The Land Rover Discovery — aka “the Disco” — is one long-serving nameplate in the Land Rover lineup, having made its debut in 1989. The 2023 edition of the seven-seater SUV has faced an identity crisis, with the new Defender stealing much of its mojo and sales. But Land Rover insists that a redesigned Discovery will play a significant role in its Reimagine Strategy.
Here’s what we know about the next-generation Land Rover Discovery so far.
Discovery is now its own brand, sort of
Land RoverJaguar Land Rover rebranded itself as JLR and unveiled a new “House of Brands” strategy. Instead of two brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, JLR will have four families of brands: Jaguar, Range Rover, Defender and Discovery.
The switch is more of a repositioning of Jaguar than it is a dramatic change at Land Rover. Range Rover, Defender and Discovery vehicles will still carry Land Rover badging. And you’ll still go to a Land Rover dealer to buy one. But it does put more pressure on Discovery to define a role for itself vs. the Defender. And it’s still not entirely clear what that is.
Now departed JLR CEO Thierry Bolloré told Autocar he believed Discovery had a role to play as the more “family-oriented” of the brands.
“It has always been a very family-oriented model and we want to enhance that,” Bollore told Autocar. “It needs to have many of the best characteristics of our luxury models, but with the emphasis on practicality and accessibility.”
