The forgotten middle child
Remember the Discovery Sport? So you should. By
Poor Disco Sport: totally drowned out by all the coverage and James Bond hype surrounding the new Defender. Which is a shame, because the Sport deserves a bit of attention. Since the MkII was launched last year, it’s a much improved family SUV – and yes, I’d say it is a MkII, because the changes were much deeper than a mere facelift.
As well as the restyled exterior and interior, under the skin it got a revised front end using the new Premium Transverse Architecture subframe (also found in the second-gen Range Rover Evoque). That means mild-hybrid 48-volt electrics and a PHEV, due soon; it’s also transformed the ride and cabin refinement.
This much we know from the car’s launch; now we’ll find out what it’s like to live with, day to day.
The Disco Sport configurator has a fork in the road at the very first step: there’s the Standard car, which gives Land Rover its £31,905 entry price; and the R-Dynamic, which immediately adds a £10k premium. That base price means the weakest diesel engine (the D150), a manual ’box and 17-inch alloys – the kind of bare-minimum farmer spec that rarely gets ordered in 2020.
Our car is an R-Dynamic, which upgrades you to 18-inch wheels minimum, an auto ’box, different bumpers, body-coloured arches and lots of extra interior trim details. Of the three diesels and two petrol engines available – all 2.0-litre Ingenium four-cylinders – we’ve gone for the most powerful diesel, the D240, which means 237bhp and 369lb ft.
Then you pick from three trim levels: S, SE or HSE. Our HSE gets (among other things, on a gigantic standard equipment list): 20-inch alloys; ‘premium’ LED headlights; a Meridian sound system; plus lots of extra convenience features, like a powered tailgate, keyless entry, and a rear-view mirror that can turn into a rear-facing video screen.
We’re now at just over £50k, before you start adding options.
Yes, okay, I concede: our car is silver (Indus Silver, £705), which you might say is boring; but whenever I see Disco Sports on the road, old or new, I think darker colours make it look too heavy and slab-sided.
Combined with the black contrast roof (£610) silver emphasises the swept-back glasshouse and that dynamic, angled C-pillar. Add optional 21-inch alloys (£780), and I reckon our Sport looks absolutely awesome.
Inside, the biggest decision is five seats or seven. A warning to anyone who’s ordering a car: the button to choose between five seats and the third-row option seems kind of hidden under the seat-fabric options in the configurator. Which I think is weird, given the seating
layout is such a big part of the Discovery Sport’s appeal.
Anyway, in the end I went for five seats, which means a slightly bigger boot and allows for the full-size spare option (though adding that wheel in the boot costs a steep £875).
Inside I’ve gone for the nonleather, Light Oyster/Ebony Luxtec and suedecloth seats, a no-cost option. I love it, but everyone who’s seen the car so far takes one look and winces at all those creamy white surfaces. How they’ll fare in a family off-roader, time will tell. Marmite sandwich, anyone? Add in the Natural Shadow Oak veneer panels (£80) and the fixed panoramic roof (£1120) and it’s a really light, modern, Scandi-style interior. I love it.
In the end, our Disco Sport comes in at £60,120, which puts it into Discovery and Velar territory. It’s also, funnily enough, the same price as the new Defender 110 First Edition. Our new Disco Sport has six months to carve out a distinctive place for itself.
Land Rover Discovery Sport D240 HSE R-Dynamic Month 1
The story so far
The revised Discovery Sport may not get the attention of the new Defender, but it promises to be a great family SUV
+ Six years after launch and one styling update later, the Disco Sport is still a handsome SUV
Creamy interior looks really premium, but will it last as a family car?
Logbook
Price £50,635 (£60,120 as tested) Performance 1999cc turbodiesel four-cyl, 237bhp, 7.9sec 0-62mph, 137mph
E ciency 36.6mpg (o cial), 32.5mpg (tested), 202g/km CO2 Energy cost tbc Miles this month Total miles