Compact Discovery really is a good sport T
HE baby Discovery has been with us for a while now - and it was somewhat overshadowed (in more ways that one) when its much bigger brother was launched a few months later.
However, a week at the wheel of our test car, the revised for 2018 Discovery Sport SD4 HSE, showed that the compact SUV is, in fact, a really grown up motor.
The first surprise is that, despite its modest external proportions, the Disco Sport is a full-sized seven seater - with the third row rising at just the pull of a strap to reveal seats big enough for two adults to travel in comfort. Definitely a USP over rivals like the Q5 and X3.
And the dashboard layout and quality is not too far behind the full-fat Disco, while it is a much easier vehicle to live with sizewise and a lot cheaper to buy starting from just over £30,000 for the base level model.
Which is why - thanks to her brand new Evoque still being in the dealers awaiting a replacement exhaust filter, and her getting a full-size Disco as a courtesy car - when the Supreme Being spotted the smaller Sport on the driveway she made a beeline for it, leaving yours truly to ‘manage’ in the £75k top-spec big Land Rover - nicer problems to have!
And she felt right at home inside as the Discovery Sport is pure upmarket Land Rover. The climate controls and switchgear are all taken from the Evoque and a high level of equipment is standard, including heated seats, partleather upholstery, climate control, alloy wheels, Bluetooth connection, an easy to use sat nav and DAB radio.
That’s SE trim but then there is SE Tech, which adds automatic lights and wipers and a power (gesture) tailgate. Our car’s HSE trim also boasts full leather upholstery, electrically adjustable seats, a reversing camera, panoramic sunroof and keyless entry, then above that there is HSE Luxury with heated and cooled front seats, rear heated seats and self-parking.
The Discovery Sport arrived in 2015 as the replacement for the Freelander but last year Land Rover brought in new 2-litre ingenium engines and an uprated infotainment system - the same changes as made to the Evoque.
That 2.0 Ingenium turbodiesel range includes 238bhp, 178bhp and 148bhp variants, while the 2.0 Ingenium Si4 petrol comes with 238bhp or 288bhp. As in the Evoque you can have the base manual diesel with two-wheel drive, while the more powerful engines are all 4x4s and can be specified with a nine-speed automatic transmission.
Where the Land Rover gets one up on rivals is off the beaten track. It has better ground clearance and front and rear overhangs, so steep slopes are no problem. Also, its Terrain Response system can adapt the four-wheel-drive traction control to suit different conditions with a choice of Normal, Mud, Sand, Rocks and Snow modes.
Our SD4 HSE had the most powerful 2.0-litre 238bhp engine, which meant 0-60mph in 7.1 seconds with a 127mph top speed, while numbers for the 288bhp petrol range-topper are 6.5 seconds and 135mph.
Price-wise our car is towards the top of the range at £44,095 with gloss black alloy wheels and fuel consumption figures of 44 combined and a shade under 48 extra urban claimed - which seemed to be totally achievable as the car went back with half a tank still to go despite being in use every day of the test week.
So with a wide price range, lots of engine choices and kit and great build quality - plus that legendary Land Rover go anywhere ability the upgraded Discovery Sport remains a strong contender in the booming compact SUV market.
More information at www. landrover.co.uk HERE is a car that has me reaching for my wallet and - supreme being permitting - may soon be on the driveway at Howarth Towers.
After much debate Ford have finally decided to sell the special edition Bullitt Mustang, a homage to the 1969 version driven by Steve McQueen in the legendary film of the same name.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the famous car chase movie the new car will come in the same Highland Green metallic (or if you prefer bag guy black), have a tweaked 5.0-litre V8 said to be putting out well over 450bhp and various Bullitt bodywork details.
The special edition cars will have around 35bhp more than the standard Mustang and a top speed of 168mph.
They will also boast a 12-speaker 1,000 watt sound system - pointless as you will only want to listen to that glorious V8 - and Torq Thrust-style alloys like Mr McQueen’s movie motor.
Ford have yet to reveal how many right hand drive versions they will make or the price for the Bullitt car but if it is, as rumoured, in the low £40ks I need to start piling up the brownie points now with you-know-who!