Frankfurt show: New engine and looks for Discovery

LAND ROVER has given its aging Discovery a late-life facelift and a supercharged V6 petrol engine from the Range Rover Sport in place of the outgoing 5.0-litre V8.

Since its introduction, the Discovery has always been available with a top-spec petrol V8 variant, but the new V6 Supercharged offers a petrol-powered option priced at the entry level end of the range.

Shoppers wanting a petrol Discovery would have previously had to shell-out around $130,000, but the new V6 S/C is expected to sit along side its diesel equivalents - priced at around $84,000.

With 250kW and 450Nm, the new 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine can’t quite match the outgoing 276kW/ 510Nm of the V8, but it is expected to offer greater fuel efficiency.

Final fuel consumption figures for the new V6 Disco have yet to be confirmed, but performance is expected to be comparable to the Range Rover sport V6, although the Discovery’s extra 300kg is likely to have a detrimental effect.

Lab-testing currently states the fuel consumption at a relatively high 11.5 litres per 100km but local testing in Australia will almost certainly improve on that.

Despite its lesser power and torque, the V6 manages to get to 100km/h in 8.1 seconds – only 0.2 seconds slower than the beefier V8.

The six-speed CommandShift automatic has also been retired along with the V8 and the V6 petrol now shares the eight-speed ZF transmission as fitted to the rest of the range.

The latest Landie has also undergone an exterior styling tweaks with the ‘Discovery’ name spelled out across its redesigned nose in the same manner as its Range Rover stable-mates.

Headlights, front grille, bumpers and have all gone under the knife to give the Discovery a more current look and two new wheel designs and running-lights complete the make-over.

Two versions of the V6 S/C will be offered with SE and HSE equipment levels aligning with the current TDV6 and SDV6 3.0-litre diesel variantsBoth existing diesel versions will carry over to the 2014 model.

The new Discovery will also gain extra driver-assistance equipment with blind-spot monitoring, reverse traffic detection and T-junction cameras.

European versions get fuel-saving idle-stop technology.

Land Rover’s ‘wade-sensing technology’, which it claims is unique to the brand, is now also available in the Discovery and provides the driver with warnings and information when negotiating deep water.

The Discovery’s audio equipment also gets a boost to match Range Rover models, with a choice of 11-speaker, 380 watt and 17-speaker, 825 watt Meridian systems now available.

The new-look Discovery will be on display at the Frankfurt motor show and Land Rover is taking orders now, with deliveries expected in around six months.