Land Rover

Land Rover Discovery Sport: Discovering Sport

Published on June 25, 2015

The new Discovery Sport is a young, baby Land Rover. Land Rover has set this car up to be aimed at the youthful generations. It still has the look and capability of a Land Rover, but in making it more affordable, those who thought they could never own one, now may be able to do just that!

Now…I only had the car for two hours, but I certainly found what I did like and what I did not. So, here is a brief first drive experience of the Land Rover Discovery Sport. Let’s start with the good stuff, shall we?. The design still keeps its ‘Land Rover’ style while bringing new elements into play. The new headlights and tail lights are detailed and delightful!

The gigantic panoramic sunroof is gorgeous and really sets the car up for upscale luxury. Just sitting in the car and looking up is a huge treat. There is a lot of room inside the cabin- even more than some of its segment rivals. So, there should be no problem fitting pretty much anything in this car. The interior is spacious and plush, while the seats are comfortable and supportive.

Sadly, there are a a few downers. I think some of the plastics could have been of a better quality. The other thing that got me when driving was the turbo lag. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine with 240 hp and 250 lb-ft is quite sufficient for the Disco Sport and even though peak torque comes at a low 1750 rpm, there’s still a hint of turbo lag. Acceleration is brisk but that’s only after the turbo kicks in. The Discovery Sport manages to hit 60 mph in 7.8 sec and it can easily do speeds up to 124 mph. The transmission in this SUVs is 9-speed automatic and is no slouch either.

So we had our ups and downs with the car but overall, I was impressed. The Discovery Sport is definitely a true Land Rover- it has the looks and the off road capabilities. Though it might not be as capable off road as its bigger and older brothers, it was totally composed over the rough stuff I encountered along the way. Hopefully over time, we could see more of the advanced capabilities trickling down to the Discover Sport.

The steering is responsive and the Disco feels nimble quite nimble on its feet since it has less weight to lug around compared to its siblings. The unique rotary gear selector knob is a brilliant piece of engineering and design . The satellite navigation and entertainment system seem pretty decent, though I did not get to play too much with it. I had to film and photograph the car, you see.

If you’re looking to take a step into the Land Rover family but do not want to drop a fortune, then the Discovery Sport may very well be your best bet. Though I only had two hours with the car, and some gripes with it, I really did enjoy every moment of the driving experience.