Discovery

Make
Land Rover
Segment
SUV

Looking at the Land Rover brand recently, most of the attention has been placed on the Range Rover lineup and the all-new Defender, which will return to the US market after a long hiatus. Meanwhile, the Land Rover Discovery seems to have slipped off people's radar, even though it is among the most practical and utilitarian models in the company's lineup.

The third generation Disco arrived for the 2017 model year, replacing the second generation model that was badged as the LR3 and LR4 in the US market. Now in its fourth model year, the Disco is ready for a mid-cycle refresh and Auto Express spotted a test mule that gives insight into what updates we can expect.

The test mule was spotted outside of Land Rover's Coventry headquarters for the first time wearing some light camouflage. This is only expected to be a mid-cycle refresh, not an all-new model, so the changes on the exterior should not be too drastic. Aside from the camo, the facelifted car looks nearly identical to the current car and even continues to offer the controversial asymmetrical rear tailgate.

The Disco's key rivals like the Audi Q7 and Volvo XC90 have received updates recently, so Land Rover needs to make sure its seven-seater stays up-to-date. The current model is offered in the US with either a supercharged V6 or turbocharged diesel V6 but the facelifted model is expected to use a new mild-hybrid drivetrain.

Land Rover has already updated most of its lineup with either mild-hybrid or plug-in hybrid technology, so it makes sense for the Disco to get it as well. The 3.0-liter inline-six with 48-volt mild-hybrid assist produces 395 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque in the new Defender, which would be a healthy increase over the current V6's 340 hp and 332 lb-ft output. We expect Land Rover to reveal it updated Discovery later this year.