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Voyage of Discovery – Land Rover Discovery Sport P200 AWD S R-Dynamic

The car remains composed even when pushed through twisty country roads. Pretty amazing given its 2-tonne weight and high body.
discovery sport

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10 February 2020

  • P11D Value, £48,510 (as tested)
  • 5-door Crossover
  • Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder Turbo petrol
  • Power/torque: 200hp/320Nm
  • Economy: 24.4mpg (on test)
  • CO2: 179 g/km
  • Performance: 0-62/mph, 8.6 secs/128mph

discovery sport

What is it?

Remember the Land Rover Freelander? Well, the Disco Sport is not one of those.

It is much more aligned as a Discovery family member, smaller, practical and sportier.

The Sport is similar in size to the successful Range Rover Evoque which is hardly a surprise given that it uses the same chassis architecture

However, the rear suspensions has been fettled to allow the packaging of seven seats as standard in every model, which is a pretty good USP.

The latest version have done away with the old engines to make way for Jaguar Land Rover’s 2-litre Ingenium motors in both petrol and diesel form.

Why you would want a Discovery Sport

  • Rugged good looks
  • Great off-road ability
  • Sporty feel
  • Seven seats

discovery sport

What might out you off a Discovery Sport

  • Fuel economy not so great
  • Those third row seats are pretty cramped
  • Prices are high against some of the opposition

discovery sport

Our verdict

Let’s start with the engine because this is now where the Disco scores having at last dumped the motors inherited from its ancestors.

The 2-litre units are much smoother and quieter and there’s good performance particularly from the petrol version we tried – although the downside is fuel economy which we averaged at 24.4mpg.

The under-bonnet improvements sit nicely with the general drive. The Discovery Sport is smooth and unfussy and benefits particularly from the 9-speed automatic transmission.

In fact, the ride and drive is not far removed from the Range Rover Evoque we tried recently – and it’s a good £5K cheaper.

The car remains composed even when pushed through twisty country roads. Pretty amazing given its 2-tonne weight and high body.

Dive off road and the Disco will do pretty much everything any-respecting Land Rover should. It will take a lot to catch it out thanks to altered and balance-improved weight distribution while there’s a wading depth of 600mm if you really want to get down and dirty.

Moving inside and there’s no complaints there either. Not as sumptuous as the Evoque but neat and today all the same.

Everything seems really well screwed together and while on first look the third row seats are really cramped, the middle row does slide to provide a little more space.

Slide them the other way and you get a whole lot more leg room for rear-seat passengers. Folding the back seats down reveals between 480 and 689 litres of boot space which is considerably better than in the old Freelander.

Our test vehicle – Discovery Sport P200 AWD S R-Dynamic – weighs in at £41,425, although it came with a lot of add-ons:

  • Firenze Red Metallic Paint – £670
  • Black Contrast Roof – £600
  • Black Exterior Pack – £550
  • Ebony Taurus with Mars Red Stitch,  Ebony Interior – no cost option
  • Light Oyster Headliner – no cost option
  • 20″ Style 5089, 5 split-spoke, Gloss Black Finish – £1,605
  • Privacy Glass – £400
  • Solar attenuating windscreen – £215
  • Heated Steering Wheel – £225
  • 360º Surround Camera with Clearsight Ground View – £575
  •   Clearsight Interior rear view mirror- £500
  •   InControl Secure Tracker  – £545
  •  Wireless Device Charging – £100
  • Fixed Panoramic Roof – £1,100

All of which bumped the price up to £48,510.

Prices start in the low £30,000s but there are good levels of specification. SE trim comes with cruise and climate control, DAB, Bluetooth, heated seats and half-leather trim.

There’s more as you go up the range until you start wondering why you just didn’t go out and buy an Evoque in the first place.

discovery sport

 

 

 

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Chris Wright

Chris Wright

Chris Wright has been covering the automotive industry nationally and internationally for 30 years. Following spells with consumer titles he became News Editor of Automotive Management (AM), Editor of Automotive International, International Editor for Detroit-based Automotive News, and Editor of Dealer Update. He has also co-authored several FT Management Reports and contributes regularly to Justauto.com

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