2018 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Discovery Sport Get New Engines

CARS.COM — A year after it received a handful of styling and features updates, the Land Rover Discovery Sport gets new muscle under the hood. Two new turbocharged four-cylinder engines replace last year’s turbo four-cylinder, and although displacement remains about the same — 2.0 liters — Land Rover says the engines are indeed new.

Related: 2018 Land Rover Range Rover Velar Review: First Drive

The end result is 237 horsepower and 251 pounds-feet of torque, which is about even with the outgoing motor (240 hp and 250 pounds-feet of torque). But a higher-output version with additional boost makes 286 hp and 295 pounds-feet of torque. Available in higher trim levels of the SUV, it’s good for a 6.7-second spring to 62 mph.

Both engines pair with a carryover nine-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive. The Discovery Sport’s platform sibling, the Range Rover Evoque, gets the same drivetrains, where the higher-output engine gets the SUV to 60 mph in 6 seconds flat. Alas, the Evoque Convertible, which is some 400 pounds heavier, gets only the base engine. Spokesman Nathan Hoyt told us an additional premium for the engine would exceed Land Rover’s price targets for the convertible, which already starts some $10,000 more than its hardtop sibling.

The 2018 Range Rover Evoque and 2018 Discovery Sport go on sale in mid-November.

Range Rover Evoque

Other changes to the Evoque include a new Landmark Edition for 2018, which slots between the SE Premium and HSE. Onboard Wi-Fi is now 4G for faster speed, while the higher-output engine is optional on the HSE Dynamic and Autobiography trim levels. Models thus equipped have sportier styling cues, too.

Land Rover says EPA-estimated mileage is up 1 mpg combined with the base engine for both the SUV and convertible, to 25 mpg on the SUV (24 mpg with the higher-output engine) and 24 mpg on the convertible. The SUV starts at $42,795, while the convertible starts at $53,095 (all prices include destination). The higher-output engine runs another $3,000 on the SUV’s HSE Dynamic and Autobiography trim levels. As equipped, an Autobiography runs $66,595.

In other news, it’s the end of the road for the two-door Evoque, a variant of the SUV that Land Rover once termed the Evoque “coupe” — a name sure to confuse shoppers who showed up to find, most assuredly, an SUV. Few of them bought it. The two-door Evoque accounted for “such a small portion of our sales,” Hoyt told us, so it’s done for 2018. If you want one, they’re all but impossible to find: As of this writing, Cars.com has nearly 1,800 new Range Rover Evoques in national inventory, but just 36 are two-door variants.

Discovery Sport

Besides the new engines, the Discovery Sport gets updated seat cushioning for purportedly better occupant comfort, plus additional lumbar controls, some reshuffled equipment by trim level and new 4G onboard Wi-Fi for faster internet. Like the Evoque, the Discovery Sport gets sportier styling on versions with the high-output engine.

Land Rover says EPA-estimated mileage with either engine is 22 mpg combined, which is unchanged versus the 2017 Discovery Sport. The 2018 Discovery Sport starts at $38,790. The high-output engine, which comes on the Sport HSE and Sport HSE Luxury, adds $7,000 and $6,000, respectively. As equipped, the latter trim runs $53,890.