2015 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SPORT
2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport’s smart packaging is sure to win many new fans
The Discovery Sport is the newest member of Land Rover ’s expanding portfolio and joins two new versions of the larger Range Rover. While it resembles its more luxurious sibling, it arrives with a tighter, leaner driving feel. It is an attractive goanywhere ride that’s destined to garner many fans.
The Discovery Sport is powered by a 2.0-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder that’s good for 240 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque at 1,800 r.p.m. The performance it delivers is pretty good, bringing a run to 100 kilometres an hour in 8.2 seconds. It also canters from 80 to 120 km/h in 5.9 seconds.
The engine is teamed with a nine-speed transmission and a very proficient all-wheel-drive system that engages in just 350 milliseconds whenever it detects wheel slippage. The transmission is one of the more accomplished nine-speed boxes, as there’s much less hunting for the right gear and it actually gets into ninth (the Jeep version of this transmission hardly ever seems to find top gear).
It also pulls away in second gear unless the driver manually selects first. This trait leaves first for those times when an abnormally low gear is really needed, such as hauling up a steep grade when off-road.
There are, however, two nits to pick. First, it tends to upshift early for fuel economy reasons when drive is selected. To get around this, one needs to shift to Sport. The second is a real oddity. In 30 years of testing cars I have never had to program how the paddle shifters work. In this case, one must delve into a menu and then select whether they are active in sport or drive and sport. Why the needless complexity?
The new body brings a mix of high-strength and ultra-highstrength steel along with lightweight aluminum body panels. The combination delivers a strong base of operations for the long-travel suspension. Riding on front struts and a new multilink rear suspension, the combination does a good job of controlling body roll while soaking up the rigours of a rough road or an off-road trail.
In this regard, the Disco Sport brings an enviable blend of comfort and capability. The electrically assisted variableratio steering also delivers decent feedback and takes just 2.43 turns to go from lock to lock, which is just the ticket in a parking lot or on a tight trail.
There are several key reasons why the Discovery Sport is more than capable of going where the competition fears to tread. It not only gets hill-descent control and a brake-based torque-vectoring system, it benefits greatly from LR’s Terrain Response system. It gives the driver a number of options: normal on-road driving, mud/ruts, grass/gravel/ snow and sand modes. The system tweaks everything from the throttle’s response and transmission strategy to how the traction control and all-wheel-drive work to ensure Sport is making the best of the terrain.
Throw in the 212 millimetres of ground clearance and 25-degree approach and 31-degree departure angles, the ability to ford 600 mm of water and climb a 45-degree grade and the Discovery Sport has outstanding offroad credentials. Heck, even the front bumper can be removed if that’s what’s needed to get off the trail safely. An off-road jaunt proved just how well the lot works.
There is also an Eco mode. As with most such modes in other cars, it forces everything into fuel economy mode, which blunts performance.
The cabin is very workmanlike in its execution, but it is also equally luxurious with leather wrapping the comfortable seats and dash panel. It also gets all the modern conveniences, including a touch screen that looks after all of the infotainment functions as well as the navigation and has a pictogram of what the all-wheel-drive system is up to.
The hitch, at least in the rangetopping model, is it requires a package to add features that are rapidly becoming standard fare. Customers shopping in the $50,000 snack bracket tend to expect certain things, blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure warning being the biggies. These are bundled up in a package. I understand Land Rover’s desire to cap the price of entry, but when many of its peers offer these items as standard fare, the company may want to rethink its decision.
The back end of the Sport is remarkably roomy, given its outward dimensions. With the seats upright, it can hold 981 litres of cargo, and 1,887 L with them folded down. The floor is not completely flat, but as the seats lock in the down position, this is less of a shortcoming. There’s also a third-row option, which gives the Sport 5+2 seating.
There is a lot to like about the Land Rover Discovery Sport. It’s comfortable, it handles adroitly when on-road and it can take its occupants to places many of its competitors fear to venture.