- Land Rover is looking to reimagine the Discovery to help separate it from the Defender.
- The redesigned model could take some cues from minivans such as the Volkswagen ID. Buzz.
- This suggests the Discovery could become more of a family vehicle than an off-roader.
Luxury SUVs are a hot commodity, but the Land Rover Discovery has faded from the spotlight. While the model generated nearly 10,000 sales annually in the United States before the pandemic, the brand only moved 2,416 units last year.
That’s disappointing and the model was easily beaten by the Lexus GX, which found 4,256 buyers. Of course, part of this can be chalked up to the Defender, which has been stealing some sales away from the Discovery.
More: Land Rover Gives Discovery A 35th Birthday Boost Via New Diesel Powertrain
Land Rover is well aware of the problem and is reportedly planning to put more distance between the Defender and the next-generation Discovery. As Land Rover’s Mark Cameron explained to Autocar, “If you look from a product perspective, Defender came in and sat quite squarely on top of Discovery and cannibalized a lot of that business.”
While officials didn’t go into many specifics, they suggested the next Discovery will focus on “family adventures” and be positioned in a “really unique territory.” While that sounds like typical marketing hyperbole, it seems like Land Rover is serious about shaking things up.
Interestingly, the report suggests the SUV could adopt “some MPV design elements.” There’s no word on which ones, but the publication says the Volkswagen ID. Buzz has been “touted as a potential reference.”
While the model would presumably be more crossover than minivan, it would still be a big change. Regardless, the redesigned Discovery is expected to be offered with internal combustion engines as well as an electric powertrain. There’s also word of a new halo variant, which would sit at the top of the lineup and have its own “bespoke performance nameplate.”
Note: The lead image contains an AI-generated rendering of a Land Rover minivan
