Test drive Land Rover Discovery Sport
Updating with a platform upgrade is more like a generational change, but officially it is a restyling for the sake of modern environmental trends. Russians do not need to worry: cars have definitely not become boring for us
According to the laws of the writing genre, the gun lit up in the book should eventually go off. A competent marketer can even turn a bottle of drinking water into a weapon: the container with liquid in the cabin of the test car was not made of ordinary glass or plastic, but of recycled paper, which, in turn, can be recycled and put into action again. If it had been an accident, no one would have paid attention to such a trifle during the presentation.
Recycling is trending today, and Discovery Sport owes much of its latest transformations to environmentalists. The original crossover was at its peak, and the circulation of the model has already exceeded 470 thousand copies, and this is the best indicator among Land Rover models today. The economics of the product did not require urgent adjustments, but the introduction of more stringent methods for measuring the WLTP toxicity level forced British engineers to rework the vehicle's technique. And very thoroughly.
Formally, the model index (L550) has not changed, and outwardly Discovery Sport does not differ much from itself. The newcomer added 8 mm in length and became only 3 mm higher, the width and wheelbase of the model were preserved. Other front bumpers with vertical slots, more expressive LED headlights, relying even on the basic version, like a different pattern of taillights, pull no more than restyling. But at the same time, the new and the old car do not have a single common body part and, more importantly, different platforms.
The Discovery Sport is now based on the same PTA architecture with integrated subframes and hybrid powertrain elements that was previously found in the updated Range Rover Evoque. All cars, with the exception of the front-wheel drive 150-horsepower diesel version with a manual gearbox, received the MHEV appendage in the form of a belt starter generator and a 48-volt battery. Such a superstructure does not add power to the power units, but in the company with a modified 9-band automatic it helps the engines to reduce toxicity and save fuel. A full-fledged plug-in hybrid PHEV with a three-cylinder engine and plug-in charging is planned for next year.
Alas, all this is not for Russia. If the front-wheel drive and manual transmission options really seem out of place here, then hybrid versions of all degrees of softness are genuinely a shame. They also deprived us of the most powerful 240-horsepower diesel version. The bottom line is a family of 2-liter Ingenium engines: two diesel engines with a return of 150 and 180 liters. with., as well as a pair of gasoline "fours" with a capacity of 200 and 250 forces, respectively. The plus is that cars added about 5% in price, although hybrid modifications would have cost more.
Russia was not deprived of complete sets. As before, the base is the Standard version, followed by S, SE and HSE in terms of equipment. Everything except the first can be additionally flavored with the R-Dynamic design package with sport-inspired interior elements and more prominent bumpers.
How much more presentable the interior has become can be seen not only by the higher quality finish. The basic idea of effective minimalism has been preserved, but the filling has become even more technological. In the arsenal of the new Discovery Sport, there is also an Evoque steering wheel with small touchpads. The list of options includes a virtual dashboard Interactive Driver Display, as well as a ClearSight salon mirror with the ability to broadcast video streaming, capable of "seeing through the hood" Ground View system.
Not to say that without these gadgets, the operation of the crossover would be unbearable, but they are really convenient and easy to use. By pressing only one button on the separate climate control unit, you turn the right temperature control into a mode selector for the Terrain Response all-wheel drive system. When ordering the Advanced Tow Assist package, the same washer can be used to correct the trajectory of the trailer when reversing. And of the relatively simple options, it is worth noting the tablet holders combined with the charging connectors.
The minimal increase in the length of the car did not make its interior noticeably more spacious. Nevertheless, it is not cramped for large adults to be behind them, and large adults, as before, can order two additional folding chairs for five standard ones. Such furniture is available in any of the configurations and costs $ 1.
But what dad doesn't like driving fast? During the presentation, representatives of the company now and then mentioned sportiness and counted the number of "horses" of top engines, but in fact the younger Discovery did not seem more energetic. Yes, thanks to the 13% increased body stiffness, the new crossover drives a little sharper, and 250 petrol forces really pull cheerfully, but in general this kit still does not burn. Slight excitement is caused only by noticeable lateral rolls during active cornering. And there is a feeling that the car can go fast, but not very much like it.
Harmony comes the moment you stop making a sports car out of a car. Additional layers of soundproofing reduce road noise to almost nothing. The engine is barely audible, the moments of gearbox switching are smoothed as much as possible, the modified suspension regularly dampens the swing on transverse waves and smoothes joints and small irregularities. Quite adequate behavior of an adult car. And, as a pleasant bonus, it fits into 10 liters per hundred fuel consumption. Even the cardan and rear axle wheels, which are automatically deactivated at light loads, make their modest contribution to nature conservation.
Off-road, however, you will not save much. But even the tricks that Dicsovery Sport playfully performs on the slides of the Dicsovery Sport are beyond the power of most crossovers. Of course, you can't go into the fire with it, but you can go into a ford up to 60 cm deep. And with the advent of the Terrain Response system, the fully automatic mode, the need for all the others has disappeared in 99 cases out of 100. If you do not know how and do not consider it necessary to understand the principles of wheel locks, just press a couple of buttons and the steering wheels. Electronic assistants do a great job of distributing traction and controlling the brakes. This, perhaps, is not always sporty, but it is safe and, most importantly, effective.
| A type | Crossover | Crossover |
| dimensions (length, width, height), mm | 4597/2069/1727 | 4597/2069/1727 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2741 | 2741 |
| Ground clearance, mm | 212 | 212 |
| Cargo space, l | 591 | 591 |
| Curb weight, kg | 1873 | 1864 |
| engine's type | Turbocharged diesel | Turbocharged petrol |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | 1998 | 1997 |
| Max. power, l. with. (at rpm) | 150 at 2400 | 250 at 5500 |
| Max. cool. moment, Nm (at rpm) | 380 at 1750-2500 | 365 at 1400-4500 |
| Drive type, transmission | Full, 9АКП | Full, 9АКП |
| Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h, s | 11,4 | 7,6 |
| Max. speed km / h | 190 | 225 |
| Fuel consumption (mixed cycle), l per 100 km | 5,6 | 7,9 |
| Price, $. | from 38 499 | from 40 975 |
