Land Rover's Least Pricey Model Due for Makeover, Plug-in Variant

by Steph Willems

Published: July 27th, 2018

land rover s least pricey model due for makeover plug in variant

The Discovery Sport serves as an entry point to the Land Rover lineup, retailing in the U.S. for $37,795 before delivery and offering a similarly sized, cheaper alternative to its Range Rover Evoque platform mate.

Two flavors of four-cylinder power is your only option in this model, but that might not be the case for long. Land Rover apparently has big changes in store for its lowest-rung model.

According to Autocar, the Discovery Sport undergoes a significant revamp for 2020, and should make its public debut early next year. More than just a refresh, the model is expected to ditch its D8 platform in favor of heavily revised underpinnings. Land Rover’s Premium Transverse Architecture (PTA), also bound for the next-gen Evoque, is stiffer than its compact predecessor, and should return improved ride quality.

A new engine mount design and transmission is said to improve throttle response by 40 percent, while minor changes to the body yield a drag reduction of 10 percent. That’s not the only fuel-saving trick Land Rover has planned. A hybrid version of the model will appear (though whether it will be available at launch isn’t known), combining a new three-cylinder Ingenium engine with an electric motor. A plug-in hybrid variant is also on the horizon, as are mild hybrid models.

Just how far a Discovery Sport PHEV might drive on electric power alone remains to be seen. However, with three rows of seating on tap, the model would serve as a suitable upscale rival to Volvo’s XC90.

Multiple green powertrain offerings are essential in Europe, where newfound government pressure makes diesel power an increasingly unpopular option. In the U.S., Land Rover might not feel the need to offer the same level of environmental stewardship. We’ll see.

Currently, Discovery Sports can be had with two turbocharged 2.0-liters — one offering 237 horsepower and 251 lb-ft of torque, the other boasting 286 hp and 295 lb-ft. Over the first half of 2018, sales of the Discovery Sport fell 18.8 percent in the U.S.

[Image: Jaguar Land Rover]

#DiscoverySport #FutureVehicles #Hybrids #JaguarLandRover #JLR #LandRover #LandRoverDiscoverySport #Plug-inHybrids #ProductPlanning

Steph Willems

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10 of 13 comments

Derekson on Jul 27, 2018

"However, with three rows of seating on tap, the model would serve as a suitable upscale rival to Volvo’s XC90." Isn't the fullsized Discovery already the rival for the XC90?

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Hummer on Jul 27, 2018

What an embarrassing waste of $40k I didn't realize that tiny thing costed that much. I wouldn't be caught dead in it before when I thought it was a $25k vehicle, now I'm just embarrassed for mankind.

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- See 7 previous
- Mittencuh on Jul 27, 2018
  
  Why would you think any new European luxury SUV is $25k new?
  
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- JohnTaurus on Jul 28, 2018
  
  @mittencuh He's just frothing at the mouth because Land Rover survived and Hummer didn't. But, yeah, who didn't think this was competing directly with the Kia Sportage? Sheesh.
  
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- Hummer on Jul 28, 2018
  
  @mittencuh Have you been in one of these? A Focus is more luxurious, not to mention it's not even European any more.
  
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- Hummer on Jul 28, 2018
  
  @JohnTaurus John, I'm not sure why you feel the need to be so damn negative on every post. I've stated many times on these forums I'm glad Hummer became defunct with a good product line instead of turning out embarrassing products like Land Rover and to an extent Jeep. Land Rover is an embarrassing joke, they're nothing more than a minivan company pretending to be an adventurous brand at this point. Honestly wouldn't you rather be in the Kia Sportage?
  
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- Lie2me on Jul 28, 2018
  
  @Hummer It's my understanding that the 2.0 turbo comes directly from Ford. So, what you've got here is a very nice Escape
  
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- Mittencuh on Jul 28, 2018
  
  @Hummer Yes, I have driven the Disco Sport many times. I also owned a Focus hatch that happened to be about $25k MSRP. There is quite a difference. Again, I have no idea who would expect a European brand SUV to be $25k.
  
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- Mittencuh on Jul 28, 2018
  
  @Lie2me No, the Ingenium series is JLR in house. That logic isn’t exactly sound. So a 340i is the same as a X5? Or a Fusion Sport is the same as a F-150?
  
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- Lie2me on Jul 28, 2018
  
  @mittencuh My bad Ford supplied the 2.0 turbo for MY2015 only... "The Discovery Sport was initially powered by the same engine range that features in the outgoing Freelander 2 model for the first model year, the Ford EcoBoost four cylinder 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine producing 240 PS (180 kW; 240 hp) (the only engine option for North America)" -Wikipedia
  
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