The Land Rover Discovery Sport facelift gets a new platform, significant cosmetic changes and lots of upgrade to the interiors, being the only seven-seater SUV in its segment in India.
Land Rover debut the Discovery Sport facelift for the international markets last year and now, the British carmaker will be launching the new model in India on February 13. The Discovery Sport saw its global debut in 2014 as a replacement for the Freelander. With the new facelift, Land Rover has brought in some heavy updates both on the inside and the outside. Let’s look at it in a little more detail.
Although this is just a facelift, Land Rover has given the Discovery Sport a brand new platform. The previous Discovery Sport was underpinned by the D8 platform (a modified version of this platform is what underpins the Tata Harrier). The new Discovery Sport is now underpinned by second-gen Evoque’s Premium Transverse Architecture. This platform has been engineered to also accommodate electrified powertrains.
Although the Discovery Sport uses a new platform, it hasn’t changed all that much in terms of dimensions. It measures 4,597mm in length (3mm shorter), 2,069mm in width (identical) and 1,727mm in height (3mm shorter). The 2,741mm wheelbase also remains unchanged. In terms of exterior design, the face gets a complete makeover. There’s a redesigned bumper which looks cleaner and a lot more sophisticated than before. The grille has also been tweaked and there are new headlamps with revised DRLs as well.
At the rear, the SUV gets redesigned bumpers and new LED tail lamps. In profile, the car remains relatively unchanged. With the facelift, the Discovery Sport now looks more in line with the second-gen Evoque and the Velar. On the inside, the cabin gets a more comprehensive set of updates with the facelift. Land Rover has adopted a completely digital setup with this facelift, much like other newer Land Rovers. There’s a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, touch pads for the steering-mounted controls, revamped air-conditioner controls with haptic feedback and the company’s Touch Pro infotainment system with a 10.25-inch touchscreen compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
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Under the hood, the Land Rover Discovery Sport will be powered by a range of 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines from the firm’s Ingenium family of engines. The India-spec Discovery Sport will come in P250 petrol and D180 diesel guise which, as the names already suggest, put out 250 bhp and 180 bhp respectively. Both engines come mated to a 9-speed torque converter automatic transmission and power is sent to all-four wheels like you’d expect.
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The Discovery Sport will continue to be offered in a 5+2 seating configuration and even in its mid-spec S and SE variants, the SUV will come loaded with most of the bells and whistles. Land Rover already offers the top-spec HSE variant with the current Discovery Sport and we expect that to continue as well. The Discovery Sport competes against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLC, BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60. It is the only SUV in the segment which comes with three rows of seating and although it comes at a premium, it remains a novelty of the Discovery Sport. The current model priced at Rs 44.68-61.95 lakh (ex-showroom, India); one can expect a mark-up with the arrival of the new SUV.
