Land Rover unveiled its 3rd-generation
Discovery SUV back in 2017 and while it could best its predecessors in every
conceivable way, its design has been somewhat of a talking point, especially
that tailgate with the offset license plate slot. Thankfully, the British
carmaker will get a chance to fix all that on the facelifted variant, which has
just begun testing on public roads in prototype form. Right off the bat,
something’s wrong with this picture.
For one, there doesn’t seem to be anything
different about this prototype. It might as well not even wear any camouflage,
because as far as we can tell, both the front and rear fascias are identical to
the ones on the current car. However, it is common practice in the industry for
carmakers to send out prototypes wearing old body panels at first, before
strapping on some production-ready bits nearer to the car’s actual unveiling,
which in this case should take place sometime later this year.
Well, let’s look at
the Disco’s baby brother, the Sport for answers. When the updated Discovery
Sport was unveiled last year, it came with a new grille, plus updated headlight
and taillight graphics (same shapes though). We could see more of the same on
the updated Discovery too, meaning the singular DRL graphic out front could be
replaced by a dual light strip setup (like on the Sport), while the rear units
should light up in a more modern fashion as well. But we’re just guessing as of
right now. There’s also time for Land Rover to strap on a more
conservative-looking tailgate, one with a centered license plate holder – which
we suspect they might do.
Inside, the dashboard could do with a bit
more streamlining, more modern-looking gauge dials (probably digital), a larger
and more capable infotainment system, new trim and so on. The carmaker’s latest
steering wheel design is a given, as seen on the likes of the Range Rover Velar
or the new Evoque. Otherwise, expect an updated range of four- and six-cylinder
gasoline and diesel engines, and possibly even a plug-in hybrid unit too.
