New details have emerged on the Land Rover Discovery “family” of SUVs announced at the 2014 New York Auto Show last month.
Land Rover design studio director Richard Woolley said the family could encompass three models or more.
At the center of the lineup will be a redesigned SUV based on the Discovery Vision Concept shown in New York, which will replace the current LR4 and bring the Discovery name back to the United States.
Below that will sit a smaller vehicle named Discovery Sport, which will likely replace the current LR2 (known as the Freelander abroad) as a more utilitarian alternative to the Range Rover Evoque.
According to Auto Express, the third model could be an even smaller, Nissan Juke-sized vehicle that could compete with the Audi Q1 in Europe, and perhaps make for an upscale alternative to the Jeep Renegade in the U.S.
Micro SUVs like the Renegade and Buick Encore seem to be gaining a foothold in the U.S. market, but it would be interesting to see if buyers would be willing to accept such a vehicle with a Land Rover badge, and pay the likely price premium to get it.
With this flurry of new models, Land Rover is attempting to replicate the success it’s had with the Range Rover, which has spawned both the Evoque and the Sport to create a high-achieveing vehicular family.
The Discovery family’s genesis begins next year with the rollout of the full-size and Sport models.
