Test drive Land Rover Discovery Sport: Goodbye winter!
First kilometers with the new Land Rover Discovery Sport, the successor to the Freelander.
This year, the winter lasted quite a long time, but it also had its advantages. Not only for making money in winter resorts, but also, for example, as an opportunity to try the new Land Rover Discovery Sport among the beauties of the snow-covered Pirin.
The snow-covered road is almost unpaved and climbs steeply to the hut, which makes us doubt the possibility of reaching the final destination. We don't want the luxurious leather comforts of the elegant Discovery Sport to dig up stuck wheels or sprinkle them with sand. However, our fears are unfounded. The Terrain Response indicator illuminates above the wet grass or snow indicator of the 2,2-liter 190 hp diesel. pull firmly, and the first gear of the perfectly functioning nine-speed automatic transmission ZF 9HP 48 (see the article "Maximum torque" on p ..) has a large gear ratio and successfully replaces the missing range.
Discovery Sport replaces Freelander as a compact model in Land Rover's lineup, but its increased dimensions (wheelbase increased by 184, and length by 89 mm and reaches just over 4,5 m) position it rather among the smaller ones. The Range Rover Evoque, with which it shares a platform, and the larger Discovery 4. The brand's plans are for the Discovery lineup to be more affordable and focused on everyday needs, such as families with children, while Range Rover is focused on the ultimate in luxury. power and comfort.
However, the concept of accessibility is very relative, as we drive a Land Rover Discovery Sport SD4 HSE at a base price of 93 levs, to which various additions have been added such as the black design package (800 levs), cold climate packages. ”(4267 BGN),“ Convenience ”(2195 2286 BGN), etc. Costs over 110 000 BGN. A special place among the additional equipment is occupied by the offer of third row seats (BGN 2481), which became possible thanks to the new design of the multi-link rear suspension. On the one hand, the possibility of transporting additional children under 15 or adults (over shorter distances) suggests targeting upper middle class families, but on the other hand, this option imposes restrictions that hint that the family man is expected to surrender. ... Have to limit off-road adventures (eliminates the possibility of a full-size spare wheel and water sensor), fuel economy (dual-drive active drive system), reversing less often (no monitoring of blind spots and traffic when reversing) and open your eyes to four (no system cameras for a view of 360 degrees).
Now developed under the direction of Gary McGovern, the Land Rover Discovery Sport makes it a recognizable counterpart to the Range Rover Sport and has won a number of awards for its Evoque styling, available with one petrol (2-litre, 240 hp) and one diesel engine. engine, the second with a volume of 2,2 liters with a power of 150 or 190 hp. Gradually, these bikes, inherited from the time of belonging to Ford and supplied by the concern's factories in Valencia and Dagnama, will be replaced by engines of the new Ingenium family. Jaguar Land Rover, manufactured in Wolverhampton, England. The car itself was installed at the Halewood plant near Liverpool.
Above, we briefly mentioned the Active Driveline system, which appears in the price list against the background of modest options compared to other options 1908 BGN. In fact, this is another dual drive system developed jointly by Land Rover and the company that manufactures it, GKN Driveline. It combines the functions of a torque vector (directing thrust separately to each of the rear axle wheels using two plate clutches) and interrupting the power return from the gearbox. At speeds above 35 km / h, the system can isolate the PTO and rear differential, which is very similar to the front-wheel drive design and reduces parasitic losses from the dual drive by 75 percent. The result is lower fuel consumption, so it is understandable that the system is available as standard on the Si4 petrol version. For the more powerful diesel version (but only for 5 seats), Active Driveline is supplied at the request of the customer.
After good performance on the snow in Pirin, Land Rover Discovery Sport is heading to Sofia, overcoming Predela corners calmly and confidently, without unnecessary body tipping and with a completely invisible and ill-conceived nine-speed automatic. The power of a more powerful diesel engine seems to be quite enough to cope with the mass of the car and passengers, electronic assistants suggest that if the car is next to you in the blind zone, it will not go unnoticed.
The well-executed interior with pleasantly fragrant leather upholstery seems to want to return to us the long-forgotten sense of impeccable style and solidity that British companies with foreign owners are trying to revive today. A good promise in this spirit is the five-year unlimited mileage warranty. And getting to know the new Land Rover Discovery Sport turned out to be a very pleasant way to say goodbye to winter.
CONCLUSION
Like other Land Rover models, the new Discovery Sport combines off-roading with elegant style and great luxury. According to this criterion, the car ranks first in its class. In a benchmark test, when multiple indicators are measured and compared, the result may be different.
Text: Vladimir Abazov
