Jaguar Land Rover are betting big on the Indian market and are quick to get new models to the country. The Discovery Sport will come via the CKD route being locally assembled at the company’s Chikhali facility.
Land Rover has confirmed that it will release the replacement of the Freelander 2 in India in August 2015. It is Land Rover’s latest offering with its new design language and the first outside the Range Rover marquee. This new design language has been combined with the traditional muscular stance to give the Discovery Sport a traditional yet modern appeal.
The new Discovery Sport will come with three engine options. A 2.2-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder diesel in two states of tune – 147 BHP and 187 BHP and a 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine producing a peak power of 250 BHP. The engine will be mated to a 9-speed ZF automatic gearbox. The diesel will come with an optional 6-speed manual transmission which won’t be offered in India.
The Land Rover Discovery Sport is based on the old Freelander 2 and the Range Rover Evoque but it uses 50% new parts when compared to the Evoque. A lot of aluminium is used in its construction, making it lighter. The new updated Terrain Response System now has a Dynamic mode which improves the cornering ability of the vehicle.
The new Discovery Sport comes with seven seats though the space for the third row is enough only for kids. Accepting the limited space available, the company is calling it a 5+2 seater. However, the ability to seat seven gives it an edge over its rivals. The new car comes with a whole lot of features which include a new touch screen infotainment system, a panoramic sunroof, xenon headlamps, dual zone climate control and leather seats with electric adjustment. On the safety front, it gets airbags for all passengers and a pedestrian airbag. It also gets autonomous braking.
The Discovery Sport will be assembled at Land Rover’s plant in Pune but not immediately. This should allow the company to price it competitively. Expect it to be priced around the Rs. 45 lakh mark. It will rival the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Volvo XC60 and the Mercedes-Benz ML-Class (which will soon be renamed to GLE). On paper at least, the new Discovery Sport is a worthy replacement to the Freelander 2 and it should give the competition quite a scare.
