The Land Rover Discovery Sport Is Dying, But Don't Worry, a More Appealing Defender Sport Is on the Way

Land Rover has announced that it is discontinuing the Discovery Sport at the end of this year, but don't worry, fans of smaller, softened versions of off-road-ready Land Rovers. We already know the company is preparing a new Defender Sport model to effectively take its place.

Production of the Discovery Sport is winding down this December, "in line with normal product lifecycles," as a Land Rover spokesperson told Autocar. "As part of this transition, there will be a managed sunset of manufacturing ahead of this date for certain markets." Autocar also points out that the Disco Sport's demise conveniently coincides with the introduction of Europe's new General Safety Regulation 2 rules, and that making the car compliant would have required expensive updates. It's already quite long in the tooth, anyway.

Positioned as a spiritual replacement for the old LR2, the Land Rover Discovery Sport first appeared all the way back in 2014, which feels like a lifetime ago, and is one of those cars that I suspect most people frankly forgot existed. Case in point: The last time Jalopnik reviewed one was at its launch 11 years ago, and the last time we wrote about it at all was when it topped a list of cars people most regret buying, with 28.3% of owners getting rid of it within the first year of ownership.

Friendship ended with Discovery Sport, now Defender Sport is my best friend

Land Rover may be putting the disappointing Discovery Sport out to pasture, but its specific spot in the lineup shouldn't remain empty for long because something arguably far more interesting is set to take its place soon: a "baby" version of the big, tough Defender.

Often referred to as the Defender Sport, this new Land Rover will use the same EMA (Electrified Modular Architecture) platform as the recently teased Range Rover GT "crossover-coupe-sedan-thing." The company told Autocar that the Defender Sport will come with a hybrid option before an all-electric version arrives "in the future."

The Defender Sport (or whatever it ends up actually being called) is expected to debut in 2027, so other technical details remain a mystery for now. But judging from spy shots and, you know, how the whole "Sport" version of a proper off-roader usually goes, expect the same boxy proportions and plenty of styling cues borrowed from the Defender — just smaller, less capable, and less expensive. It's the same route Mercedes is taking with its own baby G-wagen.