Land Rover has raised the curtains off its new Discovery range and new feature loaded SUV prior to the New York Motor Show where it will be put on display. Discovery Vision Concept will be the first model among the range new SUV models under the Discovery badge.
The new Concept under the Discovery range is inherited with the same design, off-road prowess, posh interiors and ingenious qualities as seen in the other vehicles belonging to Discovery family. Based on the Range Rover Evoque platform, the first Discovery Land Rover model will be positioned as a replacement of five seat Freelander and could be launched by the end of this year. A replacement of sever seat Freelander will also be rolled out. Besides these, a sever seat off-roaderwill also be offered rivalling the likes of Toyota Land Cruiser. Replacing the current generation Discovery will be a premium SUV, which will be more lavish than the other models in its range. This model will get an all-aluminium body and will be set up on the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport platform. Styling of the concept will completely vary from the current Discovery 4, the delineation will be sportier and detailing will beflexuous. To render a compact look, overhangs will be short, burgeoning grille pattern and wraparound lights will be seen in the new concept. The concept will carry forward certain things from the current Discovery range including a stepped roof, raised up three rows seating rendering improved view to the passengers and body-coloured C pillars. Instead of the split tailgate seen in Discovery 4, a single tailgate will be equipped to create social seat.
The second and third row seats could be folded completely and slide fore and aft offering more space. Inside the cabin, changes will be made to make it look more upmarket than the Discovery 4. A huge central touchscreen will be affixed on the centre console,enabling to operate all interior functions. The company will provide smalltouchpadson the steering wheel, superior quality material will be used inside the vehicle- refined metal, washable and oil and water repellent leathers etc. Segment best features like laser headlamps that are capable of scanning the road and automatically dimming the beam when required. ‘Smart Glass’ feature will be present which will further allow, ‘Transparent Bonnet’ function.
Passengers sitting in the rear (4 to 5) will be able to addsmartphonesto the individual infotainment functions. Each passenger will get personal 10- inch touchscreen tablet affixed on the back of headrest in front. This will also allow users to display images on the glass usingwi-fiin the car. Most of the functions and controls inside the cabin are curbed by gesture control.
Besides these an array of new driving features will also be inducted like Remote Control Drive function that permits the driver to curb the car from outside at low speed using asmartphoneapp or with the help of a removable rotary controller.
Several other features like Laser Terrain Scanning, Laser Referencing and a next-generation version of the Terrain Response system will also be proffered.
