- chumble spuz
- Member Since: 26 Jun 2019
- Location: South West
- Posts: 25
Electric Disco.
A little bird (in the industry) has suggested to me that LR is planning on announcing an all electric version of the Disco this autumn with an aspiration to start delivering by Q3/4 2022.
Also that the range is likely to be circa 250mile on a full charge with a £70,000 price tag.
I hope it's dodgy info but I'll take it at face value for the time being.
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- Ian2206
- Member Since: 09 Jul 2020
- Location: Hertfordshire
- Posts: 36
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Ive had Disco's since 1997....never been stranded but know enough who have. If the timing suggested are correct I fear that LR are getting the paying customer to do their beta testing
- Equilibrium
- Member Since: 26 Feb 2019
- Location: Bristol
- Posts: 754
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I do hope so. The likes of Rivian pose a serious threat to LR and they do need to get a response on the road.
NB. I don’t say that randomly, I see the R1S as the number one contender to replace my D5 in a couple of years unless I succumb to the charms of a hybrid In the interim.
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- DieselRanger
- Member Since: 12 Oct 2017
- Location: God's Country, Colorado
- Posts: 766
Totally agree they have to do something...mostly to differentiate it from the Defender. A BEV Disco to compete seriously with Rivian would be the ticket.
However, I don't believe the current platform will accept a BEV variant, and I doubt they have been working that hard on one to announce something ready to deliver in 2022.
More likely it's a PHEV similar to the RRS setup.
- FastLaneJB
- Member Since: 29 May 2021
- Location: Bedfordshire
- Posts: 189
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My understanding or well the rumours I’d read on this were that the Evoque and Disco Sport would be the first to go all electric. They will also have a range extender option which I imagine would have a smaller amount of batteries also to help keep the cost down.
The bigger Disco I thought needs to wait until the next platform is ready before it can support a fully electric model. I’d expect a PHEV / range extender version also and sure I’d read a normal ICE only would be available still.
250 miles of range would need a massive battery in something like the Disco. SUV’s like this really aren’t all that well suited to going to electric because of their shape / ground clearance and weight. They solve this with ICE’s by just having bigger fuel tanks and the owners accepting they’ll be expensive to run. However to do it as a pure BEV is going to be extremely hard. They already weigh close to 2.5 tons without a battery so the weight is only going to be worse.
The defender PHEV here would be a good example. It’s rated at 27 miles of range from a 19.2 KWh battery and this 250 will be rated range also not what it’ll really do. Even if we ignore the impact you’d have from a bigger battery in terms of weight ruining range, you’d need a 351KWh battery to get to 250 miles of range.
The largest battery any car’s had is around the 100KWh you get in a some cars. That battery weights in a Tesla Model S just over 500kg so unless some battery breakthrough you’d be adding over 1,700kg to the car. You’d lose the weight of the ICE but you’ve still electric motors to add.
Honestly I think they need a new far more aero dynamic shape and the ability to lower the ground clearance hugely for long distance cruising (Can still raise for offroading, etc) to have any chance of hitting 250 miles currently. I don’t envy Land Rover trying to do this because SUV’s just aren’t efficient and that carries over to massive BEV complexities.
- Russell
- Member Since: 26 Jun 2016
- Location: Lydd
- Posts: 1102
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I have spoken to people both at dealers and at factory.
The current platform really struggled with the weight limitations and the rear suspension components to be able to get seven seats and keep within the constraints required for the rear suspension/axle. In fact there were demo mock ups on the factory floor last visit I had which showed the issues they had to over come.
More recently I have been told that they cannot get the batteries in as well as the seven seats so at best there may be a plug in hybrid without rear row of seats so a 5 seater but as per the RRS there will be sacrifices with regards to space and spare wheel
I think a proper electric or even a plug in would be about 5 years away
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- FastLaneJB
- Member Since: 29 May 2021
- Location: Bedfordshire
- Posts: 189
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Yeah a PHEV would be possible if it was only a 5 seat model. They’ve sold it as 5 seat models in some markets so all quite possible. Just not sure at this point if it’s worth that effort or just wait for the next gen which will be properly designed to do it.
