LuxuryCarMagazine En Luxury Car Review and News
The rule is this: when you have a classic nameplate, one with a massive cult-like following and years of achievement and the highest level, you don’t change too much.
(Los Angles, CA) Unless, of course, you’re Land Rover and it’s time to release a new Discovery (or “Discovery Sport”, as it’s now called).
Why? Because you’d be hard-pressed to find much relation with the pressed-steel, two-box shape that has been the Dicovery’s silhouette since the late ‘80s, really, in this new version. Indeed, thanks to a sharply-raked rear hatch, cat-eye taillights, squinting headlights and quasi-honeycomb grille, it’s much more akin to the Range Rover Evoque with which it shares its platform.
That’s not to say it’s bad looking, however; the Evoque is probably the most avant-garde crossover you’ll find in North America, and it’s nice to see the Discovery, get a little of that panache; not to mention it looks pleasingly similar to the Land Rover Discovery Vision Concept (see gallery below) it started as. Plus, if folks still want some good ol’ Landie boxiness, there’ll always be the LR4.
It also has what Land Rover’s calling “5+2” seating, which is basically fancy talk for three-row crossover but a new multi-link rear axle will actually make for more space behind the second row, meaning the third row could actually be usable for more than just pets or small children.
Other interior features include the gear selector knob seen on the Range Rover and Jaguar XJ, a new eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system (a good thing, too; Land Rover’s current system is really showing its age at this point) and a configurable heads-up display. Futuristic stuff.
Power comes from the brand’s 2.0L turbo four powerplant seen in the LR2 and Evoque, where it makes 240 hp and 250 lb.-ft. of torque. There is also a brace of diesel engines available overseas, but knowing Landie’s track record in North America, it’s unlikely we’ll see them here. What we will see, however, is an all-new 9-speed automatic transmission as standard, as well as Terrain Response tech and the ability to wade into 600 mm of water.
The first Disco Sports have already been rolling off the line; expect to see them in dealers in early 2015.
