SPY PICS: Land Rover Discovery Sport facelifted

These spy photos, captured recently in Spain and revealing what is obviously a re-style of the current-generation Land Rover Discovery Sport – which came to Australia in 2015 – indicate a facelift is not too far away.

Following normal practice, it should see most of the energy spent on restyling the front and rear ends. But there could be more.

The disguise does little else than merely indicate where the external changes will be made: The test vehicle's entire front-end is concealed beneath stuck-on panels and the back-end is much the same.

The mis-matched, angular false panels at the front effectively hide any detail of what will obviously be fresh panel work, while the concealed bulges under the stick-on cladding on the tailgate area indicate either much or nothing.

Probably, in view of the company's predilection towards ultra-clean body lines, as evidenced in its latest designs (the Range Rover Velar for example), the latter is more likely.

But some industry observers are saying there could be more going on under the skin of the Discovery Sport than would normally be the case with a mid-life refresh.

Speculation is rife, for example, that a mild-hybrid version based on a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and a compact battery pack could be in the offing.

And it's also being mooted that the interior will get some attention, with some inspiration from the new Evoque due to be launched in the UK in 2020, creeping in. This, it is reported, will include the adoption of a dual-screen dash layout partly aping the super-clean interior presentation of the Velar.

The updated Discovery Sport is expected to be launched in Europe later in 2019. An all-new replacement built on the company's PTA platform also underpinning the next-generation Evoque is anticipated early in the next decade.