- Equilibrium
- Member Since: 26 Feb 2019
- Location: Bristol
- Posts: 754
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Rivian might be showing what is possible. To go BEV, there is an awful lot of heavy 4wd hardware that can be thrown away, replaced by motors at each wheel. I think they are quoting over 300 miles from the big 180kwh version.
They’re aiming for a fully capable SUV, and in the US market that means what it says. I think ground clearance and wading depth are in the Discovery’s league.
Clearly, though, that’s a level of clean sheet engineering that LR would have to match. Hard to see any carryover from current platforms into BEV platforms.
I wish the R1S was here now, so I could cash in on the incredible residual 😂
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- Equilibrium
- Member Since: 26 Feb 2019
- Location: Bristol
- Posts: 754
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Back to that Rivian again, as it seems to be the closest real world example to what LR should be shooting to match or beat.
Launch edition R1S which is a fairly representative spec, comes with a 135kWh battery with a 300 mile range. Weight, including liquids but not driver, is quoted at 2650kg.
Dimensionally close to the D5 at 5.15m length, 1.83m height and 2.0m width. Ground clearance of 245-366mm and a 3500kg towing limit - can certainly imagine what that does to range!
$77.5k US and may be in production this year. Will be interesting to see how independent testing verifies those figures. Weight wise, it’s only a couple of hundred kilos heavier than a 100kWh Model X, but clearly not aerodynamically optimised/compromised in the way that that vehicle is.
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Departed: 2019 MY20 HSE Luxury SDV6 in Carpathian Grey/Glacier, 440i, 320d, Toyotas, Mondeo, Citroen BX amongst others
- Equilibrium
- Member Since: 26 Feb 2019
- Location: Bristol
- Posts: 754
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Ps. FastlaneJB, those Rubicon PHEV figures are scarily bad!
And pps. the wife would never countenance a hearse on the driveway (much as I’d like a RS6 before such things are history), so a future of intimate knowledge of service stations does indeed beckon!
Drives: 2020 MY20 HSE Luxury SDV6 in Eiger Grey/Glacier
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- Russell
- Member Since: 26 Jun 2016
- Location: Lydd
- Posts: 1102
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Not sure why JL and other makes arnt going down this route
You tube video from Harrys garage for the JCB hydrogen vehicle.
Also did anyone watch Guy Martin last night and the electric Beetle, He did a real life test in a Hyundai and could not get the figures quoted and cost for equivalent journey in a diesel car was about £100 cheaper.
Finally JL did some testing many years ago using a Mondeo I think with 4 electric motors, one at each wheel, last time I went to Gaydon it was still on display. Pity they didn't carry on with that.
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- Darras
- Member Since: 16 May 2020
- Location: Newcastle
- Posts: 764
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It’s all speculation and we are all amateur sleuths. We’ll be the last to know. The only thing you can be certain is it will change and soon by all accounts.
- Equilibrium
- Member Since: 26 Feb 2019
- Location: Bristol
- Posts: 754
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Agree that hydrogen has much potential to be explored. The EV agenda has been polarised around BEVs, politically as well as commercially.
Yet Toyota push on with improving their hydrogen FCEV programme, making it more and more accessible and affordable.
The same company who had the vision with hybrid technology and eventually pushed it into every model niche as it is now.
I haven’t watched the Harry’s garage video yet, presumably this is about running ICEs on hydrogen, I know that’s also being explored (Toyota have done this too) alongside fuel cells.
Really interesting time from both the machinery/technology and commercial angles.
Drives: 2020 MY20 HSE Luxury SDV6 in Eiger Grey/Glacier
Departed: 2019 MY20 HSE Luxury SDV6 in Carpathian Grey/Glacier, 440i, 320d, Toyotas, Mondeo, Citroen BX amongst others
- Russell
- Member Since: 26 Jun 2016
- Location: Lydd
- Posts: 1102
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Yes it is about running a diesel engine on hydrogen, but what they have done seems so simple and logical and uses known technology. It is only a short video but very worth a watch
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