A new Discovery: Land Rover's 2016 Disco spied
A new Discovery: Land Rover's 2016 Disco spied, plus info on next Defender and more
Published: 03 February 2016
The 2017 Land Rover Discovery testing in Germany
A new Discovery: Land Rover's 2016 Disco spied, plus info on next Defender and more
No mistaking the Land Rover Discovery shape
Kerb weight will be dramatically reduced compared with the outgoing model
A hybrid is expected to feature in the line-up
A new Discovery: Land Rover's 2016 Disco spied, plus info on next Defender and more
New Discovery Sport heralds a new era at Land Rover
A new look for a new generation
Discovery becomes a whole family now - with the Sport joining the regular Disco. It's just like the Range Rover family above
Kinked C-pillar a novel design motif for Land Rover
New Defenders, another Range Rover model and Land Rovers that aren't SUVs
Land Rover DC100 concepts
More info on Land Rover Discovery
► Spyshots of next Discovery
► Lighter, cleverer, due 2016
► Plus intel on next Defenders
A new Discovery in more ways than one: this is the all-new 2016 Land Rover Discovery, spied testing once again, this time during winter testing.
Under the wild black and white camouflage, it seems the iconic Discovery silhouette has undergone a significant change. The roofline appears dramatically lower (although theres still a subtle step-up in height towards the stern), and the front more rounded, with a similar nose treatment to the smaller Discovery Sport. Seems the days of the high-rise, Lego-block Disco are gone. Shock and indeed horror, for many existing fans we're sure.
The new, more slim-line form is likely to be the result of a dramatic drop in kerb weight for the 2016 Disco compared with the outgoing model, aided by new, largely aluminium architecture. Ignore the sausage-shaped contours along the cars flanks - that's camouflage subterfuge, disguising the body's actual surfacing below.
Click here to read CAR's in-depth test of the current Land Rover Discovery.
2016 Land Rover Discovery: the background
The Discovery turned 25 years old in 2014, a year in which it become a family of vehicles as Land Rover launched the Discovery Sport to create a two-model Disco line-up. The car spied here is the fifth-generation replacement for the full-size Discovery, as previewed by the Discovery Vision concept.
And whereas the entry-level Evoque is the most radical interpretation of the Range Rover family's design language, Land Rovers design director and chief creative officer Gerry McGovern says the bigger Discovery will be more adventurous in its appearance than the smaller Discovery Sport.
The Discovery Sport effectively replaces the Freelander, as Land Rover aligns it brands so there are three families: Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender. 'One of them is about luxury: Range Rover,' says McGovern. 'Leisure, thats Discovery, and thats in the plural because at the moment weve only got one Discovery, but were doing more, starting with the Discovery Sport.
'And theres dual purpose, our Defenders. We are going to do a new Defender, or Defenders, a whole new generation. We thought its about time as its 60 years since the original. And were not just going to talk about it either, were going to do it
'
Whats the difference between the luxury Range Rovers and leisure Discovery models then?
According to McGovern, the Discovery family will increase its premium execution, which will move the new models closer to the Range Rovers, but also serve to broaden their appeal. McGovern says the utilitarian Discovery 3 proved quite polarizing, but the mid-life facelift that turned it into Discovery 4 (with a posher Range Sport interior and no more black plastic body cladding) was much more popular with customers.
To differentiate Discos from RR, the former will be much more versatile, with seven seats, lots of stowage space for families, and practical touches, whereas the full-size Rangie will only ever seat five and the Range Sport, at best, remains a 5+2.
Yet while the full-size Disco is the next Discovery on the way, there are more Range Rovers coming too: They are probably more radical than the Evoque was, or certainly not what you might expect from Range Rover, reveals McGovern. One in particular looks fantastic
Thats expected to be a new model thatll sit between the Evoque and Range Sport, and is set to be twinned with Jaguars first ever SUV, but McGovern admits there are other markets into which the RR brand can expand: Theres more than one gap, so we are looking at other opportunities to grow, so watch this space
What about this new family of Defenders?
If the RR and Disco sit closely together, McGovern says the new line-up of Defenders will stretch out the Land Rover brand. Discovery is getting closer to Range Rover, he says. But the Defenders, when you see those coming, theyll really bring clarity to the three-family scenario. Theyre out there, a working tool, probably closest to the original Land Rover heartland, but still relevant.
Land Rover DC100 concepts
And whereas McGovern worries a utilitarian look limits the appeal of the Range Rovers and Discos, its less of an issue for Land Rovers third family (previewed by the DC100 concepts, above). For the Defender its something else. There is that utilitarian look, but its inextricably linked to the original so you get over it. The Defender is about durability you kick the hell out of them and they get up for more.
Will there be more than one Defender?
There will be a number of different Defender models, to help Land Rover sell over 70k units a year, and to appeal to the Land Rover traditionalists who might perhaps be put off by the new Discos and RRs.
'We need the Defender to wash its wash in terms of investment,' admits McGovern. 'So there will be opportunities for different-sized vehicles: in the Middle East, for example, they want really big vehicles; in other markets the appetite is for small vehicles; and Id argue you need the iconic three-door there as well.'
Not that the styling will be retro, as McGovern says the new models will bear no resemblance to the DC100 concepts: 'I think the Defender was good for its time, but I think weve got to be quite radical, and create if we create a vehicle that is special and does resonate with people, they will forget what they had before.'
Next youll be telling me Land Rover is looking at vehicles that arent SUVs?
Well
'Ive got an open mind about it,' reveals McGovern. 'Porsche and Bentley started with sports cars but now its saloons and SUV-type product, so why cant we reverse that? You might argue thats Jaguar territory, but Land Rover and Jaguar are such different brands I dont think theres any risk.
'I could see incredibly luxurious Range Rovers that are lower-slung, cruisers that are more on-road biased, but still have the ability through air suspension to get up and there and do the things theyve always done. Its a pity I cant show you anything, itd make it much easier to explain
'
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