The 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport has been revealed. The Discovery Sport is a 7-seater SUV (for the UK market at least) which will complement a larger Discovery model just like the Range Rover Sport and it’s larger cousin the Range Rover.
The Discovery adds a new design language to the SUVs from the Land Rover stable, the design is much-more softer and modern as compared to other SUVs in the LR range. The Land Rover Discovery Sport will replace the Freelander 2 when it is launched in India and will offer more space, more seats and more equipment.
Price
The 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport is priced from 32,395 – 42,995 Pounds, which roughly translates to between Rs. 32.30 – 42.75 Lakh. This includes 4 trim levels i.e., SE, SE Tech, HSE and HSE Lux , a single engine option, two transmission options and only 4-wheel drive.
Land Rover will also launch an entry -level variant of the Discovery Sport later in 2015, which will feature a new diesel motor at a price less than 30,000 Pounds or Rs. 29.83 Lakh. Furthermore, 2-wheel drive variants will also be launched to appeal to markets like India.
What’s New?
Design-wise, the Discovery Sport is an evolution of the design seen on modern Land Rovers and borrows heavily from the 2014 Discovery Vision Concept. The big changes include a much softer design with sleek headlamps, curved front profile, smoother edges, a very sharp C-pillar and tail-lamps which match the headlamp design.
At front you get a two-slot grille, which is much more compact than other LR SUVs, the bumper is large and is not very fussy, the chrome highlights around the fog lamps looks cool. The clamp-like hood, which is typical LR, remains but it has been re-imagined. The ‘Discovery’ badge sits proud above the grille. The headlamps get sleek LED daytime running lamps which look nice.
Move to the side and you see the sharply rising window-line which gives the SUV character, the prominent line running from behind the front wheel-arch all the way to the tail-lamps adds to the looks. The sharp C-pillar, the blacked-out B-pillar and the wrap-around rear glass give the SUV a very compact look. It is a huge SUV mind you, but the design masks the fact very well.
Move to the rear of the 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport and it is a love-it or hate-it situation. The compact-SUV theme continues, but the large stop-lamps may be too much, at least to some.
Inside, its typical Land Rover, with a simple layout and tough materials used. It features a newly-designed multi-function steering wheel, a grey-and-white interior combination trim and silver accents. The instrument cluster features two analogue dials for vehicle speed and engine speed and a digital multi-information-display. The centre console features an 8-inch infotainment screen flanked by buttons, below which you will find two A/C vents and the climate-control cluster. The lower centre console features a controller for the infotainment system and terrain-response system.
The Discovery Sport has an optional third-row of seats, but the company recommends that these should be limited to occasional use only, which means that adults will not like sitting here on long drives. The rear-row can be split or fully-folded for extra luggage space. The second-row seats can be adjusted individually for horizontal travel and lean, they are best suited for seating 2 people though.
Video: 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport
Engine and Transmission
Two engines are on offer, a 2.2-litre 187 BHP / 420 Nm turbodiesel engine and a 2.0-litre 240 BHP / 340 Nm petrol engine. These can either be mated to a 6-speed manual transmission or a 9-speed ZF automatic transmission. For now the Discovery sport is only available with 4WD, front-wheel drive variants will be offered from 2015. Even though the SUV is being marketed as a lifestyle product, which means it will usually be driven on-road, it has enough off-road capability for those who may want to go exploring. On road performance is helped by the fact that the there are different driving modes and because a new multi-link suspension has been added to th rear for better stability at high speeds.
Features
The Land Rover Discovery Sport is loaded with technology, it wants to appeal to those who love playing around with tech and want to be connected on-the-go. There are several infotainment, assist and safety systems on the SUV, such as:
- Infotainment system with InControl Apps
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Head-up display
- Navigation system
- Panoramic roof
- Terrain Response system with Wade Sensing, Gradient Release Control for hill starts, Roll Stability and Torque Vectoring.
- 6, 10 or 17 speakers systems. The 17-speaker, 825-W system is provided by Meridian.
- Safety systems include – Pedestrian airbag that activates under between the hood and the windshield to minimize the impact if a person is hit and falls onto the hood at speeds up to 30 KMPH.
What do you think of the new Discovery Sport? Let us know in the comments section below.
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