A HANDSOME, COMFORTABLE SPORT,
More than holds its own against competition
What if an automaker put together a sporty engine and chassis, but then wrapped it in a Land Rover body? You’d basically end up with the Discovery Sport, a vehicle that’s way more fun than you might expect a sport ute to be.
In an increasingly crowded segment of quick-’n’nimble premium SUVs and crossovers, including competition from sister company Jaguar’s “Pace” SUV models, the Discovery Sport more than holds its own.
This Land Rover comes with two versions of a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, with the entry level putting out 237 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque. What gave my HSE Luxury tester its go-faster goodness was a new-for-2018 version of the 2.0-L turbofour, cranking out an impressive 286 hp and 295 lbft of torque, and mated to a smooth-shifting nine-speed automatic transmission.
As always, there’s a price for fast, and on the Discovery Sport the rise is swift and steep. The 237-hp Sport starts at $43,500, but it’s another $9,800 to move up to the HSE and its stronger engine. This top-line HSE Luxury began at $57,000 before several option packages were added, and at this level, you often pay extra for items that are included in many mainstream brands, including GPS navigation, blindspot monitoring and satellite radio. On the base SE trim, you even pay extra to get heated front seats.
But if you do spring for the stronger engine, you won’t be disappointed. It’s one of the company’s Ingenium engines, engineered and built in-house, and it’s a beauty. Its throttle tip-in could be a bit smoother on moderate acceleration but I can forgive it, given the way it gobbles up real estate when you ask it to show off its stuff. There’s an automatic start-stop function that shuts off the engine at idle, but you can disable it if you prefer to stay running all the time.
This trucklet isn’t excessively large or tall to begin with, but the quick and crisp handling makes it seem even smaller and slung lower to the ground on curves. If you’ve always had a perception of Land Rovers being staid and stodgy, that all ends here. The ride is firm and you hear some of the bumps, but it’s not enough to be unpleasant. It’s sporty but it’s still a Land Rover, which means it also needs to have some off-road chops. Toggles on the centre stack move you through settings that optimize how it reacts to such conditions as gravel, snow, mud, grass or sand, along with one for everyday driving. The Sport will also tow 2,000 kilograms.
The Discovery Sport shares its foundation with the slightly smaller Range Rover Evoque, and like that model, has softer styling with rounded corners. It’s a departure from Land Rover’s traditional hard-edged, boxon-box look but I really like it, especially from the back, with its rounded lights and upswept fascia. Ordering the more powerful engine adds larger front air intakes, a gloss-black grille and side vents, 20-inch gloss-black wheels, a chrome exhaust tip, and a red “Sport” badge.
Unlike the Evoque’s pinched-down roofline, the Sport’s straighter profile preserves headroom all the way back. Models with the base gas engine can be optioned with a very tight third-row seat that holds two passengers. Save for those unfortunate enough to be wedged back there, the Sport provides decent legroom for first- and second-row sitters, and the seats are comfortable and bolstered just enough for support, but not so much that it’s tiresome getting in and out while running errands.
The interior is handsomely styled and with lots of soft-touch surfaces. There are hard buttons and dials for the climate control, including for the heated seats, which should never require paging through computer screens to adjust. But the touch screen is Land Rover’s standard system, which means it’s slow, clumsy, and often non-intuitive. Its voice recognition works on just about everything except for the navigation system, a surprising omission. It also includes an impressive optional Meridian surround-sound system that made the most of the stereo.
This particular Sport included a $410 heated windshield. It does a fantastic job of clearing the worst of winter, but I’d suggest test driving a vehicle with it before you check the box for it. It works by heating up tightly-spaced vertical wires in the glass — and once you’ve spotted them, it’s almost impossible to “un-see” them. I found it got very tiring to constantly try to look past them.
Among competitors such as the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Porsche Macan, and Volvo XC60, the Sport’s engine performance generally sits around midpack, but its starting price is lower.
Its chief rival in power and price might well be Jaguar’s closely related E-Pace, which offers you 296 hp to the Sport HSE’s 286, and with a starting price that’s $2,300 less.
Among Land Rover’s models, this one’s my favourite. It’s handsome, comfortable, and best of all, fun. And if it has “sport” in the name, that’s really what it’s all about.