2018 Land Rover Discovery gets new infotainment and safety tech as well as increased diesel availability.
That didn’t take long. We drove the all-new 2017 Discovery in March and Land Rover is already updating it for the 2018 model year.
Most of the changes are on the inside. Just like last year, the Discovery is available in SE, HSE, and HSE Luxury trim lines. For 2018, all models come with the Land Rover InControl Touch Pro infotainment system running through a 10-inch touchscreen. The Discovery also gets 4G Wi-Fi; passengers can get online with up to eight mobile devices.
HSE and HSE Luxury models come standard with a 12.3-inch Interactive Driver Display TFT instrument cluster; a second-generation, full-color Head-Up Display (HUD) that shows information such as speed, speed limits, Adaptive Cruise Control status, and gear selection on a display that’s 2.5 times larger than the outgoing HUD is optional. Last year, the HSE and HSE Luxury versions of the Discovery were the only models which could be equipped with the Td6 diesel. Now you can order a Discovery SE with the 254-horsepower/443-lb-ft turbocharged 3.0-liter V6. The supercharged 3.0-liter gas V6 with 340 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque remains available across the range.
Land Rover has upgraded the Discovery’s safety tech, too. All 2018 Discos come standard with the Emergency Braking system with pedestrian detection. It can sense people and other vehicles, and reduce braking distances at speeds up to 37 mph. If a collision is unavoidable, the Discovery will apply emergency braking between 3.1 and 49.7 mph.
The 2018 Discovery even gets a few exterior tweaks, such as a new color (Bryon Blue) and the no-cost option of a body-colored roof for models with the Dynamic and Black Packs.
These improvements raise the price of entry to the 2018 Discovery lineup by $2,100. Prices start at $52,090 for the 2018 Discovery SE and go all the way to $67,490 for the HSE Luxury Td6.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
