The offset rear number plate was a feature from the very first Land Rover Discovery, where it shared space with the spare wheel, both of them fixed to the tailgate. The second generation from 2004 carried on with the theme, and although the spare was now elsewhere, the unequal height tailgate glass still made the number plate placement relevant. And a very stylish rear end, even daring.
But then, it was 2017. A new Discovery was made. It was not good.
Gone was the stylish drop-down glass area, to be replaced with the usual one-height rear window. You might think with the removal of this signature styling theme everything else would be ‘normalised’ too. If only. Instead, and somehow this made it through customer clinics and design team meetings, we have an offset number plate for no good reason, presumably they all thought it was a nod to the previous designs and that would be ok. Well it isn’t. Revolting and lopsided as it now, hopefully the fourth generation will do away with this abomination, or make it make sense by returning to the original window styling.
Photoshopped it for you
