Land Rover Discovery News

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has issued the new-generation Land Rover Discovery a five-star crash safety rating ahead of its local launch next month.

Land Rover will revitalise its Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque range in Australia this year with a new in-house 'Ingenium' petrol engine line-up and a high-performance diesel variant.

Land Rover’s Discovery 5 will touch down on Australian dirt in July next year bringing with it a significant step up in the technology stakes.

In typical Discovery style storage throughout is excellent.The reduction in the SUV’s weight also means faster acceleration with the Td6 capable of sending the Discovery from 0-100km/h in 8.1 seconds – 1.3 seconds quicker than the previous TDV6-powered model.The weight loss means the Discovery can be powered by smaller engines and this fifth iteration will see the introduction of the two new Ingenium four-cylinders. The Td4 is a 132kW/430Nm 2.0-litre single turbo unit while the Sd4 is a twin-turbo version of the same engine making 177kW and 500Nm.Buyers can also get the optional Activity Key which is worn like a fitness band but will actually lock and unlock the SUV and is waterproof to 50m.The earlier versions of Discovery have really underpinned the success of Land Rover in Australia for decades, but it was time to update it.

The top end of town has snubbed next week's Paris motor show but the biggest auto event on the European calendar will have plenty of new sheet metal.

The most revealing teaser image yet of the new Land Rover Discovery has dropped ahead of the car’s reveal in Paris later this month.

The Disco Sport adds to the Land Rover family tree, taking over from the Freelander.A leisurely new Land Rover is about to take over from the compact Freelander, which has been swept aside by the off-road company's wave of new models.The Discovery Sport comes as a result of upsizing and a plan to stream the various models in the British off-road family into a new range of names.The Disco Sport is another style winner from the team that created the latest Range Rover and Evoque. The designers also are finalising work on the overdue replacement for the Defender, though there's more to the project than that.Land Rover believes the Discovery Sport will move it well beyond the Freelander's rivals in the class of the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai ix35 - it's also a challenger to the BMW X3 and Audi Q5,."It's a very different vehicle," says Land Rover Australia brand manager Tim Krieger."It sits in the same segment that the Freelander played in (but) it's a very different proposition."That's in terms of the design of the vehicle, the styling, the size and the configuration with five-plus-two seating."The Discovery Sport takes on the European competitors more directly." Nothing is being revealed about the pricing but Krieger hints it could be surprisingly close to the Freelander, which is $44,990 drive-away."It will be very competitive against X3 and Q5 (in features and options). Pricing will come close to the launch, which is May 1 next year in Australia."Land Rover says the car is the first member of a new Discovery family. Given its size and layout, the future is certain to bring a smaller model as well as a replacement for today's full-sized Discovery."There is room in the Land Rover brand," Krieger says.The Discovery Sport has a more upscale interior and is 90mm longer than the Freelander, with a longer wheelbase and a new platform fitted with a multi-link rear axle.Land Rover's selectable Terrain Response technology is part of the four-wheel drive package and a new dynamic setting gives firmer ride, tighter body control with reduced roll, and a more responsive steering and performance.The Disco Sport can wade to 600mm, approach, departure and breakover angles are 25, 31 and 21 degrees respectively and it has a couple of millimetres extra ride height over the Freelander.On the safety front, Land Rover has fitted a pedestrian airbag and automatic emergency braking. Engine choices are 2.2-litre turbodiesels and a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol with six or nine-speed automatic transmissions.And the name of the new Discovery "family"?"We have three pillars to the Land Rover brand," Krieger says. "Luxury is all about Range Rover, Leisure is the Discovery models, then Utility will be the Defender models. All of those have Land Rover DNA ... but represent different things."

New Honda Jazz sets new benchmark for rear view cameras: $14,990.

IT could be the biggest break-through in driveway safety yet -- even though it was originally designed to help four-wheel-drives navigate tricky bush tracks.Land Rover has come up with a camera system that appears to make the bonnet invisible -- by projecting the image of what's below, into the windscreen directly in front of the driver.While there is a public push to make rear-view cameras mandatory on new cars, figures show that 40 per cent of driveway deaths occur when vehicles are driven forwards, because the view is obscured by the large bonnets of family-sized SUVs.The British brand developed the technology for off-road use, to help drivers clamber over obstacles with ease. But the system, unveiled on the eve of the New York motor show, could find more regular use in driveways.Tiny cameras fitted below the grille are paired with a display that is projected into the windscreen so that it appears as if the vehicle's bonnet is transparent. The system is only at the experimental stage for now, but is expected to be available on the new Land Rover Discovery, due on sale next year.The Land Rover concept also has lasers mounted in the front fog lights that continuously scan the terrain ahead "and renders a contour map" on the screen in the dash to help drivers plot a path off the beaten track. The same lasers can also test the depth of the water in river crossings, Land Rover says.Camera technology is making rapid progress in new cars of all shapes and sizes. Japanese car maker Nissan has unveiled a new rear-view "mirror" that actually shows the view from a camera instead.It means that the driver's view isn't blocked by back seat occupants or luggage. It's likely to be available on Nissan's next luxury SUV, the Murano, due on sale next year.Meanwhile Korean car-maker Kia also unveiled the new Carnival -- the successor to Australia's top-selling people mover -- which is the first of its type with "surround view".A feature that first appeared on SUVs, "surround view" uses tiny wide-angle cameras on the front, back and sides of the car to create a "bird's-eye" view of the vehicle, to make parking easier and driveway manouvering safer.Watch the desktop version of the Land Rover reveals invisible car technology video here.  This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling   

Tata is known for making cheap, rudimentary cars – including the Nano, the cheapest car in production today. However, some help from Land Rover will bring a premium modern feeling to Tata's upcoming SUV.The Indian company, which bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford eight years ago, will use the current generation Freelander's platform to develop a new family SUV, primarily for the Indian domestic market. The new SUV will compete with Japanese, Korean and European rivals, meaning Tata has set the bar for quality and refinement very high.With a new Freelander replacement due in 2015, possibly named Discovery Sport, the Tata SUV would use the outgoing model's architecture. This means that development costs for the platform will have already been amortised, and tooling would be readily available to be shipped to India, reducing Tata's development costs.But despite the age of the architecture, Tata could benefit from a 5 star safety rated platform to produce what could be its most modern and safe family car yet. While the Tata may share many components with the outgoing baby Landy, it's likely the Tata will look and feel very different, as it will be specifically developed to suit Indian conditions.The project is called the Tata Q5 for now, and is expected to feature 7 seats, placing the Tata SUV in competition of the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Fortuner in India, as well as 5 seater compact SUVs. Tata is also likely to take advantage of some of Land Rover's ruggedness and capability to deliver a robust off roader for all terrain conditions.The combination of a low cost, relatively modern structure, rugged capability and a premium feel should generate plenty of demand – particularly in India and other developing countries. Tata's ambition to become a truly global company and its presence in Australia means there is a small chance we will see the SUV in our local market. If so, the Tata could become Australia's cheapest 7 seater SUV, and become a credible alternative in the family SUV segment.