Land Rover’s entry-level crossover hits the sweet spot of the luxury range offering a unique blend of space and all-terrain capability.
Rivaling the likes of the BMW X3, Acura RDX, and Volvo XC60 it offers a spacious cabin and is the only vehicle in the segment to offer three rows of seating. It’s worth noting that the third row is suitable only for children and consumes much of the cargo space, but it is unique.
Likewise is the Discovery Sport’s prowess when the going gets tough. It may lack a transfer case and locking differentials, but Land Rover has cleverly used first gear as an extra-low “crawling” gear, and has even fitted a low-speed off-road cruise control. With 8.3 inches of ground clearance, plus Terrain Response with driving modes for sand, rocks, snow, and mud, the Sport should fare well even when the going gets rough.
Changes are few for model year 2017. Of note is the availability of a new premium infotainment system dubbed InControl Touch Pro, borrowed from the Jaguar XF, XE, and F-Pace. It features a larger 10.2-inch display, and comes bundled with a 60-gig solid-state hard drive, navigation, 3G wi-fi hot spot, and a 17-speaker 825-watt Meridian sound system. The package sells for $2,100.
Gadget buffs take note: the Discovery Sport is the first Land Rover that can work with Tile, which uses the car’s Bluetooth system to keep tabs on items in the car such as wallets, phones, or bags.
Also new is an optional Dynamic Styling Pack for the HSE and HSE Luxury trims. It features gloss black exterior trim for the grille, licence plate frame, black 20-inch wheels, sport interior accents and red stitching. Four new colours have also joined the range: Silicon Silver, Farallon Black, Carpathian Grey, and Aruba – a cheerful shade of metallic blue. New interior trims also join the range.
There are also a handful of added technologies designed to improve life behind the wheel for drivers. Lane-keeping assist is now available, as is a driver monitoring system that sounds a visual and audible alert if it detects a tiring driver. Lead-footed drivers will undoubtedly be glad for the arrival of the new Intelligent Speed Limiter system, which reads traffic signs, and when activated will automatically slow the vehicle down the speed limit.
Despite the added feature content and options, the Discovery Sport continues to be powered exclusively by a 2.0-litre turbocharged and direct-injected four-cylinder engine that produces 240 hp and 251 lb-ft of torque. All-wheel drive is standard, as is a ZF-designed nine-speed automatic transmission controlled via Land Rover’s signature rotary shift knob knob. Wheel sizes range from 18 to 20 inches, and magnetic damping and torque-vectoring all-wheel drive can be fitted.
