Land Rover’s 2003 Discovery facelift, which debuts at the New York motor show, appears to have been done to a tight budget.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
There’s no obvious new sheetmetal but the reshaped headlights, grille and front bumper pay homage to the all-new Range Rover and new tail lights with smoked lenses mirror recent changes to the smaller Freelander. The rear indicator lenses have migrated from the bumper (a daft location mandated by local laws for many SUVS sold in Europe) to the main light clusters each side of the rear window.
The little-changed interior manages to look more different than it is thanks to the black dashboard and interior fittings, a colour scheme previously introduced with the US-market Freelander and since adopted for other markets. Black or beige upholstery is offered.
US versions of the 2003 Discovery have a new 4.6-litre, 217 bhp all-alloy V8 engine with more power and 20 percent more torque than the previous 4.0-litre unit, increasing the vehicle’s top speed to 116 mph and cutting the 0-60 mph time to 9.5 seconds.
The latest ‘Disco’ has improved cabin sound insulation and a number of braking and chassis improvements.
The front and rear disc brakes have revised pads and calipers and suspension mountings and bushes have been changed to improve refinement.
Standard equipment levels have been increased across the three versions available (S, SE and HSE) and an ultrasonic rear parking monitor is newly standard for the HSE.
