The Land Rover Discovery Sport has undergone a significant update for 2023, with a sleek new cabin and a range of technology upgrades. The most notable change is the redesigned dashboard, which now features an 11.4-inch curved touchscreen that replaces physical controls. This new interface is similar to the one found in the latest Range Rover models and runs on the latest generation of JLR’s Pivi Pro software.
The previous Discovery Sport had a haptic climate control panel under the dash, with rotary dials for temperature selection and fan speed. However, this has been removed to create more space for a central storage cubby that now includes a wireless phone charger. All core functions are now hosted in the new touchscreen, which includes sidebars for easy access to commonly used functions such as media, navigation, and volume settings. JLR claims that users can access “up to 90% of tasks within two taps from the home screen”.
In addition to the new touchscreen, the updated Discovery Sport also comes equipped with Amazon Alexa voice control, wireless Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto as standard. The instrument cluster is now digital across the lineup, and there are two USB-C chargers in the front and middle rows. Cars with seven seats also get separate climate control functions for the rearmost row.
Under the hood, the powertrain lineup remains mostly unchanged. However, the P300e plug-in hybrid now features revised battery chemistry that boosts JLR’s claimed ‘real-world’ electric driving range to 29 miles. This is enough to cover 90% of daily driving with the engine off. The WLTP-certified EV range is slightly down on the pre-facelift car, from 43 miles to 38 miles. However, DC fast charging is equipped as standard, allowing the 14.9kWh battery to be charged from 0-80% in as little as 30 minutes.
The four-cylinder P250 petrol and D200 diesel engines are carried over, both with 48V mild-hybrid hardware as standard. However, the entry-level P200 and D200 have been phased out.
Prices for the updated Discovery Sport start at £44,790, and it is available to order now. However, JLR has not yet announced when deliveries will begin. The ongoing semiconductor supply shortage has hampered production of the Discovery Sport and its mainstream siblings, including the Range Rover Evoque, Jaguar XE, Jaguar XF, and Jaguar E-Pace. JLR has stated that production of these cars will be scaled up when it can get “confidence of supply”, but output will be limited for the next few months.
In summary, the 2023 Land Rover Discovery Sport features a sleek new cabin and a range of technology upgrades, including an 11.4-inch curved touchscreen that replaces physical controls. The powertrain lineup remains mostly unchanged, but the P300e plug-in hybrid now features revised battery chemistry that boosts electric driving range to 29 miles. The updated Discovery Sport is available to order now, with prices starting at £44,790. However, deliveries may be delayed due to the ongoing semiconductor supply shortage.