
On the outside, Land Rover's designers attempted to smoothen the Discovery 3's ruged looks by removing most of the dark plastic and restyling the SUVs front fascia which is clearly inspired from the Range Rover. The revised headlamps and tail lights now incorporate LED technology while there are also new 19-inch alloy wheel designs and, for the first time, a new 10-spoke 20-inch wheel is available as a factory option.
Land Rover's team paid more attention to the Discovery's interior that has received a serious makeover with a redesigned dash and instrument panel, a new centre console that is now inclined towards the driver, new steering wheel with revised switch layout and new seats. Also new are the 5-inch TFT screens in the instrument cluster displaying key information and a new Portable Audio Interface with MP3 player and i-Pod connectivity.
For the 2010MY, the Discovery benefits from a new 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged diesel engine producing 245HP and a massive 600Nm the torque. Even though it delivers 29 percent more power and 36 percent higher torque than the 2.7-liter V6 diesel which will continue to be offered on the Disco, fuel economy is improved by 9 percent, delivering 30.4mpg UK (9.3 l/100km or 25.3 mpg US) on the EU Combined cycle.
Land Rover has also improved the Disco's vehicle dynamics on and off-road by tweaking the suspension, adding larger brakes and revising the Terrain Response and Hill Descent Control systems.
In particular, as with the recently updated Jaguar XF and XK models, the 2010 Land Rovers adopt a new dual turbocharged 3.0-litre AJ-V6D Gen III diesel engine that produces up to 275HP and a massive 600Nm (443 lbs-ft) of peak torque.
The 2010 Range Rover and its Sport sibling also benefit from the AJ-V8 Gen III direct-injection engine that will be offered in both naturally aspirated and supercharged forms producing 385HP / 515Nm and 510HP / 625Nm respectively. We'll have more details on all three Land Rovers at the opening of the NY Show.
Additional changes include the body colored tailgate lift handle, the revised "tungsten" colored side vent, "tungsten" door handles on higher trim levels, and clear-lens side repeaters across the range. Land Rover also offers a new set of 19-inch 7-spoke alloy wheels along with – you guessed it- three new exterior metallic paint colors - Santorini Black, Galway Green and Bournville and a new a new "almond" trim color for the cabin. -Continued
There’s no official announcement on when the 2009 Land Rover Discovery 3 will go on sale in the States, but in the