The Land Rover Discovery's boxy and utilitarian appearance of the 1990s has evolved into a sleek and versatile compact SUV, but despite its refined metamorphosis, the 2015 Discovery Sport still packs enough off-road capability to handle just about any New England driving condition.
The Discovery Sport's exterior blends a clamshell nose and a streamlined profile with a rugged stance emphasized by a generous amount of fender clearance over 19-inch wheels. My tester was painted in metallic gray with brightly polished stainless steel front and rear shields that protect the Land Rover's underside.
The Discovery Sport is offered in three trim levels. The well-equipped base level SE starts at $37,000, while the $41,570 HSE model that I tested features a panoramic roof, full leather seats and a power tailgate. The top-shelf HSE Lux at $45,570 adds premium leather, an 11-speaker sound system and adjustable mood lighting.
The Discovery Sport shares the same 2.0-liter turbocharged engine as Land Rover's smaller Evoque subcompact SUV that I reviewed late last year. The four-cylinder engine mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission churns out 240 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. Steering-wheel mounted paddles allowed for manual shifting. My tester did 20 mpg in the city, and 26 on the highway.
Despite occasional turbo lag that resulted in delayed acceleration from a dead start, the Discovery Sport was easy and responsive to drive.
Tightly spaced gear ratios from the nine-speed transmission provided smooth overall acceleration and seamless downshifts. It was agile through the corners thanks in part to an all-new multilink rear axle and electronic power-assisted steering.
As expected, the Land Rover was remarkably quiet on the highway. The Discovery Sport can be switched from two-wheel to four-wheel-drive with the touch of a button on the center console. Additionally, Land Rover's Terrain Response system allows drivers to select four-wheel-drive modes to tailor the Discovery Sport's response to various conditions.
The Discovery Sport's well designed interior maximized space with ample visibility. Power adjustable front seats and a telescopic steering wheel made it easy to dial in a comfortable driving position. Second-row seats that comfortably fit three adults with ample head- and footroom were set two inches higher than the front to create a stadium-like view from the backseats. A third-row seating option boosts the Land Rover's passenger capacity to seven.
A push-button start, rotary knob transmission shifter and an electronic parking brake highlight the Discovery Sport's dashboard. Large buttons surrounding an 8-inch touchscreen help to reduce drilling down through multiple menus to access navigation, pair cellphones and tune the radio.
While the Discovery Sport yields to the competition when comparing performance and fuel economy, the Land Rover certainly compensates with outstanding all-terrain capability and overall luxury. Other compact luxury SUVs to consider are the Audi Q5, BMW X3 or Mercedes-Benz GLK.
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