Land Rover Discovery Sport 2017 Review

Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE TD4 180
Long-Term Test (Update 1)

The Ingenium diesel – a 2.0-litre engine rather than the 2.2-litre diesel that previously powered the Discovery Sport – has transformed Land Rover's smallest SUV. Much quieter, with significantly less turbo lag, the new engine feels a generation ahead of the earlier powerplant. It has been the final piece of the puzzle for the Discovery Sport, a vehicle that was receiving wide praise as it was, and is now a critical benchmark in its market segment.

A car company must be doing something right when one of its products is singled out to demonstrate what’s wrong with a (sort-of) rival product. Such was the case when a certain brand’s spokesman asked to discuss a recent review of ‘his’ vehicle, an affordable SUV new to the market.

I lined up the ‘competitor’ against our long-term Discovery Sport and demonstrated that the Land Rover is simply better designed, ergonomically. Admittedly, the Land Rover costs about double the price of the other SUV, so the two aren’t exactly direct rivals, but nor does it place the Discovery Sport out of reach for all but ‘one percenters’.

As we’ve previously reported in our long-term introduction, the Discovery Sport is spending some time with us to assess its newer, smaller-displacement ‘Ingenium’ diesel, a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel.

This new engine produces nothing like the same level of rattling and turbo whine that we previously experienced in the old 2.2-litre engine, carried over in the Discovery Sport from the Freelander II.

When you plant the foot from a standing start, the Ingenium four-cylinder immediately cranks up to 1500rpm, at which point the torque converter begins transmitting output to the final drive, but the engine continues to build revs and torque with little hesitation. At no stage does the new engine feel breathless and overworked, despite the slight reduction in capacity.

By the standards of a diesel SUV that is actually capable in the bush, the Discovery Sport is fairly refined on the road as well. At cruising speeds there's a relatively subtle amalgam of noise from driveline, road and wind, but nothing especially untoward.

At 100km/h the only way it's possible to shift the transmission into ninth is by selecting the gear manually, just like the previous Discovery Sport. It's hardly worth the effort, plugging along at 1400rpm, with the engine labouring slightly and without much obvious benefit in the context of fuel economy.

Fuel consumption for the week was impressive at 8.4L/100km. That figure was posted by the trip computer after some off-roading and a lot of commuting, balanced out by a brief stint on the freeway and lots of gentler driving on country roads and the local arterials.

What never ceases to impress is the Disco Sport’s all-round dynamic ability. It would go places where I had previously taken a Freelander II and a Jeep Cherokee. As against the older Landy, which I had criticised for the Hill Descent Control being out to lunch, the same facility in the Disco Sport performed admirably and was easily modulated for speed using the cruise control.

The new engine was more than punchy enough for off-road work and the vehicle could climb some steep grades that would have most SUVs of similar size really scrabbling – and without necessarily making the same sort of progress.

But on the road, the Disco Sport was also a star performer. Compared with the old Freelander, the new vehicle felt much more settled at touring speeds, turned in well (better than quite a few passenger cars, in fact), and delivered strong roadholding and neat handling. Quite frankly, there would be few – if any – SUVs under $100,000 that could be as dynamically capable in the Disco Sport’s two-fold role of off-roader and road-going passenger car. Less compliant ride quality is the one concession for all that competence, but it’s not so firm as to rule out the Land Rover come time to make a purchasing decision. In fact, on an extended trip up the country the Discovery Sport converted me with its Touring-biased ride properties.

As a package, the Discovery Sport is little changed from the previous model I tested. While the driving position is generally good, the seat itself is not significantly better than the previous (pre-Ingenium) model. There's better side bolstering for the squab, but the seat base is flat and firm, and doesn't hold the driver in place securely to match the Disco Sport's actual road-holding ability. On our family holiday away, however, we had no complaints whatsoever in regard to comfort.

The third-row seat accommodation is much the same as before, which is to say suitable for kids only. In the second row there’s abundant room for adults and adjustable vents in the B pillars. There are two switches in the right side of the luggage compartment to flip forward both second-row seats for loading longer objects, and the third-row seats are easily retracted or lowered by pulling the cords on the rear of the squabs.

Even without lowering the second-row seating the Discovery Sport provides reasonably generous luggage space in the boot. Take into account, however, that the Land Rover is not especially long by the standards of a seven-seater.

Under the boot floor is a space-saver spare, due to the vehicle’s seven-seat configuration. It’s not a great option if you’re caught with a flat on a bush track.

During the week in my possession, I stupidly snagged the driver’s mirror on a jutting door handle in the side of the garage. The handle fractured the mirror, which caused some problems for road test editor, Matt Brogan, a few days later. As it turns out, the mirror is now a high-tech gadget that is at the crux of driver-assist systems like blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure warning. A damaged sensor behind the glass shorted out a fuse a few days later and left Matt with a dead Discovery Sport that was blinking all sorts of warning lights at him and no power steering.

It’s the sort of thing that could happen to any modern car – driven by a clown trying to park an SUV in a tight spot – but it does beg the question, how would things turn out if this happened in some remote location out in the bush?

That said, the Discovery Sport is a great package, now so much better with the new engine.

2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE TD4 180 pricing and specifications:
Price: $68,535 (as tested, plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 132kW/430Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 139g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

Related reading:
>> Land Rover Discovery Sport (Long-term Introduction)

Also consider:
>> Range Rover Evoque HSE (from $75,089 plus ORCs)
>> Mercedes-Benz GLC (from $64,500 plus ORCs)
>> Jaguar F-PACE (from $74,340 plus ORCs)

Long-Term Tests
motoring.com.au aims to make your choice of vehicle easier. Our Editorial section does this via our mix of news, international and local launch reviews as well as our seven-day tests.

From time to time we also take the opportunity to spend more time in a vehicle. These longer-term tests can be as short as a couple of weeks, but more recently we’ve settled on a three-month period as indicative of ‘normal’ ownership.

Long-term tests give our staff writers and contributors a chance to get to know a car as an owner would. While the car is with us, we pay for fuel, pay for the servicing and generally use and live with the car as a new owner would.

We believe long-term tests give car buyers an added insight into the vehicle on test, but also the qualities behind the brand and nameplate. The extended period also allows us to touch base with the dealer networks in question.

It comes as no surprise that manufacturers tend to have a love-hate relationship with long-term tests. Three months is plenty long enough to fall out of love with the latest and greatest, and start to nitpick — just like real owners do.