Using people sniped from German rivals, Land Rover boosted sales more than two times since 2011. Despite this, the brand is leaking money and has cut development costs on several projects. But the Discovery Sport is one of three complex and very costly debuts planned for 2019, along with the Evoque and upcoming Defender.
Part of the reason for this change in focus was realizing that too much of Land Rover's profit came from China. So instead, they are now focusing on the models that do well in Europe and America.
The Disco Sport is amazingly popular compared to its predecessor, the Freelander. It makes a good family car with its available 5+2 setup, but Land Rover decided to make major changes five years into the product cycle which will have to last until an all-new model comes in 2023.
This new video shows the prototype in its advanced stages of development. Though wrapped up in heavy camouflage, it's easy to see how the design is moving towards the Evoque's look, with narrow headlights and vertical intakes on the sides of the bumper. The Velar could be considered another point of reference.
And although some of the body panels may be the same, like the roof and doors, Land Rover is going to claim this Discovery model is based on a new platform. A different electrical system will allow most of the engines to have a mild-hybrid hybrid system with an alternator capturing some of the lost energy.
The new family of inline-6 engines probably doesn't fit under the small Discovery's hood, nor do we expect Land Rover to try. Instead, 2-liter units will provide somewhere between 150 HP for the base diesel to 300 HP for the best gasoline-motivated model. The company is also working on its first small plug-in system, which is believed to deliver around 200 HP from a 1.5L 3-cylinder turbo.
