land Rover for that. However, the brand has to re-evaluate the position of the model, Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bolloré admits to Auto Express.

Distinctive

The next generation of Discovery therefore takes a slightly different approach on several fronts. Land Rover is pushing the Discovery a bit up in the market. You will also see that, as our illustrator shows in these images. The Discovery has several facial features that keep it in line with the youngest Range Rover. For example, we expect quite pinched LED headlights on an otherwise relatively tidy front, recessed handles provide a modern look along the flanks and also at the rear it is clear that the Range Rover serves as an example. However, the Discovery probably keeps its characteristic, off-balance license plate, a reference to how it once could not be otherwise because of the spare wheel on the tailgate. In practice, Discovery buyers often choose to adapt this after purchase to a valve on which the license plate can be placed centrally. Perhaps Land Rover will take that wish to heart and still offer a more conventional layout (whether or not at an additional cost).

Land Rover Discovery (illustration: Andrei Avarvarii)

According to Bolloré, the New Discovery should become a car for families who like to distinguish themselves from the crowd with a great penchant for luxury and modern transport. Customers who are looking for more adventurous and function-oriented transport can still turn to Land Rover for the Defender. If it is all a bit more flashy and luxurious than the new Discovery, then the Range Rover offers solace. The current Discovery is mainly too close to the Defender and it takes some more Range Rover influences to distance itself. You can therefore count on the Discovery to take a significantly more modern and minimalistic path not only on the outside, but also on the inside. Look at the dashboard of the Range Rover and you know approximately which path the Discovery logically also takes there. Count on a larger infotainment screen that seems to float in front of the dashboard, with significantly fewer buttons below than in the current Discovery. Naturally, the latest version of JLR’s Pivi Pro infotainment system finds its way to the Discovery.

Hybrid and Electric

Technically, the next Discovery will once again share its base with the Range Rover and that means the old D7u platform will make way for the MLA base. This means that there is always some form of electrification on board. Mild-hybrid six-in-line (both petrol and diesel power sources) are present and plug-ins are also available. Until now, the Discovery had to do without a plug variant. A plug-in hybrid powertrain can be good news for the Dutch market due to the lower bpm. But there is more electrical news. The MLA base also accommodates a fully electric powertrain. It is almost inevitable that in the long run there will be a fully electric variant. We expect to welcome the new Discovery in the second half of 2023 at the earliest. A fresh Discovery Sport logically takes a little longer to come, after all, the current one only arrived two years ago.