- Land Rover has updated its ageing Discovery Sport SUV with new trim names and options.
- Landmark has an outdoor theme while posher Metropolitan is geared towards city slickers.
- Rumors say Land Rover will soon replace the compact SUV with a funkier Defender Sport.
Land Rover’s Discovery Sport is so old it predates the Range Rover Sport before the one that’s been on sale for a couple of years now. Yeah, this thing is ancient. Having made its debut in 2014, it received a facelift five years later and is now getting another small update to paper over the cracks.
But it’s not just the Discovery Sport’s age that would make us think twice before buying one – it’s the very real prospect of it being replaced within the next year or two by the first ever Defender Sport.
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Our spy photo team has snapped a prototype of the baby Defender testing, and while Land Rover hasn’t confirmed it’ll replaced the Disco Sport, the fact that it also hasn’t confirmed that the junior Disco is getting renewed very much suggests the Defender Sport will take its place.
The Defender name and design cues will help make the new compact SUV far more desirable, and we’re looking forward to seeing the finished article. But for those who can’t wait a couple of years, or who don’t know what JLR has in the works or maybe just like the Defender Sport, there are some need-to-know changes for MY26.
The entry-level S becomes the Dynamic S, which makes sense because the Sport’s lineup already includes the Dynamic SE and Dynamic HSE. Except Land Rover has ditched those grades, replacing them with Landmark and Metropolitan trims.
The bottom-run Dynamic S features new-look wheels and gloss-black exterior trim, while Landmark has a vague outdoorsy feel thanks to mountain-range logos on its sill treadplates and in its puddle lights, a panoramic roof to let passengers take in real mountain peaks and a 3D camera to help you avoid huge rocks on the trail (and your kids’ bikes on your driveway).
Metropolitan is the posh one, and is marked out by its silver grille, 14-way adjustable heated and cooled seats, 650-Watt 14-speaker Meridian sound system and 20-inch alloy wheels. And all of the SUV‘s grades have access to a new range of accessory packs themed around beach days, road trips and snow days, and including kit like an armrest cooler, sunshades and a roof box.
What hasn’t changed is the standard all-wheel drive system or lineup of four-cylinder engines that includes both diesel and plug-in hybrid availability in Europe, but not in the US.
