In what would be the first of the new age products planned by Land Rover, the British automaker has officially unveiled the next generation Discovery Sport that will be replacing the entry-level Freelander as well as the outgoing Discovery models, while spawning new models to be slotted in-between. After receiving rave reviews and applause for the new Range Rover and Evoque models, the updates to the Freelander in the form of the new Discovery Sport are much deserved, and manage to sit in-between the Evoque and Range Rover Sport in terms of styling.
The new 2015 Land Rover Discovery started life as the Discovery Vision concept that was showcased at the New York Auto Show earlier this year and scores high in the looks department. The influence is pretty evident even at the first glance with the sharply replicated toned down front fascia and the distinctive side profile that looks sportier, urban and modern, while also having a touch of flamboyance compared to the outgoing model. A first in segment; the Discovery Sport comes with a 5+2 seating layout and measures 4590 mm in length, sporting a wheelbase of 2741 mm, making it 91 mm taller and 80 mm longer than the outgoing Freelander.
Nonetheless, the 2015 Discovery Sport looks compact on the outside with spacious interiors on the inside. With emphasis on rear seat comfort, the occupants sit 50 mm higher in the second row than the front-seat occupants. You also get a reclining feature for the second row seats that slide backwards up to 160 mm, thus offering a total of 1,011 mm of legroom. The dashboard however is rather simple and straightforward, but at the same time looks effortless to use.
Packed with all modern day essentials, the Land Rover Discovery Sport offers 8-inch infotainment system with integrated voice-controlled satellite navigation, Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity and an all-terrain mode as standard features. Being a Land Rover, it is very much capable of going off-road as well with a 212 mm of ground clearance and an approach, departure and breakover angles of 25, 31 and 21 degrees respectively. The approach angle can further be enhanced by removing the front bumper, and can also scale inclines up to 45-degrees Land Rover further states that the new Discovery Sport is capable of restarting in waterlogged areas even after water having entered the cabin for over 30 minutes.
Coming to the powertrain, the new Land Rover Discovery Sport gets the 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine producing 190 PS with all-wheel drive, paired to either a 6-speed manual or 9-speed ZF automatic transmission. For North American markets the same 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol motor producing 240 HP and 338 Nm of torque from the Evoque will be on offer, paired to the 9-speed automatic coupled with the Haldex All-Wheel Drive system. Land Rover will also launch an eco-friendly two-wheel drive eD4 turbo-diesel engine with CO2 emissions as low as 119 g/km, later in the SUV’s lifecycle.
The 2015 Discovery Sport will go on sale worldwide early next year competing in the very popular compact luxury SUV segment against the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLK and the likes. The new SUV will be priced under the $40,000 (Rs. 24.23 lakhs) for the North American markets, while prices in India are expected to remain similar to the outgoing Freelander (Rs. 43 lakh onwards). The Discovery Sport will make its public debut at the Paris Motor Show in October.
