Land Rover Discovery Sport India review, test drive

What is it?

Two things. To start with, it’s Land Rover’s replacement for the popular and capable Freelander. It’s also the first of the models from Land Rover’s new Discovery sub-brand that focus on utility, the same way the Range Rover line is about luxury.

The Discovery Sport is smart, well proportioned and interesting but doesn’t have the show value of something like an Evoque. Still, there’s a certain honesty to the chunky shape which, if you think about it, more than links the Sport to the Freelander. The Sport is 91mm longer than its predecessor and also sits on a wheelbase that’s grown by 80mm. These increments, and the incorporation of a compact multi-link rear suspension, have allowed Land Rover to fit in a third row of seats, giving the Sport somewhat of an advantage over its five-seat competitors – the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Volvo XC60. But Land Rover is being cautious and calling the Sport a ‘5+2’ rather than a seven-seater, simply because space in the rear is only suited for kids, given the poor access, the awkward seating position and limited space. Also worth noting is that seven-seat versions only get a space-saver spare tyre as opposed to the full-size spare the standard five-seat versions come with. To be honest, we’d suggest you save the Rs 1.5 lakh Land Rover wants for the additional two seats.

As on all modern Land Rovers, the Discovery Sport’s cabin is neat with a long-lasting feel to everything, though some plastics low down do feel quite ordinary. Angular cues dominate the dashboard and, once again, it doesn’t look revolutionary in any way; just very Land Rover. What does make a difference is the new touchscreen-operated infotainment system. It’s a step up from the older system offered on all Land Rovers, and is easy enough to use on the move. However, the interface is not the best or slickest around.